WOODS CROSS -- An area with once improperly developed four-plexes will become an apartment complex once plans and a property sale are finalized.
Work toward this effort is ongoing, but the city council recently approved the Woodland Gardens final plat, creating a one-lot subdivision at 1875 S. 400 West. This move was necessary groundwork.
City Manager Gary Uresk said the city has been purchasing property in what is called the 440 area since 2007 in hopes of doing a redevelopment project to revitalize the area and correct existing development problems.
Purchasing the land cost Woods Cross more than $2 million to collect all of the needed parcels.
There were 11 individually owned properties that had four-plexes already built on them. The city bought the property and demolished the buildings to prepare it for future development.
"It was an area that was not developed properly," Uresk said. "There were real problems with the property."
He explained some of those issue dealt with inadequate parking and too narrow spacing between the buildings.
"It just wasn't built properly," he added.
Though it cost more than $2 million to get the property and restore its roots of raw land, the city's redevelopment agency will only gain roughly $1.2 million through the property sale. Uresk said that is an estimate right now since the property sale to Jed Millburn with Apartment Realty in Salt Lake City is pending.
The plan is for the sale to be finalized by the end of the year and for construction to start in 2011.
Uresk said the reason for the deficit is for the cost of assembling the land and demolishing the existing structures. But it is a move that is worth it for city officials.
"We wanted to see it redeveloped," Uresk said, noting that they didn't want the problem-plagued area to continue as it was.
Initial discussions with the developer are for an 84-unit apartment complex to be built. The city had other developers submit proposals, but ultimately choose Apartment Realty's scenario.
"We think it is going to be a nice project," Uresk said. "It will be a much better area."
Uresk said since there were apartments there to begin with, the city wanted housing restored to the area.
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