Architectural rendering of the proposed Cache Valley Marketplace on the site of the existing Cache Valley Mall. Image courtesy of Woodsonia Real Estate and Simonson Associates Architects LLC.
LOGAN – If everything goes according to what is being proposed, the Cache Valley Mall could be knocked down later this year in favor of a large scale mixed use of that space. What’s being deemed the Cache Valley Marketplace calls for the demolition of Cache Valley Mall in favor of a large tenant (something the size of a Target), 342 apartments and a 156 room hotel on the site – a $205 million project altogether.
The four-story apartments would be spread out between four buildings on the property, primarily on the east and southeast side of the 28.62 acre site. The ground floor of the hotel would be reserved for commercial and restaurant tenants (approximately 21,000 square feet) with three floors of hotel space above. A new public right of way connecting Main Street to 200 East will also traverse through the property with the entrance just north of Arby’s.
According to a letter from Woodsonia Real Estate, Inc., an Omaha, Nebraska-based development firm, the project would be scheduled to begin in the 4th quarter of 2023 or the 1st quarter of 2024, with the 150,000 square foot retailer opening two years later.
The developer stated that the mall has significantly declined since all its anchors have left and have not been replaced. Additionally, it cited a lack of investment from the property’s out-of-state ownership and the mall has struggled in a changing retail environment.
“Cache Valley Mall property has been in steady decline over the past 15 years,” the letter states “with overall sales falling significantly due to the loss of the 3 primary anchor stores and elevated vacancy across the small shops with the mall.”
The proposed apartment complexes would have a combination of garage and on-street parking, access to a swimming pool, a clubhouse and community lounge with meeting spaces, fitness center, outdoor fire pits and seating areas, as well as a pet park.
The development calls for one primary tenant to occupy approximately 150,000 square feet. With a Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco already operating within Logan City limits, few other box stores fit that size, except for Target. The typical size of new Target stores opening across the country is 150,000 square feet. However, the tenant to occupy that proposed space in Logan has not been announced, other than to say it will be a business that does not currently operate in the area.
Before any of that can happen, however, the Logan Planning Commission and the Logan City Council are weighing some changes to current zoning. According to a letter from Mike DeSimone, director of community development for Logan City, a Planned Development Overlay Zone is being proposed to create more flexibility into the development review process, “and provide a process where projects that don’t fit into the ‘box’ of a zone can be evaluated and permitted.”
The Planning Commission held a workshop on the concept on June 8th. The developers have formally applied for a rezone and all the necessary permits, which will be discussed at a future Planning Commission meeting on June 22nd.
This proposed development is the latest in a string of large projects being proposed or currently underway in Logan City, including Sugar Creek and Rivergate in southwest Logan (accounting for a mix of approximately 275 condos and single family homes), Altitude and Altura in south Logan at the border of Nibley (accounting for approximately 1,245 apartment units combined), and the Renewal and L59 projects currently underway in downtown Logan (accounting for an additional 177 apartment units combined).