1965: Westown Shopping Center: The Granger Mall That Almost Was
Westown Shopping Center: The Granger Mall That Almost Was
June 1965, sixty years ago, marked a moment of great excitement and high hopes for the future of Granger. At a Salt Lake County Planning Commission meeting that summer, Mr. Lester Wade, president of 35/40 Inc., presented an impressive progress report on what was to be one of the most ambitious retail developments in the Intermountain West—the Westown Shopping Center, to be built on a 47-acre site at 3500 South and 4000 West.
This development was envisioned as a 700,000-square-foot regional mall—complete with major department stores, specialty shops, cafes, banks, and even a state-of-the-art total energy system. It would be the largest shopping center in the Intermountain region, costing upwards of $10 million and offering parking for 3,400 vehicles. For many in the fast-growing Granger area, this represented more than a shopping destination—it was the promise of progress, jobs, and identity for the southwest valley.
Among the most exciting announcements was the signing of major leases. Auerbach’s, one of Salt Lake’s oldest and most respected department stores, committed to opening a 169,200-square-foot anchor store—their first expansion outside the downtown location. Their plan included two floors and a basement, with a striking exterior featuring rough stone columns and polished stone detailing. It would be located on the east end of the center.
Also signed on was Woolco, another major anchor tenant, with 121,600 square feet of space. Other confirmed leases included familiar names like Kinney Shoes, Zales Jewelry, Mode-O-Day, Dan Gardner Foodtown, and Zions First National Bank, along with local favorites like Harmon Take Home Cafe and Wally’s Flowers. An artist’s rendering of the future shopping center gave the community a glimpse of a sleek, modern retail experience unlike anything in the area at the time.
Construction was reported to be underway. A gravel pad had been laid for the Woolco store, building permits had been issued, and groundwork was being completed with a $21,000 drainage contract. The project even contracted with the Garrett Company of Los Angeles to provide a total energy system—marking it as a technological pioneer in the region.
It was a bold and beautiful vision.
But history took a different path.
Despite the early momentum, signed leases, and site preparation, the Westown Shopping Center never materialized as originally planned. Whether due to changing market conditions, financing challenges, or shifting commercial development priorities, the dream of Westown gradually faded.
Instead, just a few years later and a few miles east, a new shopping center would rise—Valley Fair Mall, at 3500 South and 2700 West, which officially opened in 1970. With J.C. Penney, ZCMI, and Castletons as anchors, and over 60 original tenants, it fulfilled much of the promise that Westown once held.
Today, the site at 3500 South and 4000 West has transformed over the decades. While Westown never came to be, the legacy of the plan still holds a place in local memory—a reminder of the hopes of a growing community, the ambitions of visionary developers like Pete Harman and Lester Wade, and the many ways Granger and West Valley have pursued progress over the past 60 years.
It was a beautiful dream. And in some ways, that dream helped shape the reality we enjoy today.
