Whats happening to the so-called hot spots of retail development in Utah County?
Some of them have slowed or come to a standstill temporarily because the financial markets have undergone more substantial changes in the last 12 months than they’ve ever had in past years in the way properties are financed and the qualifications for getting financing. Our economy is based on confidence. When people are confident, they spend. But when the economy changes and people start to lose confidence, they stop spending, and in turn, business investment dries up and the economy slows. Most of these developers are waiting until credit conditions free up and the economy is back up again. • Very little or no construction activity has been seen so far on highly-touted commercial projects such as John Q. Hammon’s Embassy Suites hotel and convention center in Pleasant Grove, the Fashion Outlets at Traverse Mountain, The Boyer Co.’s Southgate Center in Provo, and University Tower in Provo. In fact, all of these projects were announced in 2007 right before the housing and financial meltd