Editors note: This story pairs with another titled “Retail developments in Provo on the rise.”
Provo’s Plumtree Plaza is about to undergo a complete makeover.
The shopping center, at 2250 N. University Parkway in Provo, will be transformed into The Mix at River’s Edge, a development that will include new office spaces, multi-unit housing, retail, entertainment and a modern hotel. The new development is only 1.6 miles from BYU and 2.7 miles from UVU.
The project, headed by Westport Capital Partners, will take off with demolition beginning in the spring of 2017. The goal is for retail spaces to be rebuilt and occupied by the Christmas shopping season of 2017, a lofty goal according to Provo’s retail strategist and business development coordinator Scott Bowles.
The Kyoto Japanese restaurant will be the first to go, with a new structure coming up in it’s place immediately after. Taco Time will also be torn down and Cafe Rio will be moved to a new location within the block so its current building can also be demolished.
“So you can see a very different landscape here,” Bowles said.
Though many big changes will be coming during demolition, Bowles emphasized most of the restaurants in Plumtree Plaza will remain open throughout the demolition phase and the transformation to The Mix.
JCWs, Cafe Zupas and Olive Garden will all be unaffected by the demolition, as well as Main Street Pizza and Jimmy Johns, who all own their properties.
Decisions are yet to be made about Brasas Mexican Grill, but the nearby office spaces and the Quarry rock climbing gym are not part of the plans for The Mix, so they will also be unaffected by the upcoming demolition. Movies 8 will be closing because the owners chose not to renew their lease.
Colby Durnin, CEO of Sentinel Development — a company involved in the construction of The Mix — said he believes the area has been underutilized for years. He said he is excited for the changes to come and knows The Mix will be a great asset for students and all Provo residents.
Orem resident and BYU student Brian Gomez lives in Orem with his wife, and claims he takes “(University) Parkway everyday” to get to BYU campus. Gomez drives past what will soon be The Mix at River’s Edge nearly every day.
“From where we live now — it’s on the way home — it’s convenient to stop there to pick something up that we might need,” Gomez said.
Durnin hopes The Mix will have this kind of effect on Provo residents, giving them a place they can go to shop, eat, work, be entertained and run errands at at any time of the day.
“Where we’re going with it is kind of a Daybreak or Sunset location, where we want to help bring people together with hospitality, retail, office and multi-level housing,” Durnin said.
The Mix at River’s Edge is expected to be completed by 2019, according to Durnin.
Before demolition of the actual plaza begins, students and drivers might be experiencing the effects of changes to infrastructure surrounding The Mix’s future home. Road construction to enable an updated version of the Bus Rapid Transit system is underway and contributing to traffic patterns on the already busy University Parkway.
