closed

Fairbourne Station — Getting Back to Our Roots

By Kylee Norton

WEIGHING IN ON FAIRBOURNE STATION

   Fairbourne Station — referred to as the focal point of West Valley City — is more than just a fancy, new entertainment center and tourist haunt.

   For many Utah residents, Fairbourne Station is the focal point of West Valley City because they share a branch on the same family tree.

   This multi-phase development project is named for West Valley City’s own Joseph Watson Fairbourne.

   In the early days of “Fairbourne Station,” Joseph Fairbourne’s weighing station was a common stop where local farmers, ranchers and other residents would come to weigh the goods they planned to sell at market. As more and more residents flocked to the station it began to transform into the heart of West Valley City’s center for commerce, trade and economic development. With Joseph at the scales, locals were “weighing in” on more than just beef and lettuce. They were discussing the progress of their great city, dreaming about the day when West Valley City would become Utah’s landmark for progress and innovation.

Fairbourne Station — Getting Back to Our Roots

By Kylee Norton

FAIRBOURNE: REBORN

   Fairbourne Station located between 3500 South and Lancer Way is currently in phase one of completion.

   “Phase one includes the park and Embassy Suites; the park will open July 2012 and the hotel November 2012,” says Aaron Crim, director of public relations and neighborhood services. “Phase two includes the residential and office components, which will break ground later this year. The timing of additional phases has not yet been determined, but will include additional residential units and a civic center which will include a relocated City Hall and library.”

   The “Master Vision” for Fairbourne Station is being spearheaded by Nicole Cottle, economic development director, and her team of experts.

   “Fairbourne is a priority for several reasons,” Crim says.  “For many years, West Valley City has wanted a recognizable downtown area; also, the area surrounding City Hall is one of the older areas of the city and has become blighted, making it ripe for redevelopment.”

   Fairbourne Station and the surrounding area will receive a complete facelift thanks to the involvement of many gifted partners and contributors. Stanley Consultants will be functioning as the plaza designer, ICO Management is heading the residential side of things, and GBS Architects will be focusing on the promenade, just to name a few.

   Many individuals worry that the collaboration of so many corporations could lead to conflict in regards to the planning design. But each of these corporations is proving that they share the same vision and hope for West Valley City and Fairbourne Station.

   If it truly takes a village to raise a child, it seems only natural that it would take Utah’s second largest city to raise the infrastructure of Fairbourne Station.

IN ALL FAIRNESS

   For those involved in the dozens of planning meetings and council sessions, it is fairly obvious that Fairbourne Station will bring West Valley City an economic boom of seismic proportions. But for those who have not been following every press release, status update and tweet, it is only fair to assume they would have a few lingering questions.

   Among many residents there seems to be a bit of hesitation about such a grand project because of the current economic climate.

   “This is definitely a major undertaking in this economy,” Crim says. “However, timing is perfect. By creating a Redevelopment Area, the city can fund the project using future tax allocations and redevelopment funds. Also, construction costs are lower during the recession giving us a bigger bang for our buck.”

COME ONE COME ALL

   Developers and city officials predict that the additions of new residential housing, tourist accommodations and green space will attract the type of visitors and locals who will work together to bring additional prosperity to the area.

   “West Valley City has already seen success with the development because the new synergy in the area has drawn several other major projects such as the Valley Fair Mall redevelopment and the Megaplex Theater,” Crim says. “More projects will soon be announced that are directly related to the efforts within and around Fairbourne Station. In addition, the new hotel, apartments, shopping and dining options will add more tax revenue to the city's coffers.”

   With this flux of newcomers the overall infrastructure of the roadways and parking will also have to undergo major reconstruction. City officials want to ensure residents that road safety and efficiency will remain a top priority amidst the changes in the area.

   “Traffic flow has been a concern since the beginning, and West Valley City has worked with traffic engineers to ensure an efficient design,” Crim says. “Roads have been designed to allow proper traffic flow, and structures have been designed to include ample parking. Fairbourne Station is a ‘transit oriented development,’ so much of the project has been designed based on the research that shows certain percentages of visitors, residents and workers using public transit.”

   If all goes as planned, by December 2012 Fairbourne Station will be hustling and bustling with more than just the spirit of the Christmas.

   City officials mean it when they say Fairbourne will be the focal point of West Valley City — it is the center of the community, not just the center for tourism.

   “The development has a four-acre park that will draw all ages and lifestyles,” Crim says. “The Embassy Suites hotel will draw tourists, and the Class A Housing and public transportation options will draw families and young professionals.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY

   As building after building continues to spring up, locals in the 84119 are turning to their family history books in order to stake their own claim on this soon-to-be center for hip trends, entertainment and business.

  Yours truly did precisely this when I first heard about the new development. As a descendant from the Fairbourne line, I like to think that the old weighing station runs in my blood.

   Joseph Watson Fairbourne’s legacy lives on in each pavement stone and blade of grass between the coordinates of 3500 South and Lancer Way. And although his scales wouldn’t have been able to handle the loads of scaffolding, I am quite confident his descendants are “weighting” in anticipation as Joseph’s dreams for West Valley City take shape at the new Fairbourne Station.

2012 discover West Valley City Magazine

OPPORTUNITIES IN EVERY in every direction

Today, Taylorsville is a vibrant and medical
community with 58,65 residents. The esti
mated market populati on within a fi ve-mile
radius is 390,301. Taylorsville has a thriving
business base. With over 1,800 businesses
and 58,652 residents, Taylorsville is the 9th
largest city in the state. And, Taylorsville is
no longer a bedroom community. With over
17,000 jobs, there is now one job per household
in Taylorsville.
The City of Taylorsville has experienced
growth in its high-tech/medical faciliti es with
ICU Medical (medical device manufacturing),
Nelson Laboratories, and the Unifi ed State
Laboratories. The City ranks high in customer
service jobs with American Express (fi nancial
services), RBS Securiti es, Inc. (fi nancial services)
and Convergys (inbound call centers).
Educati on plays a prominent role in preparing
the workforce through Salt Lake Community
College, the University of Phoenix, and ITT
Technical Insti tute.
In additi on, many government services
faciliti es are located in Taylorsville, including:
Bureau of Criminal Identi fi cati on BCI), Calvin
Rampton Government Center, Utah Department
of Transportati on (UDOT) Headquarters,
and the Utah Department of Workforce
Services. Finally, the City of Taylorsville has
the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center
of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Sorenson
Communicati ons, providers of VRS (video
relay service) to allow communicati on for the
hearing impaired.

The City of Taylorsville is nestled in the
heart of the Salt Lake Valley. One of Utah’s 10
largest citi es, Taylorsville is eight miles south of
the Salt Lake Internati onal Airport and 15 minutes
southwest of downtown Salt Lake City.
Two convenient Freeway Interchanges provide
easy access to I-15, I-80, and I-215 Freeways.
Taylorsville’s central valley locati on is one
of the City’s greatest assets. In every directi on
one fi nds great recreati onal and cultural ameniti
es that support a high quality of life. The
City’s thriving business climate and excellent
employers augment the excepti onal quality of
life.

VIBRANT HIGH TECH/
MEDICAL COMMUNITY

BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION
Taylorsville conti nues to work with its
local businesses on business retenti on and
expansion. American Express recently

surpassed Salt Lake Community College as the
City’s foremost employer, with over 2,000 employees.Convergys call center, with over 1300
employees, avoided a reducti on in workforce
by helping with the 2010 US Census. The City
conti nues to work with owners of shopping
centers and offices to keep them full:

New Construction/Increased Tax Base
• The Carpet Guy Warehouse
6200 S. 3200 West – 8,744 sf
• SilverCrest Senior Apts.
2209 West 4700 South – 186 units
• Utah Non Profi t Housing
2209 West 4700 South – 61 units

‘Bout Time Pub & Grub is a very clean and reputable sports themed, neighborhood
oriented restaurant off ering a variety of

delicious hand-craft ed sandwiches,

oven-fired pizzas, made to order burgers and cold beverages. Their family friendly atmosphere is a great spot to watch your favorite sports team
on big screen TV’s, challenge your friends to
a round of video golf or just relax. ‘Bout Time
is located next to Einstein’s at 5592 South
Redwood Road, Suite 260, in the DDR Family
Center at Taylorsville. ‘Bout Time has state of
the art TV and audio systems, NTN trivia, and
a billiards area with comfortable VIP and pati o
seati ng in an inviti ng, urban-casual setti ng.
We welcome these new businesses to the
City of Taylorsville. We congratulate each of
them on their new beginnings and wish them
conti nued business success.

BUSINESS ATTRACTION
In these tough economic times, the City
of Taylorsville is pleased to announce the arrival
of the following new businesses:
RBS Securiti es Inc. is part of the Royal
Bank of Scotland. Founded in 1727, Royal Bank
of Scotland is one of the world’s great fi nancial
insti tuti ons serving more than 40 million customers.
RBS Securiti es now occupies a porti on
of Sorenson Building VII at 4246 South Riverboat
Road, in the Sorenson Research Park. RBS
Securiti es will initi ally hire 75 employees this
year and eventually grow to 260 employees.
“We are excited about the opportunity
to establish a new IT and Operations support
servicing center in Salt Lake County, Utah.
This locati on will be a key component of our
ongoing geographic and ti me-zone

diversification eff orts and will help to enhance the reliability of our operation in the Americas and
enable us to better support our client base,”
said Michael Geller, RBS Marketi ng Director.
Delta Health Systems is a national provider
of third party administrator (TPA) services
for insurance claims for large employers who
are self-insured. With more than 200,000

participants, Delta Health Systems is recognized
as one of the leading third party administrators
in the country with a reputation for flexibility,
innovative services and outstanding customer service. Delta Health Systems recently relocated to Center Pointe Plaza, 6577 South Redwood Road with 55 employees.

JOBS — JOBS — JOBS
EMPLOYER JOBS
RBS Securiti es 265
Utah State Laboratories 185
Nelson Labs (Expansion) 185
Legacy Village Memory Care 118
Delta Health Systems 60
Sonic Innovati ons 50
TOTAL NEW JOBS: 863

QUALITY OF LIFE
The City of Taylorsville has an excellent quality
of life with a wide variety of housing, shopping,
restaurants, and city parks. Jordan River Parkway,
Valley Regional Soft ball Park, Taylorsville Senior
Citi zens’ Center, Taylorsville-Bennion Heritage Center,
and the Taylorsville Recreati on Center and Pool
are just a few of the great recreati onal and cultural
ameniti es that the City of Taylorsville has to off er.
Baseball is at the forefront, with our youth baseball
teams consistently winning nati onal championships.
Volunteerism and respect for traditi onal
family values are important community traits. Taylorsville
Dayzz Celebrati on, held the last weekend
in June at Valley Regional Park, is a wonderful community
event for the whole family.

OPPORTUNITIES IN EVERY
DIRECTION
Taylorsville is recognized as a city on the move!
The City has a strong cluster of laboratories and
medical-related businesses. While much of the City
is already developed, there are a few excellent site
locati ons for economic development, including the
100-acre UDOT property at 6200 South Bangerter
Highway and 24 acres at Sorenson Research Park,
815 West 4500 South.
As Taylorsville’s economy rebounds from the
recent economic downturn, building is booming in
Taylorsville. The City of Taylorsville plans to conti nue
eff orts to att ract, to retain, and to expand quality
businesses.
Enjoy the advantages of Taylorsville! The City
of Taylorsville is at the center of it all. Taylorsville is
very pro-acti ve in creati ng economic development
and desires everyone to know that in Taylorsville
there are “opportuniti es in every directi on.”

Turning Traffic into Opportunity

By: Kylee Landgren Norton

Mayor Russ Wall personally believes that “the current increase in traffic should not be seen as a limitation. Rather, it should be viewed as an opportunity.” Like Taylorsville, the residential and commercial areas of neighboring cities have also been growing. Taylorsville is a unique city because it sits right in the center of the Salt Lake Valley. Essentially, this means that all those who live west or south of Taylorsville have to travel through the town to get to other various locations along the Wasatch Front. Regarding the changes to the once quiet farming community of Taylorsville, Mayor Wall put it quite honestly, stating that “the traffic is coming—we can’t stop it, so we have a choice. We can embrace it and channel the traffic to create a positive opportunity, or we can ignore it and watch as the city is overrun.” Both Taylorsville residents and City administrators reaffirm that they are optimistic about this change. They do not see the traffic as a dilemma. Rather, the traffic is considered to be a one-way route for innovations in developing new road structures and building better businesses and revitalizing the community. More importantly, residents see the road improvements as an essential key for creating a safer community.

When it comes to road developments in Taylorsville, the Utah Department of Transportation is excited about the possibilities for growth. Adan Carrillo, Public Information Officer with UDOT says that although there is much work to be done “Taylorsville is lucky they have elected officials with foresight to plan for both current and future growth.”

John Taylor, City Engineer, reports that there are currently several projects in Taylorsville that help to achieve the goals of safety, convenience, and economic stability. Priority projects for the City of Taylorsville include: continuous flow intersections at 6200 South Redwood, 5400 South Redwood, 4700 South Bangerter, and 5400 South Bangerter; reversible flex lanes coming to 5400 South between Bangerter Highway and Redwood Road; and various pedestrian bridges. “All of these plans have been established and developed to make life more convenient and accessible,” says Taylor.

By recognizing that Taylorsville is rapidly growing, City officials and UDOT have been able to be proactive, thus planning for the growth rather than being forced to adjust to an unexpected change. “Historically there has been a lot of focus on transportation needs in [Taylorsville],” says Taylor. “There are a lot of reasons for this, but the main reason is because of the location of Taylorsville. Fortunately, UDOT recognizes that we are a major corridor in Salt Lake Valley, so we have joined with UDOT on many of the current and future projects.”

CONTINUOUS FLOW INTERSECTIONS (CFI)

Taylorsville is unique in that it has two freeway off-ramps in the eleven square miles of the city. These I-215 off-ramps often become highly congested during peak travel times.  To deal with this unnecessary congestion, continuous flow intersections are currently being installed in several locations throughout Taylorsville. These innovative intersections serve to increase traffic flow, making travel easy, convenient, and most importantly, safe.

Prior to constructing the continuous flow intersections, residents would call Bangerter Highway “the great wall” because they always were delayed by traffic. According to City management, the continuous flow intersections at 6200 South Redwood, 5400 South Redwood, 4700 South Bangerter, and 5400 South Bangerter have been designed first and foremost to help with both time and safety issues.

Before the changes to the road design, the 6200 South and Redwood Road intersection was one of the most dangerous intersections in the state. Statistical reports show that it averaged at least one vehicle accident per week.

The new continuous flow intersection, designed as a hybrid and innovative road system, is now functioning as Taylorsville’s greatest success story because accidents have drastically decreased. Since Taylorsville has seen such an increase in road safety at the 6200 South and Redwood Road intersection, they will be constructing a similar intersection this spring at 5400 South and Redwood Road.

                Apart from increased safety, there are other benefits that residents will profit from                   with the new intersection design. City Administrator John Morgan states that “when traffic begins to flow steadily through the city, decreasing the stop-and-go momentum, residents will be more willing to take the time to visit shopping and entertainment establishments, thus increasing the economic stability of the city.” Sales taxes in Taylorsville help pay for needed municipal services, such as parks and recreation and law enforcement. Ultimately, an increase in sales tax revenue through shopping locally will help ensure lower property taxes for all residents.

Brandon Weston, project manager with UDOT, states that, “rather than following a one-size-fits-all style, UDOT has designed the new continuous flow intersections specifically to suit the needs of Taylorville.” He continues by verifying that “the technology is the most modern of its time, and the intersections cost nearly seventy-five percent less than the continuous flow intersection on 3500 South.” Regarding the progress of the construction, Weston proudly reports that “by the end of summer 2011, all four major continuous flow intersections, including 4700 South Bangerter and 5400 South Bangerter, will be in full operation, thus increasing both traffic capacity and safety in Taylorsville.”

  The engineering of reversible flex lanes is essentially very simple, and flex lanes continually prove to be safe and effective. “A gantry, or overhead lane indicator, measuring 30 x 30 inches functions as a driving coach,” explains Weston. The lane change never occurs at peak periods, so it will not cause confusion. A yellow flashing X will appear before the lane changes, and since this change is not instantaneous, drivers will have plenty of time to switch lanes.

                The reversible flex lanes coming to 5400 South between Bangerter Highway and Redwood Road will add capacity to the already existing infrastructure. The 5400 South flex lane will create an additional lane of traffic heading east during heavy traffic hours of the morning, and an additional lane heading west during the evening traffic hours. Studies have shown that this stretch of road is one of the most congested areas in all of Utah. However, the traffic is only problematic during peak travel times. John Taylor notes that “thanks to new innovations in road technology, Taylorsville will be able to install flex lanes that will solve this problem with without having to acquire new properties.” This solution brings relief to many business owners in the surrounding area because they will not need to worry about relocating due to city road planning. In fact, Taylor states “that the City will do everything in their power to make sure that business owners are not negatively impacted by this construction.” 

The original plan for the flex lanes prohibited drivers from turning left on 5400 South, which would have caused major problems for consumers and businesses because it would be highly difficult to enter many of the popular shopping areas. Taylorsville officials and engineers knew that this plan would create conflict, so they refused to accept the proposal and urged UDOT to devise another solution. “The result is a flex lane that will allow left-hand turns, thus allowing local stores and facilities to go about business as usual,” explains Morgan

PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES

A major concern for the residents of Taylorsville is that pedestrians will be at risk because of the changes to traffic patterns. This concern was also shared by City Administration. Mayor Wall knew that it was essential to guarantee that residents, especially school-aged children, would be able to cross these busy intersections without any risk to their safety. In order to fulfill this promise, the City of Taylorsville has installed two pedestrian bridges near Calvin Smith Elementary and Bennion Junior High. Recently at a City meeting, Mayor Wall explained that the two overpass bridges recently completed near Calvin Smith and Bennion were built to prevent accidents. He noted that normally pedestrian bridges such as these include a memorial to a child who lost his/her life due to a passing vehicle. Fortunately, because Taylorsville has been proactively searching for a solution to the traffic, these bridges are not being built as a memorial. Rather, the bridges stand to prevent any such accidents from ever occurring.

CAPITALIZING ON CONGESTED ROADS

The City of Taylorsville is growing, and the changes have been embraced by the residents who love all that Taylorsville has to offer. They are certain that this continuous growth will only bring prosperity and success to both current and future residents. Despite the inconveniences of today’s road construction projects, Taylorsville residents are among the fortunate who have found themselves in a position where they can solve traffic problems and increase business, thus enhancing the overall stability of their thriving community.