Update: September 1965 — “Two’s a Crowd”

The Battle for West Side Retail Supremacy

Sixty years ago, in September 1965, the west side of Salt Lake Valley stood on the brink of a commercial clash that stunned city planners and left residents wondering: Can two major malls survive just blocks apart?

At the heart of the controversy were two powerful development groups, two major department stores, and one booming suburban area — Granger-Hunter-Kearns. Both parties agreed on one thing: two big shopping centers were too many. But neither was willing to back down.

National retail guidelines suggested a single regional shopping center should serve 100,000 to 300,000 people. By 1985, the entire west side population wasn’t expected to exceed 200,000. So how had Salt Lake County wound up with two massive shopping centers proposed only 13 blocks apart?

The answer lies in a tangled tale of enterprise, zoning law, legal challenges, and quiet political undercurrents.

ZCMI & Doxey-Layton — The First to the Table

The story began around 1961, when developer Graham W. Doxey of the Doxey-Layton Company — already known for Foothill Village — saw the future in the west side. He envisioned a large, regional shopping center at 2700 West and 3500 South, a stretch then zoned strictly for residential development.

Doxey and his team secured design help from Victor Gruen & Associates, the top names in mall architecture. Their plan hinged on one major requirement: a committed anchor department store. Without it, financing and tenant interest would collapse.

After years of talks, Doxey-Layton finally convinced ZCMI — Utah’s oldest and most prestigious department store — to join the project. ZCMI considered several locations (including 4100 South), but by 1965 they fully committed to the Doxey-Layton site. Construction would begin soon, with plans to open by Fall 1967.

But as Doxey-Layton worked through zoning and planning hurdles, they had no idea that a rival vision was taking shape just 13 blocks west.

Pete Harman & Westown — The Surprise Competitor

Pete Harman, the successful restaurateur who helped launch KFC with Colonel Sanders, had quietly assembled his own investor group: the 35–40 Corporation. Their goal? Build an even larger mall — 445,000 square feet — at 4000 West and 3500 South.

Their center, later named Westown, would include tenants like Auerbach’s, Skaggs Drug, and Woolworth. It also promised cutting-edge innovations like a Total Energy system powered by a gas turbine — the first of its kind in a Utah shopping center.

Harman’s site was already zoned for commercial use — giving Westown an advantage. And while Doxey-Layton had been working quietly for years, Westown's public emergence sparked a media storm, legal challenges, and county-wide debates over zoning and fair competition.

“Let the Courts Decide”

By fall of 1965, the competition escalated. ZCMI and Auerbach’s — fierce rivals in downtown Salt Lake — were now anchors of competing suburban malls. Heated public hearings were held. Lawsuits were filed. Residents submitted petitions for and against both centers. And county commissioners were caught in the middle.

The dispute eventually reached the Utah Supreme Court, with each side claiming legal standing, public support, and market dominance.

Despite calls to limit development to a single center, both malls moved forward. ZCMI officially abandoned alternate sites and stood firm with Doxey-Layton. Westown broke ground shortly after.

Legacy of a Retail Showdown

Though neither developer initially believed the west side could support two malls, both forged ahead — reshaping the region’s economy, traffic patterns, and identity for decades.

The 1965 mall battle was more than just a zoning debate. It was a clash between free-market ambition and urban planning, between corporate giants and community voices, and between two competing visions for West Valley’s future.

“Two’s a Crowd” (part 8