Did I Mention We’re Getting an Outlet Mall?

OK. So for those of you who don’t already know, the area of Lehi in which we live is called Traverse Moutain, and ten years ago it didn’t exist. I guess some time in the early 2000s somebody got the idea to develop the benches between Lehi and Draper, and voila! A whole community was born! The End.

As with all new communities, though, the residential development comes in before the commercial development does. When I first moved here in August of 2008, the nearest grocery store was almost 7 miles away (driving miles). In fact, unless you count the Thanksgiving Point gift shops or Cabela’s sporting goods store (and I do not), the nearest shopping of any kind was also nearly 7 miles away. This was quite a change from my apartment in California, which was located in a spot where there was probably no type of store or restaurant you can think of that was not literally a 150 second drive away. A major shopping mall, a second shopping center across the street from said mall, three movie theaters, multiple furniture/home decor stores, a Best Buy, two Targets, two grocery stores, the OC Performing Arts Center, and dozens of restaurants all within walking distance (not that I ever actually walked… get outta heah!). So going from that to suddenly having the purchase of a gallon of milk turn into a minimum half-hour excursion was something of an adjustment for me. Technically we’re in Lehi, but we’re a few exits north of the center of the city. Add to that the fact that getting that gallon of milk I just mentioned involved driving more than five of those seven miles on a two-lane highway, and sometimes it really felt like the country.

But now, everything has changed! Well, almost. A few months after I moved here, a second grocery store opened up about two miles west of the other one on that same two-lane highway, which put it two miles closer to us. Then, that two-lane highway was expanded into a five-lane highway. And now, finally, an outlet mall that was promised before I even moved here is coming to fruition. And it is RIGHT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD… not down the highway, no.  It’s ON TRAVERSE FREAKING MOUNTAIN.

It’s still under construction, but here are some pictures of what it looks like so far, taken from various vantage points in our neighborhood.

This pic was taken from an empty cul-de-sac in our neighborhood.

Also being built in the area is a building for Adobe (as in Acrobat). It’s a really interesting, modern-looking building.

Here's a faraway shot, taken from the same cul-de-sac where the outlet mall pics were taken.

Here's the view, leaving our neighborhood. As you can see, the building straddles the road we take out to the freeway.

We drive under this thing every day. I sure hope it's sturdy!

For perspective, here’s a shot that includes Adobe, Cabela’s, and the Outlet Mall.

On the far, far right you can see Cabela's. On the far left is the new mall. Adobe is just left of Cabela's. Well, in the picture it is left of Cabela's. In reality, it sits in front of Cabela's. Click pic to enlarge.

Pretty neat, right? But we’re still missing one very important thing, and that’s a grocery store. A grocery store that I could get to without getting on State Road 92 (the two-lane turned five-lane highway), would be a grand addition to Traverse Mountain. How about somewhere here:

Look at all that empty grass near the outlet mall. I envision a Trader Joe's, a Cafe Rio, a Target, a gas station, a froyo shop, a...

So, I guess what I am saying is, everyone should move to Lehi! Opportunities abound! All this, plus a great view of paragliders (I need to get some shots of that).

No official list of retailers coming into the outlet mall has been released, but some Googling revealed these rumored tenants:

Adidas
• Aeropostale
• Banana Republic
• Bass
• Calvin Klein
• Carter’s
• Charlotte Russe
• Chico’s
• Children’s Place
• Coach
• Cole Haan
• GAP
• Gymboree
• Hanes
• Izod
• J. Crew
• Johnny Rockets
• Jones New York
• Journeys
• Kasper
• Le Creuset
• Levi’s
• LOFT
• Nike
• OshKosh B’gosh
• Polo Ralph Lauren
• Reebok
• Samsonite
• Tommy Hilfiger
• Van Heusen
• Vans
• Vitamin World
• Wilson’s Leather
• Zumiez

I also hear that there are supposed to be 52 stores, which would make this list incomplete. I hope that’s true because I am not super excited about any of these particular stores, though I am still glad just to have the outlet mall there, regardless. I also encountered internet rumors that the mall is on track to be finished by August, with a grand opening event scheduled for November. My understanding, though, is that stores will be open for business early fall. I hope that’s true, too.

But not everyone is happy about this outlet mall. More specifically, not everyone is happy about the outlet mall sign — a huge and flashy structure that has not yet been built but has been approved by Lehi City. Thanks to Google, I found this drawing of the approved sign:

The sign will have a huge LED screen with ads that change every ten seconds. Opponents of the sign say it looks “Vegas” and tacky. But the sign won approval after the argument was made that the actual outlet mall is not visible from the freeway, and so an enormous, in-your-face sign is necessary to make people aware of the mall’s existence. Some of the opponents include residents who will be able to see the sign from windows in their house, and who are afraid that the lights will be a disturbance. We will not see the sign from our house, but for those who will, I wonder if they envision something like this happening, though the city has said that the sign must be turned off between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM.

But the biggest opponent of the sign is Adobe! Adobe is foaming at the mouth (so says the internet) about it. It isn’t clear why, but it may have something to do with their views of the valley being obstructed, or more likely, the view of Adobe, which is quite impressive from the freeway, may be blocked by the sign. They fought approval of the sign, and are now appealing.

So that’s what’s new here at Traverse Mountain. I think everyone should come for a visit and come shopping with me. We can load Pookie in the stroller and then stroll on down to the Traverse Mountain Outlets. The walk there is all downhill. The walk back is —

Or, you know, we could drive.