West Valley City’s eventual downtown took another step toward completion. 

The city council unanimously approved an agreement between the city, West Valley Redevelopment Agency and West Valley Land Holdings (no city affiliation) which will see a nine-story, 225,000-square-foot office tower built next to Fairbourne Station off 3500 South near 2800 West. 

“It was kind of anticlimactic when you get to this point and you have just a signed document and you go, ‘well, where’s the fireworks, where’s the cannons going off?’” joked Mark Nord, redevelopment agency director, when presenting the agreement to the city council. 

Nicole Cottle, assistant city manager, said it’s been close to a seven-year slog with this property attempting to reach this point. 

“I am really proud of my economic development team,” she said. 

Nord said making something like this come together requires a unified front that not all cities have. 

“It was an all-hands-on-deck type of project,” he said noting the various departments it took to make this happen like public works, finance, legal and planning and zoning. “We really had all of the minds at the table and we were all there with one unified goal.” 

The land for the newly planned office tower, which was once home to a Staples and Toys “R” Us, was originally acquired through an RDA bond for $9 million. That land is now being sold to West Valley Land Holdings for $4 million with the rest of the cost being recovered, Nord said, through the tax increment generated off the project area over a proposed 20 years. 

Completion of the project is expected in 2020 or 2021. 

Nord said the office tower optimizes the use of the city’s primary block being visible from I-215 and across the street from Valley Fair Mall.  

“This truly will be our shining star for a downtown Fairbourne Station,” he said. 

The development is phase four of Fairbourne Station’s overall development. 

As part of the agreement to develop land (ADL), the developer has the option to develop the remainder of the commercial corner, but must go through the RDA. 

Nord said he expects a marketing push to be made soon regarding the groundbreaking for the building which may serve as the metaphorical firing off of fireworks and cannons. 

Adding this office space, according to city documents, aims to bring long-term sustainability and vibrancy to the area. The increased numbers of people coming to the area will augment the viability of the mall and its surrounding commercial areas.