I pulled this over from the Salt Lake thread as this is a better place for this discussion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bob rulz
Adapting empty retail is the next big frontier in urban planning. Our next generation of plannners are going to make careers out of this.
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I personally have said to my wife and some family members that large dying retail centers are probably some of the best locations to convert to denser construction. Many people are already used to shopping there over the years so adding retail isn't so much the issue. The issue is the demographics have changed and family sizes dropped. Something newer or better has been built nearby. In the case of 5400 S and Redwood, it really started to decline after Jordan Landing was being built.
When Taylorsville put out those ideas of a winding street through the Harmons block a few years back, I wanted to puke. It looks pretty on paper and renderings but terrible everywhere else. Those large blocks with Harmons, Walmart, Shopko, and the old Furniture Warehouse(Fred Meyer) buildings should have been cut up with streets. Then mix in some housing, commercial and hospitality with retail at the base to add more population that will end up shopping in the area. Taylorsville doesn't have much land left to develop and should start looking at ways to densify to increase its tax base.