UTAH COUNTY UPDATE: Orem: Time passes in the blink of an eye

By Richard F. Brunst Jr.

In case you haven’t noticed, a lot has happened in Orem during the past six years. As the mayor of Orem, I would like to give an update on a few of these happenings.

In 2014, the Orem City Council passed a Community Dev-elopment Agreement (CDA) with Woodbury Corp. for the renovation and expansion of the University Mall. This was a post-performance tax incentive agreement. The agreement did not obligate the city to any new bonds nor require any new taxes.{mprestriction ids="1,3"} What it did do was delay payment of some of the property taxes after the new buildings were built with the caveat that the money saved had to be put back into infrastructure within the mall neighborhood for the redevelopment of the area. This agreement allowed for a $500 million investment by Woodbury to move forward with renovation of the mall.

At the time, we had a referendum started against this agreement. But through four open houses and information being given out, the majority of the citizens agreed with the council’s action and the referendum died for the lack of signatures. This $500 million investment has had a triple economic effect which will result in over $1.5 billion being brought into Orem by way of economic activity and investment into our community when it is all completed.

The investment was set up to change the mall from a retail-only center to a new mixed-use area. The mall buildings and parking lots comprise an area of over 100 acres. With the new investment by Woodbury, the mall has not only refurbished retail outlets, but has also added an office building and over 900 apartments. Interestingly, the new apartments are leased as soon as they are finished. Young families, professionals and, yes, even many seniors, including retiree couples, like living in this new space. These apartments are not like the ones I lived in while a student at BYU.

In the process, the University Mall changed its name to University Place. Since the agreement took place, many great changes have occurred. A new 100,000-square-foot office building has been constructed with a state-of-the-art electronic billboard out front on the corner of University Parkway and State Street. A new two-story, underground parking garage has been built. A new above-ground, four-story parking garage has been built. The old Mervyns building has been torn down and a new community park, “The Orchard,” has taken its place with an outdoor children’s play area and large beautiful lawns for gatherings and shows, together with beautiful lighted water fountains.

The old J.C. Penney building on the east end where Nordstrom was, has been torn down and replaced with a new two-story RC Willey building. Likewise, the other old anchor Macey’s building is being torn down and is to be replaced with a new building on the west end.

The mall interior has been refurbished with new LED lights, new paint and new tile flooring. Many new businesses have come to the mall, including Trader Joe's, Al’s Sporting Goods, Tucanos, Los Hermanos, Tepanyaki, Quick Quack Car Wash, RC Willey.

A new nine-story combination parking garage on the bottom with a multi-story office building on the top is set to start construction this year. Also, a new five-story Marriott Courtyard Hotel is planned to begin building later this year. After moving to the mall, some of the new businesses have seen their sales go up by as much as 30 percent.

During the open houses where I explained what the CDA investment would mean to our community, I mentioned that it would lift all ships in Orem — even to the extent, I said, that the older McDonald's across the street from the city center would get busier. In fact, that has occurred with that building being torn down and replaced. Other businesses — like Outback Steak House, Nordstrom Rack, Golden Corral and many of our car dealerships — are doing the same thing. Interestingly, since the CDA and the mall changeover went in, Orem’s retail sales tax revenues have gone up by over 35 percent.

Other changes to State Street have also occurred. The unfinished Midtown Village 8 mixed-use development has finally been completed and renamed “Midtown 360.” Over 500 apartments have been completed and leased and new retail is flourishing. The empty Kmart building has been purchased by NPS, refinished and opened.

We have the state’s largest and fastest-growing university in Orem. Utah Valley University has grown to over 42,000 part-time and full time students. UVU has built a new student wellness building; a new classroom building; and the new fine arts facility, “The Noorda Center.” A new student apartment complex is being built on Campus Drive after city voters defeated a referendum opposing it. A new multi-million-dollar pedestrian bridge is being constructed over I-15 from the UTA Frontrunner station to the university campus.

Orem City has been busy updating infrastructure needs and providing new recreational facilities for the city residents. Orem built a new “All Abilities” park for disabled youth through the combined effort of over 3,500 volunteers and close to $850,000 in materials being paid for by donations, our Care Tax and other revenue sources.

We also have built a new splash pad for children, a state-of-the-art dog park, a new bike skills park, two new pickleball court complexes and a new foosball facility. We have also updated most of our playgrounds with new equipment.

We have recently started construction on a new Library Hall 500-seat auditorium for city programs. We are rebuilding the dry side of our recreation center with family locker rooms, a basketball gym, racquetball courts, exercise rooms and an elevated running track. 

Orem's 1 gig fiber Internet system will be completed to every home in Orem in the next three years.

There is an excitement and vibrancy about the future of Orem. Over 300 new businesses have opened in Orem in the past six years. We have rebuilt and repaved most of our roads. We have put in master plans for State Street, for our sewer system, for our water system, for our storm water system, for our roads and for our parks and recreation. We have purchased three new fire engines at close to $850,000 per engine and over 70 new police cars to keep our first responders in updated equipment.

Over 10 years ago, our valley contemplated the addition of a new bus rapid transit system being built to service the Orem/Provo area. Through a lot of starts and stops and with two referendum efforts against it and two lawsuits against it (all of which were unsuccessful) and losing the funding once on the state level and once on the federal level (but both being later regained), we are now proud of our completed state-of-the-art “UVX” bus rapid transit line. Close to 14,000 people ride the line daily, traveling from the Orem Frontrunner station passing UVU, the University Place Mall, BYU, the MTC, the Provo South Towne Mall and ending at the Provo Frontrunner station.

And finally, we have the exciting news of a new temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be built in southwest Orem. This area is part of 250 acres that Orem annexed four years ago.

So, just in case you blinked while passing our great city, please come back and visit and enjoy the wonderful people who live here and experience the exciting new look of Orem.

Richard F. Brunst Jr. is the mayor of Orem. He attended Brigham Young University and graduated in 1974 with a degree in political science. He is a former owner of Western Pipe Coaters & Engineers Inc., as well as Associated Appraisers and Recycle Technologies. He was elected mayor in 2013.{/mprestriction}