December 1964: A Bid Lost, — ZCMI Denied at 4100 South

December 1964: A Bid Lost, A Legacy Shifted — ZCMI Denied at 4100 South

Sixty years ago, in December 1964, a defining moment in the commercial development of the southwest Salt Lake Valley quietly unfolded. A bid by ZCMI (Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution)—Utah’s beloved department store chain—to anchor a new regional shopping mall at 4100 South and 2700 West was denied in a narrow 2–1 vote by the Salt Lake County Commission.

Commissioner Edwin Q. Cannon stood in favor of the proposal, but was overruled by Commissioners C.W. Brady and Marvin G. Jenson, who opposed not only the petition but even the opportunity for a public hearing. Their decision effectively stopped the ZCMI-backed project in its tracks.

At the time, momentum was already building around a competing proposal. The 35-40 Corporation, led by Lester Wade and Leon “Pete” Harman, had previously received approval to develop a major shopping center at 3500 South and 4000 West. Their development—soon to be called Westown Shopping Center—had secured prime acreage, early lease commitments, and the backing of Salt Lake City financial institutions.

Though the ZCMI bid failed in December 1964, it wouldn’t be the end of large-scale retail development for the 2700 West area. Eight years later, in the early 1970s, construction would begin on what would become the Valley Fair Mall, just a few blocks east at 3500 South and 2700 West—with ZCMI ultimately becoming one of its cornerstone tenants.

The shifting tides of these decisions shaped the west side’s economic map for decades to come. Had the 1964 vote gone differently, the area’s commercial centers may have looked very different. But instead, Westown Shopping Center rose first at 4000 West, and eventually, Valley Fair Mall followed, bringing a second wave of retail expansion that would help anchor the newly emerging West Valley City.

These events highlight how a single vote, a delayed plan, or a lost bid can pivot the trajectory of an entire region. And yet, as history would show, both sites—4000 West and 2700 West—would go on to play essential roles in the growth and identity of this community.