Full Text
SEVEN BIG UPDATES For MILLCREEK’S CITY CENTER PLAZA Millcreek is working on creating a vibrant City Center between Highland Drive and 1300 East around 3300 South. Not only will this be an amazing place to live, work, and play, but it is an important part of the City’s economic development strategy to strengthen our tax base and keep Millcreek’s taxes low for decades to come. At the heart of the new city center is a four-acre linear park and plaza—our new town square— which we are calling Millcreek Common. ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 I P a g e U p d a t e d M a y 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 1- SPECIAL ZONES NOW IN PLACE The City Council has approved a City Center Overlay Zone to require quality developments in this area. The U.S. Treasury Department has designated the area a qualified Opportunity Zone where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. A sliver of Salt Lake City that jutted into the middle of the city center has been negotiated to be incorporated into Millcreek as of July 1, 2020. The City has also designated city center a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA)—a tool the state of Utah gives communities to capture new taxes generated in an area for community good for 20 years. A $20 million dollar bond was issued in 2019 to acquire properties and construct Millcreek Common. The plan calls for making 100% of the bond payments with the money generated by the CRA without touching the City’s General Fund. ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 I P a g e U p d a t e d M a y 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 2- FORTY-SIX PROPERTIES ACQUIRED Since July, Millcreek has acquired 46 properties in the path of the future Millcreek Common. The City has worked to make sure sellers get a fair price for their property, but while also being frugal with the limited funds available. Properties include a dilapidated apartment building and relocating businesses like Plowgian Auto Repair. “We are so appreciative of the way Mayor Silvestrini and his team have worked with us through this,” said Jeff Plowgian, business owner. “Although it is difficult to move, thanks to city help we will be in a much better situation in our new location.” Plowgian Auto’s new site on 4031 S. Highland Drive will open up in June! ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 I P a g e U p d a t e d M a y 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 3- MASTER PLANNING FOR PHASE 1 NEARING COMPLETION Working with EPG Design’s award-winning planning and landscape architecture team, Millcreek is nearing completion of master planning the park and plaza. In addition to a vibrant common that will have activities year-round, there will be retail shops and restaurants lining the edge with offices and residential units above them. Construction documents are now being prepared for the plaza. ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 I P a g e U p d a t e d M a y 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 4- ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES COMPLETED Phase 1 and, where needed, Phase 2 environmental studies have been completed on the area. Geotechnical studies have been completed to identify earthquake fault lines in the area to keep habitable buildings away from those in the plans. This spring, the technical engineers and scientists from Terracon Consultants have completed the required asbestos studies. This was paid for by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency and Salt Lake County’s brownfields program. In early summer, asbestos mitigation will begin, followed by building demolitions and site preparations. ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 I P a g e U p d a t e d M a y 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 5- FIRST GROUNDBREAKING OCCURRED Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini recently broke ground on the first major development of the new Millcreek City Center. The Richmond at Millcreek will be a mixed-use building on the corner of Villa Vista Avenue and Richmond Avenue (in the old parking lot of the Villa Theater, west of Adib’s Rug Gallery). When completed, the new structure will house 328 residential units and 13,000 square feet of street-level retail. The building is a joint effort of Atlas Ventures and Cottonwood Residential. “We have a number of incredible projects in the queue still coming to Millcreek’s City Center, and this critical building is just the beginning,” said Silvestrini. ---PAGE BREAK--- 7 I P a g e U p d a t e d M a y 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 6- $500,000 STATE GRANT WON FOR ICE RIBBON CONSTRUCTION The crown jewel of Millcreek Common will be a gorgeous ice ribbon that will attract skaters throughout the cooler months. We are excited to announce that Millcreek was the big winner from the State of Utah’s Outdoor Recreation Grant this year and has just been awarded $500,000 to use towards the construction of the ice ribbon! ---PAGE BREAK--- 8 I P a g e U p d a t e d M a y 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 7- EXCITING PLANS TAKING SHAPE FOR PHASE 2 As Millcreek Common begins to take shape, City leaders are working on public-private partnerships to jumpstart the economic revival of the area. What will that look like? Stay tuned for more details by signing up for our e-newsletter! Click here to sign up!