- Provo Towne Centre's redevelopment proposal gains traction but faces unresolved issues.
- The $500 million project includes retail spaces and 1,300 apartments and more than 70 townhomes.
- Concerns include townhome density, traffic and impacts on Shady Acres residents.
PROVO — Plans to transform the Provo Towne Centre from an indoor mall to an indoor-outdoor mixed-use development are getting some traction, though officials aren't completely sold on every aspect of the project.
Brixton Capital, which owns the mall and the property of a neighboring mobile home park, is proposing a massive overhaul of the 23-acre location. The $500 million project, in partnership with Provo-based PEG Companies, calls for indoor and outdoor retail, shopping and entertainment, with 1,300 new apartments and 80 new townhomes. A majority of the townhouses, 72, would be built where the Shady Acres mobile home park currently sits. The remaining 11 would be built directly north of the mall.
The developers went before the Provo Planning Commission at its meeting last Wednesday to advance their proposal.
"We're asking for a general plan amendment to allow the zone; we're asking for a zone change that would allow the use; (and) we're asking for a concept site plan (approval)," said Robert Schmidt, managing director at PEG Companies.
The commission voted unanimously in favor of a positive recommendation to the Provo City Council for the developer's general plan amendment and a zone map change to interim transit-oriented development,; though commissioners weren't too keen about the townhome portion of the plan.
Provo's interim transit-oriented development zone is intended to support mixed-use, high-density development near transit hubs. Commissioners felt the townhomes may not meet the zone's intended use and suggested that developers rethink that aspect or remove it from the high-density zone.
However, the planning commission was not ready to forward an approval of the developer's concept site plan to the City Council. They voted 6-2 to continue the item so that developers can revise it to address concerns about traffic, pedestrian walkability and impacts that current residents who live in Shady Acres mobile home park would face.
Developers said they've been working with the city for the past 18 months on a proposed plan to revitalize what they call a "very much underutilized site."
"We can continue down the road, which would propose what is not a viable orientation of retail for the future, or we can decide that this is a vision that is more optimal," said Justin Long, project executive at Brixton Capital.
Renderings from the project include a multilevel mall with exterior retail spaces with an outdoor plaza where the current mall's rotunda sits, as well as a proposed roundabout.
Existing mall tenants Target, JCPenney, and the Cinemark movie theater would remain.
Developers said reimagining the Provo Towne Centre is one way to address the challenges that indoor malls are facing, amid a shift in consumer patterns away from traditional retail environments.
A Capital One Shopping Research report from December 2025 indicates that of approximately 1,200 malls currently operating across the United States, more than 300 could close within the next two years. It also suggested that 87% of large malls nationwide could close over the next decade.
While the intentions of Brixton Capital and PEG Companies are to bring new energy to Provo's East Bay, one of the biggest concerns raised by the planning commission and those who spoke during Wednesday's public comment period was what the future plan would mean for residents of the nearby mobile home park.
If the project moves forward, Long said mobile home residents would be given a notice of up to 18 months to find another place to go.
A 'sense of charm'
Those who spoke during the meeting's public comment period expressed concerns about losing the mall's character in its present form and about nearby mobile home park residents being forced out of their homes.
Madison Nelson, a Provo resident, argued that the current mall is not declining in popularity and believes it's doing the exact opposite due to stores like the Nerdy Wolf and We Geek Together.
"My husband and I went from barely knowing this mall existed at all to visiting the mall every week for the past three years. And I know that we're not the only ones," she said,
Joshua Hardy, a Pleasant Grove resident who works with a Provo volunteer group, spoke against the proposed project, citing the importance of maintaining the mall's unique charm and community space.
"It's a haven for local entrepreneurs, and they've had the chance to grow their businesses, and we've loved to visit them and shop there. I worry that by trying to attract more spaces for perhaps some Fortune 500 companies, we might lose a great sense of charm," he said.
Clint Knapp, a homeowner in the area and the owner of a store inside the mall, didn't oppose the project but expressed concerns about a potential rise in crime and about having to move his business.
"I would kindly ask them all to allow me adequate time to relocate my business and give me more information about when it's going to happen and details so I can plan other than that," he said. "You know, I think this could be a good thing for the community."
The City Council will consider the rezoning proposal at its April 14 meeting. Pending a thumbs-up from the council, the developers will come back to the planning commission with a revised concept plan.
