Valley Fair Mall, West Valley City, Utah, Nice Rebuild, But They Missed The Boat

I have spent the better part of my 38 years in West Valley City. The city has always been plagued with an "image crisis." Yes they are the second largest city in Utah, but they have an unshakable reputation of being "Ghetto" and slightly lower than the "norm."

So the "geniuses" at the West Valley Planning Commission, decide to overhaul the mall district. The structures themslves are new and attractive- way to go guys- you created a fabulous facade. Problem is, I just visited the mall district today for a couple hours, Although I was only mildly impressed with the rebuild efforts, I still felt a high level of insecurity. I felt rather unsafe and vunerable. I noticed that the merchants associated to the mall complex were rather low-end to mediocre merchants. The highest-end retailer being Macy's (not too impressive). When your putting "anchor" stores such as Ross, and the most elegant resturaunt being Olive Garden, and then are peppered with a pleothera of cell phone retailers of all sorts, you are going to still attract the same unsavory clientele that has plagued West Valley.

I suppose It may have been quite a "hard sell" to get some "high end" retailers in the area , given the local demographic. But I also know that there is a tried and true psychological phenomenon, that WE BECOME LIKE WHO WE ASSOCIATE WITH. I am confident that if West Valley seriously wanted to overhaul it's image, it needs desparately to bring in high-end retailers and resturaunts. West Valley and all those involved spent a vast amount of money to bring Trax into the mall district. What is my motivation to hop on a Trax train from downtown to the West Valley mall complex? NONE. It's all mid to low-end merchants, I feel unsafe there.

I'm sorry West Valley, you seriously missed the boat here. As a side note, I personally had the opportunity in 2002 after the passing of mayor Gerald Wright to become the new mayor of West Valley [I was one of 12 candidates, my name is Daniel Muhlestein]. My vision for West Valley would have been to set the bar much higher than it has been. The "powers that be" have chosen their fate.