IVINS — At its meeting last Thursday, the Ivins City Council approved preliminary plans for two major projects in the city: The Boardwalk Village at Black Desert Resort and The Retreat commercial, resort and short-term rental complex at 400 South and Puerto Drive.
The approval for The Resort came after an opponent of the project on the council said compromises made by the developers of the project were sufficient, though he still voted against it in a 4-1 vote.
The Boardwalk Village, which will be the retail and commercial complex with underground parking garages on the front side of the resort nearest to the roundabout on Snow Canyon Parkway, was approved in a unanimous 5-0 vote.
The Retreat was the subject of a failed lawsuit by a group of citizens known as The Defenders of Greater Ivins who sought to overturn the initial rezoning of the 113 acres of land owned by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration – known as SITLA – that is being developed by Rize Capital.
City Council member Mike Scott said he was appreciative of changes in Rize Capital’s plans for the site including sufficient parking while still saving 7 acres of lava rock, river bed and outcroppings as parkland that will be open to the public.
Ultimately, Scott said his “no” vote – the only one on the council – came because of an increase in the number of residential units in the complex.
“I’m still not happy with the bump from 249 to 393 units, but happy with what you’ve offered here and agreed to compromise on,” Scott said.
Fellow council member Lance Anderson said, however, that the increase in the number of people did not mean an increase in the number of residents, as some larger units were being divided into two units.
“We’re going from four-bedroom units to two-bedroom units,” Anderson said. “We’re not really increasing the number of people in the units.”
Among the conditions placed by the council on the approval of Rize Capital’s plans is that an extension of 400 South to the east planned to be built with the project will be closed to construction traffic.
Ivins Public Works Director Chuck Gillette told St. George News that the extension of 400 South will be a way to reduce traffic on Center Street.
“We have required it to be part of the first phase of SITLA project,” Gillette said. “With it being a developer-driven project, timing is totally in the hands of the developer. So it could be done next year, or it could be done in five or 10 years. Who knows?”
Boardwalk Village
Receiving a unanimous “yes” vote from the council on Thursday was Black Desert Resort’s preliminary plan for its Boardwalk Village – the last piece of the large resort project that will be home to PGA and LPGA tournaments starting next year.
The Boardwalk Village will be an outdoor mall similar to Town Square in Las Vegas or The Gateway in Salt Lake City with dozens of retail spaces and restaurants.
Scott said he welcomed that the village will still be below Ivins’ height limit for retail buildings.
“The plus is it’s one-story buildings with a low profile,” he said.
In detailing the Boardwalk Village, Black Desert Resort/Enlaw LLC Managing Director Patrick Manning noted to the council that it won’t be completed in time for the first professional tournaments next year.
However, in the last week or so, the large cranes that dominated the skyline there have come down as the hotel and resort complex buildings have been topped off.
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