New Development Proposed For Cottonwood Mall Site

HOLLADAY, Utah – After several failed plans and more than a decade since the Cottonwood Mall was torn down, Holladay is considering a new development plan for the site.

The city’s planning commission is looking over a proposal by Millrock Capital and the Woodbury Corporation to build the Holladay Hills Shopping District on the 57-acre property located on Highland Drive at approximately 4800 South.

“Hopefully we’re going to have more consensus coming out of the gate on this application,” said Holladay Mayor Rob Dahle. “So bottom line is I’m very optimistic that we’ll be able to get this one to the finish line.”

This latest version comes after a drawn-out controversy over a plan by Ivory Homes to increase density with more apartments and homes. In November, voters rejected that development through a ballot referendum that was upheld by the Utah Supreme Court.

The Holladay Hills development would feature a 120-room hotel, three office buildings, a theater, commercial and retail space along with 614 residential units, according to plans submitted to the city.

“We anticipate the development will be completed within a range of five to ten years subject to market conditions,” said the application to planning commission.

Millrock Capital is seeking approval under a master plan approved by the city in 2007, something the mayor said could streamline the process.

“From a tax-based standpoint, it’s very important that we get something that’s viable on that property to help finance the services of the city,” Dahle said, “but beyond that I think there’s some real needs with the surrounding retail.”

Owners of businesses located across from the plot of land, which is overgrown with weeds, say they suffered when the mall closed.

“It just slowed right down,” said Brad Summerhays, owner of Summerhays Halibut and Chips. “It was tough for quite a few years here. It was touch and go but we’ve held through.”

Summerhays said he’s been waiting for years for construction to start. He would like to see a development that follows the 2007 plan that focuses on commercial and retail space.

“Business would improve with the traffic—more cars on the road and people seeing us,” he said. “I think it would just be a good thing all around. I think it would help the city; it would help the tax base.”