Affordable Health Benefits of Utah
Looking for Health Insurance? We can help
Apply Now! 801.849.9932
S
What Lies Ahead for Taylorsville’s Economic Development?
tepping into the role of economic development director for Taylorsville a year ago, Wayne Harper knew the challenges he faced. Though the city is relatively new by incorporation date, Taylorsville has been a bedroom community for decades. The mixed bag of having great highway access coupled with being the most densely-populated city in the state, but an aging infrastructure of shopping locations, has slowed economic growth. “We have 60,000 people living in a 10-square-mile area,” Harper said. “About a third of our community is multi-family housing, which presents its own challenges. And 40 to 50 years ago, we had
Using an Agent is FREE and will save you time and expensive mistakes! 3457 West 4700 South Taylorsville, UT 84129
By Tom Haraldsen
some real nice retail development that came into town. But those structures aged, and so many are now vacant and under-utilized. Many of them are along Redwood Road, and in some retail centers, there’s a 60 percent vacancy rate.” Harper and his team have been focusing on working with those property owners, encouraging them to reinvest in their properties to make them attractive to new businesses. It’s part of a three-prong strategy which Taylorsville City has undertaken to spur prosperity
grab that cart!
2
art show time
4
Economic Development continued on page 2
heading to state
13
quotable community:
“ I feel that some of the basic core education principles—reading, writing and arithmetic—are being lost because of the life we now live.”
page 4
Local Postal Customer ECRWSS
Presort Std U.S. Postage PAID Riverton, UT Permit #44