Mall Drive shopping center moves forward

ST. GEORGE – A new grocery store and shopping center could be moving in soon at the intersection of Mall Drive and 3000 East, just south of where a recently-built bridge has created a new traffic corridor connecting the formerly agricultural Washington Fields area to the rest of St. George.

The city council gave the nod Thursday to a zone change request on a 16-acre plot at the intersection’s southwest corner, paving the way for a new Lin’s Fresh Market and surrounding retail shops.

The parcel is part of a larger 106-acre property recently changed to higher-use designations on the city’s general plan maps, with the new bridge and ongoing improvements along 3000 East turning the once-isolated fields into a high traffic area.

“Residential on that corner is not going to work,” City Manager Gary Esplin said. “Go out there every day and see what that traffic is like.”

Lin’s would be the anchor tenant, with a 52,000 square foot building that would include a pharmacy, in-store bank and in-store Dairy Queen restaurant.

Another 75,000 square feet of commercial retail space is then planned to be built around the Lin’s, with potential tenants including banks, restaurants, department stores, salons and fast food.

“We’ve watched this location for five or six years. We only had one problem, and that was the bridge,” said Steve Miner, representing the real estate arm for Associated Food Stores, Inc., which owns Lin’s and a number of other popular grocery outlets.

Miner said the hope is to move forward quickly with construction, joking that he hoped to see the store “selling turkeys for Thanksgiving.”

Before construction, the city still needs to sign off on a development agreement. Only half of the acreage would be part of the first phase, with the grocery store and four smaller buildings included.

The submission included a traffic study that several improvements would be needed along Mall Drive and 3000 East. A new light at the intersection of the two roads is already in design, and the study projects 12,690 new vehicle trips per weekday by the time the development is fully built

A large drainage channel is planned to go in along the Mall Drive frontage, an area expected to include a city trail and landscaping once completed. Because of the additional setback from the road – some 90 feet – the developers requested more signage than is typically allowed, including one 40 foot tall sign.

The 106-acre development around it could eventually include retail and commercial businesses at the intersection, surrounded by professional office space to the north and medium-density residential development to the west, south and east, according to recent applications for changes to the city’s general plan.

Representatives for the owner Suburban Land Reserve, Inc., the commercial real estate arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have indicated that the idea is to build something that fits in with the surrounding area.

Also on Thursday, the council:

•Approved a $107,600 bid for a professional services agreement to design and manage the construction of 12 new pickleball courts at the Little Valley Pickleball Court Complex, which would double the facility’s capacity.

Anticipating a new revenue source mid-year when the city starts collecting its portion of a recently-passed sales tax increase tied to recreation and the arts, planners are hoping to design and build the new courts before the Huntsman World Senior Games in October.

•Approved a special event permit to allow a beer garden during a scheduled “Retrospect Rockfest” event slated at the Ridge Top Complex (formerly home to the St. George municipal airport) on May 8-9.

Follow David DeMille, @SpectrumDeMille.

Related stories:

New development coming on south Mall Drive

More development approved in east St. George

Long-awaited bridge connection opens

New bridge brings new development

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Get meeting minutes, agendas and more information on the St. George City Council at sgcity.org/citycouncil.