Spanish Fork and surrounding communities have a new main road

Spanish Fork has been labeled one of the best cities in Utah to raise a family, in fact in a national study Spanish Fork ranked in the top 50. The city has seen a significant amount of growth over the last 10 years and is expecting much more.

For landowners in southern Utah County, a project like the Canyon Creek Parkway opens up opportunity. We have asked Brooke Glaittli, with the Utah Land Group, how a main traffic corridor affects surrounding landowners:

“New transportation corridors are a great opportunity for landowners that have been considering selling to take advantage of the new improvements and increased desirability. I have seen other communities that had been overlooked for decade’s spring to life and the property surrounding increase in value. The Canyon Creek Parkway is a much needed amenity to Southern Utah County”.

The Canyon Creek Parkway has been in the works for almost a decade, it is now open. City and zoning officials hosted a ceremony at the intersection of Canyon Creek Parkway and Marketplace Drive, which Mike Mendenhall, member of the city council, said is the “intersection of progress and planning.”

“This intersection in commercial retail development as a whole represents the best kind of success when public and private entities work and plan together for the overall economic vitality of a community,” Mendenhall said.

The main purpose behind the road project was to bring commercial and retail growth to the Spanish Fork area.

“It means that there are more options to spend our hard-earned dollar locally, keeping our taxes low,” Mendenhall said. “It means more jobs in the private industry, for us and our posterity.”

There are numerous developments taking shape around the new Canyon Creek Parkway, including Walmart, which is scheduled to be open in March. A new Intermountain Healthcare hospital will sit on 65 acres. Residents will soon be able to enjoy new restaurants, retail stores and shopping centers.

2.5 miles of road were opened recently, according to Mendenhall, with another .8 miles to be constructed in the near future. In cooperation with Springville, Canyon Creek Parkway runs into the city, and eventually, will parallel Interstate 15 all the way into Provo. Another new road, dubbed Spanish Fork Parkway, is currently under construction, which will run to Salem.

These roads will provide a convenient way to go to and from South County to Central County without driving on I-15. A new exit will be added near 2700 North and I-15 in Spanish Fork.

Projects like these are no easy feat. Richard Mendenhall, a project developer with WPI, said the Canyon Creek Parkway overcame many hurdles.

“Historically, this

[area] has been best known as being the dump between Springville and Spanish Fork,” he said. “All of this has come together in a public-private partnership with Spanish Fork City, who was willing to invest in the vision we shared to bring us to this point.”

Spanish Fork Mayor Steve Leifson said as a city, it’s exciting to see development, which he equates to be similar to the development in Lehi, take place in what was once a small town.

“It’s been frustrating at times,” he said. “But we’re excited for everything that’s happening here in Spanish Fork.”

“We have the best citizens,” he said. “My goal as the mayor of Spanish Fork is to have Spanish Fork be a place where you can stay here, shop, entertain, recreate and do everything. You don’t have to leave. You can stay right here.”

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Brooke Glaittli specializes in land sales with the Utah Land Group, and has almost 10 years of land experience. The Utah Land Group specializes in residential land brokerage and development services in Utah. Leverage their expertise in land development, entitlements and residential real estate to facilitate successful transactions for all land-related assets from raw unapproved land to finished vacant lots.