Cache Valley Mall expansion and remodel under way
When you go to the Cache Valley Mall, don’t park on the west side of the building, there won’t be any stalls available.
Most of the west parking lot is blocked off because the mall is adding six new stores and a new food court.
The new attractions will be on the west side of the mall and will also include a new entrance lobby and a glass exterior, Jay Nielson, Logan community development director, said.
The inside of the mall will have new paint, flooring and improved lighting, he said. The mall is also considering improvements to parking and additional outdoor landscaping as part of the remodeling project, Nielson said.
Nielson said the construction started about three weeks ago and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
He said he felt the construction was needed for the health of the mall.
“Malls have to have food courts in them, anymore, and there wasn’t one,” he said.
Nielson said the expanded mall will be good for Logan and the surrounding area. He said it will help attract new businesses and attractions that will help bring people to Logan.
“It’s a better place to be because more is going on,” he said.
While no concrete names of stores entering the mall were available, rumors circulating say American Eagle and Pac-Sun will be part of the
expansion.
Until the project is completed, businesses and customers have to put up with the construction site.
The stores nearest the construction are noticing a small change in business.
“There’s been a lot less traffic in the store, but people who know what they want and know we have it still come in,” said Bergen Rasmussen, Radio Shack sales associate.
Rasmussen said she has observed customers complaining about closed entrances and less parking.
Rasmussen said one noticeable change is that deliveries to Radio Shack have to come in through alternate entrances.
She said it is a little more difficult since the deliveries include large electronics.
Overall, Rasmussen said she felt the project will have a positive impact.
“It will be really good to pull in more customers, and I think the university students will like it,” she said.
Contrary to effects at Radio Shack, Dillard’s store manager Robert Pack said he has not noticed a difference in customer traffic in his store.
Pack said he feels the remodeling of the mall will be a positive thing.
“It will become more of a regional shopping center and pull more people down from Idaho,” he said.
The construction and remodeling is funded by General Growth Realty, the owner of the mall, Nielson said.
He said the plan for expanding the mall was aided by financial incentives given to the companies coming in.
To supply the incentives, the state of Utah tracks the development of an area, then estimates the taxes that would be generated in the future, Nielson said.
The city then takes a portion of those taxes and gives it back to the companies, he said.
“It helps everyone because new taxes come to the city and developers are able to develop more,” Nielson said.
-krasmus@cc.usu.edu