3/27/23

Dear Cottonwood Heights City Council,

Cottonwood Heights is in need of a town center. Just fifteen minutes North,

Holladay has a prominent central gathering place. It promotes unity and inclusion. With

restaurants and shopping centers, it is the perfect place to spend an evening with the

family. Similar to this, we are proposing a Cottonwood Center on the corner of 2300 E

and Ft. Union BLVD. It will replace the old Hillside Plaza.

The park portion of the new hillside plaza would play a vital role in the

community's use of the center. The current proposal, as seen in the cottonwood heights

journal, does not leave much, if any room for just some open field or even a small

playground area for younger kids to spend time (Goff). With no open space for a

playground or picnic tables, how likely is it that people will actually want to spend time

here? Our proposal however, includes a much more open far northwest corner of the

park, with space for a small playground with picnic tables at the edge as well as an

amphitheater for events such as concerts or even lectures to be held in the summers.

This small change to the proposal would account for a much more free atmosphere,

leaving more open space as well as freeing up parents to actually spend time in the

retail stores or at the food trucks without having to worry about their children. The picnic

tables would provide a space for those same parents to sit and chat while enjoying their

recent purchases from the local businesses in our rent-a-restaurant and food trucks.

The amphitheater also could double as seating space when not being used as an actual

amphitheater. On a similar track, think of all the times that Butlerville days have been

held in the fields behind the middle school, going on 19 years to be precise (Cannon).
How many sports are misplaced for days because they no longer have somewhere to

practice. I for one have felt the lack of an actual community center many times, being

shoved off the fields because Butlerville days are more important than marching

band…right? Not just for two or three days but long before the event actually happens,

fences are being put up, the fields are blocked off, and then after, the trash, it's

everywhere, people don't respect the space because it's just an open field, it doesn't

matter if they just toss their chip bag on the ground, at least so they think. Think of the

broadened opportunities if the marching band could still hold their practices, if cross

country could still run those fields and Butlerville days could happen just a few blocks

over. Plus, people would be more likely to take care of a nicer space, a space with a

playground and an amphitheater and food trucks. Additionally, with the addition of an

amphitheater, think of all the people that could be brought in for lectures or concerts or

any variety of things during that time. So, all in all, the best use of the space would be to

include open space for a park, a playground with picnic tables and an amphitheater to

provide a more free, open area for citizens to use.

We believe that establishing a designated food truck lot in hillside plaza can

provide a variety of food and a unifying family gathering location for a low cost. Along

the west side of the lot, food trucks allow for way more options than for one or two large

chain restaurants to buy out building space. In addition to this, since they are located

outside they create a more social environment for one or two families to split among

many different trucks while still being able to converse with one another and eat

together! They would be an amazing addition to our park spaces by providing quick

access to food when family and friends want to come hang out on the weekends. There
are many communities that have attempted to implement this in the past and have been

successful. For example, SOHO food trucks are located in Holladay Utah. According to

their website, they provide a “diverse range of cuisine, a family friendly atmosphere, a

convenient location, the opportunity to support local businesses or a chance to attend

special events,” (sohofoodpark). This is exactly the type of energy we need to

implement here in Cottonwood Heights. There is currently nowhere in the city where this

type of social landscape is achieved and can deter people who seek a community

environment from wanting to move here. We believe that by including these food trucks

in the hillside plaza lot, we will be able to build the connected family oriented community

that Cottonwood Heights has been working towards.

In addition to food trucks, having storefronts will allow for additional places to eat

and shop as well as providing opportunities for small businesses! Just like downtown

Holladay, there will be local boutiques, restaurants, and other storefronts. According to

the designers of the Holladay town center storefronts, they “create civic identity, define

the “downtown” and provide a gathering place for civic, public, and commercial events,”

(Arcsitio). By placing some restaurants, there will be more foot traffic and overall

community. Also, “A “zero-curb” application allows the pedestrian friendly plaza to be

extended for large community events with a road closure” (Arcsito). This is a perfect

opportunity to invite events to our city between the canyons. By placing the storefronts

along the south east wall, there will be a perfect flow from the food trucks to the park.

The storefronts will be a crucial part of this new build. It will bring citizens to the plaza to

begin with, but the food trucks and park will pull it perfectly together. We propose that

these storefronts will be a great point of the new construction.

 We’re excited to see the new development going forward and hope you will

consider our proposal.

Sincerely,

Katelyn Edgell , Alyssa Gillan , and Kate Sudbury

 Works Cited:

ArcSitio Design.

www.arcsitiodesign.com/projects/instutional_civic,urbandesign_planning/holladay-villag

e.html Accessed 27 Mar. 2023

Cannon, Kelly. “Butlerville Days Still Going Strong after 12 Years | Cottonwood Heights

Journal.” Www.cottonwoodheightsjournal.com, 8 Aug. 2016,

www.cottonwoodheightsjournal.com/2016/08/08/119071/butlerville-days-still-going-stron

g-after-12-years. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.

Goff, Cassie. “Goodbye Reams, Hello Town Center at Hillside Plaza | Cottonwood

Heights Journal.” Www.cottonwoodheightsjournal.com, 28 Mar. 2022,

www.cottonwoodheightsjournal.com/2022/03/28/393759/goodbye-reams-hello-town-cen

ter-at-hillside-plaza. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.

SOHO Food Park - Food Trucks - Restaurant. “Soho Food Park - Food Trucks -

Restaurant.” SOHO Food Park - Food Trucks - Restaurant, sohofoodpark.com/.

Accessed 27 Mar. 2023