Orem City Council will discuss “village” construction

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    By Craig Blackwell

    At the Orem City Council meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 11, Council members will look at what would be the first piece of a gigantic “village” to be constructed at 1200 South Geneva Road.

    Parkway Crossing, as it is called, will consist of 1,720 housing units that include one, two, and three bedrooms. A village commercial center of about 142,750 square feet and a grocery store of 55,000 square feet. An LDS Stake Center will also be included as well as a fitness center.

    While all this sounds like a huge project, it is. Council member Les Campbell said that it will revitalize an area or town in need.

    “A development of this kind will take a couple of blocks in an area and give it new life. Now this won’t be limited to just one area. At last week’s meeting we threw out the idea that State Street in South Orem is also an area that would benefit,” Campbell said.

    Campbell said that a project of this caliber will cost millions and millions of dollars. And the whole project is years away from expected completion. It will be built one phase at a time.

    Tonight’s meeting will provide the Council with the opportunity to hear all the facts and gather all the information needed to amend an existing ordinance to make this possible. However, no vote will be taken. The meeting scheduled for October 24 has been set aside for a final vote on this and other issues.

    If the zoning changes are approved Campbell said, we can expect some significant movement in October of next year.

    This vote however, is just the first piece of the puzzle, developers not only need a commitment from the city but also from landowners. Negotiations with the landowners in the area may take some time, especially if there are multiple owners. Lawyers for both sides will meet and negotiate a fair deal for both parties.

    The bottom line according to Campbell is that UVSC , Orem and Provo all support the idea, but putting something together like this is basically a new concept for just about everywhere in the country.

    The idea is expected to help alleviate housing and traffic concerns because having everything in a central location, students won’t be required to travel as much on city roads. This isn’t expected to be a final solution but a help that Campbell said will go a long way.

    The only other item on the agenda is for the Council to adopt a new template for entry signs. These signs are located at the areas of entrance and exit to the city. The logo will be colored and attached to a concrete wall and will have a three dimensional look and feel. Each area where there is a logo will also have some landscaping around it including flowers, and shrubs and trees.

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