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Show Cedar Redevelopment Agency publishes planning booklet By BRUCE LEE Record Editor The Cedar City Redevelopment Agency has released an informational booklet concerning the group's efforts, goals and plans. The booklet was put together by the Gardner Partnership in Cedar City which is acting as a consultant for the Agency and a special advisory committee, com-mittee, and represents and capsulizes the work of about 18 months. Of prime importance in the booklet are statements concerning the purpose and need for the Agency. "In recent years, the lower costs of the undeveloped commercial lands have attracted new business away from the downtown. As a result, the downtown down-town is experiencing increasingly competition from , other com- . mercial areas." said the booklet. "The potential threat of new suburban shopping centers promises even more difficulty for the downtown. The decline of the downtown would not only be a loss to the merchants in terms of income and capital investment, but would also be a loss to the community as a whole. ... "In response to these problems, a committee of merchants and community com-munity members was formed to study ways to strengthen the economic base of the downtown," it continued. The Agency estimates the current outflow of Cedar City shoppers dollars being spent outside the City totals $7.4 million. The booklet comments that although it would be impractical to believe that all that money could be "captured," a large amount certainly could. "A prescription for downtown development" contained in the booklet pinpoints five areas of potential work : downtown improvements, a special events center, a new downtown shopping shop-ping complex, a city and county governmental complex and a state governmental complex. Downtown improvements would include general upgrading of existing downtown store fronts and rear entries ; general upgrading of existing parking, access to stores and vehicular circulation cir-culation patterns; and improvements to the pedestrian traffic downtown. A long-range plan for a 40,000 to 50,000 square foot special events center would provide several services, including seating for 5.000 at sporting events and flat-floor exhibition space. It would be located at 100 West and Harding Avenue. The hoped-for new downtown shopping complex would include a major anchor department store of 35,000 to 40,000 square feet, four or five small shops and landscaped parking. Plans currently call for it to be at the east end of Lincoln Avenue where JcnsenLinenSnppJytuui the old County courthouse are currently located. The city and county complex is a key part of the overall plan, partly because it would need to be completed before the old courthouse and jail could be torn down to make way for the downtown shopping complex. It will include a City building of approximately ap-proximately 20,000 square feet; a County Hall of Justice of approximately 25,000 square feet to house a new jail, see PLAN on page A3 tlm continued from page A 1 state and local courts, some administrative ad-ministrative offices and combined City police and County sheriff's offices; and parking for employees and the public. Plans call for it to be located on the northeast corner of 100 East and Center streets. The state government center would Ixi a complex of 45,000 to 50,000 square feet of offices, included the youth services center, social services, job service and other state services. "The development of public parking, . and general public improvements to the downtown, such as sidewalk paving, landscaping, signage and burial of. overhead utilities are estimated to cost up to $li.4 million," said the report. This figure does not include the ; building of the special events center or the government complexes. Land acquisition for the downtown area improvements are estimated at $1.8 million and improvements themselves arc estimated at $1.6 million. These will be funded by lax increment in-crement linancing and special improvement im-provement bonds. The special improvement bonds will be paid for by the businessmen whose stores and buildings will be improved. The tax increment financing included future taxes Iromn the designated 'redevelopment area above current levels b being allocated to the City, the County and the Iron County School District. |