Foothill Village has been at 1400 S. Foothill Drive since 1954. Why did its owner spend part of this decade tearing out a 30,000-square-foot building at the back of the property?
That space is now a plaza, a colorful staircase and a path down into Curtis Park. The center now has a second front door facing a park and a residential street, and nearly every change of the last few years makes more sense from that side. If you live in Yalecrest and still think of Foothill Village as the Dan's Fresh Market run, the center has changed more than any single new restaurant shows.
The old Stein Mart corner is now the entrance
Asana Partners bought Foothill Village in 2021. In a June 2026 release, the company said a 30,000-square-foot enclosed space was removed "to make way for a large plaza and an access point for nearby residents." That space was the former Stein Mart. In its 2021 acquisition announcement, Asana said it planned to break that box up into smaller shops and dining around an outdoor amenity.
The East Bench Community Council reported the result from the neighborhood's side. After an Asana representative attended its January 2026 meeting, the council wrote that the former Stein Mart corner "is now opened up, allowing pedestrians to access the shopping center from the street located behind (to the west) of the building." The same update describes a plaza with seating and gathering areas, lined with retail and restaurant space, that leads to a colorful walkway and stairs with ADA access into Curtis Park. It also says the existing trees were kept and new ones planted.
The remodel also covered the parts you see from a car. Asana says it refinished the façades and added better lighting and new wayfinding signs in the parking areas. According to the council, the old façades had been damaged by snow. As of January 2026, the council said the underground garage was being repaired and getting more lighting for safety, and that an elevator was planned to connect it to the plaza.
Part of the park was once part of the center
Asana's park connection makes more sense once you know some property history. At a November 7, 2024 Salt Lake City board meeting, city staff explained that Curtis Park was once owned by the shopping center's ownership. A portion was given to the city in the 1980s, and the center's owner still holds part of the park.
The proposal in those minutes had three parts. The first was a staircase on the center's own property. The second was new sidewalks through Curtis Park. The third was a second staircase down to 2200 East, with an existing curb cut already lined up with the planned stairs. The minutes add that the donation agreement under discussion covered only the staircase.
Salt Lake City's Public Lands Department announced that Curtis Park, at 1421 S. 2000 E., would close for about 12 weeks while the connection was built. The city's list of features includes:
- A colorful, community-oriented staircase
- ADA-accessible pathways
- Built-in seating walls and gathering areas
- New tree plantings and landscaping
- Better pedestrian connections between the park, the public right-of-way at 2200 East and Foothill Village
Foothill Village marked the finish on Saturday, July 18, 2026, with Camp Foothill. The event was billed as the grand opening of "our brand-new community space leading to Curtis Park." For the closure period, the city suggested other District 6 parks, including Laird Park at 1185 S. 1800 E. and Sunnyside Park at 1735 Sunnyside Ave. Both are familiar names to anyone who walks Yalecrest.
A 2022 target that slipped to mid-2026
The plan took far longer than first announced. In its August 2021 release, Asana said work would start "next spring" and finish by the end of 2022. The last piece was the park connection, and it opened about three and a half years after that target.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| August 2021 | Asana announces purchase, targets completion by end of 2022 |
| October 15, 2024 | Flower Child opens its first Utah location |
| November 7, 2024 | City board minutes still describe the center as under construction |
| December 14, 2024 | Slice House by Tony Gemignani opens, Utah's first |
| April 3, 2025 | City staff report contractors ready to build the Curtis Park improvements |
| February 2026 | [solidcore] opens |
| February 15, 2026 | Final park-connection phase scheduled to begin, about three months of work |
| March 2026 | Mo' Bettahs opens |
| June 3, 2026 | JD Flannel Donuts & Coffee opens its first Utah shop |
| July 18, 2026 | Camp Foothill grand opening of the Curtis Park space |
The tenant dates line up with the construction. The first-in-Utah restaurants came while the center was still under construction, and the second wave arrived in 2026 as the plaza neared completion.
What the plaza was built to hold
Asana says the structural work made room for "smaller, neighborhood-serving shops and dining surrounding the new plaza." The center now lists more than 50 tenants across two levels, with Dan's Fresh Market as the anchor.
The first arrivals were brands new to Utah. Gastronomic SLC reported that Flower Child, which serves healthy fare, opened its first Utah location here on October 15, 2024. According to the Salt Lake Chamber, Slice House by Tony Gemignani opened on December 14, 2024, also as the first in the state. The community council's January 2026 update also lists A Line Boutique, which offers personal stylists, a Paddywax candle-making workshop, the Face Foundrie facial bar, and a Shake Shack in the former Chedda Burger space.
The 2026 group skews toward everyday stops. [solidcore] opened in February, Mo' Bettahs in March, and JD Flannel Donuts & Coffee on June 3, which Asana says is the brand's first Utah outpost. Zao Asian Café was scheduled for the third quarter. Its Foothill location page now lists 1400 S. Foothill Drive, Suite 152, with regular operating hours.
Coffee and doughnuts in the morning, a pilates class, and a quick Hawaiian lunch are all short visits. The Curtis Park side of the center, with its seating walls, is set up for exactly those trips. Asana's release also promises "community programming in the open space year-round."
Two storefronts still listed as coming soon
Two tenants announced in June still had not posted opening dates in mid-October:
- Magnolia Bakery. The New York bakery opened its first Utah store in Holladay in June 2026, KSL reported. The Foothill Village store will be its second, in a 1,500-square-foot space. The bakery's own openings page still says "Opening Fall 2026!" and gives no specific day.
- MD Hyperbaric. Its Foothill location page shows "Coming Soon" and "Opening Fall 2026." It says the opening date will be shared once confirmed.
The center's events page has nothing listed for November or December yet. Its most recent fall event was Fall Fest in October 2025.
The 2200 East issues aren't settled
A pedestrian entrance on the park side also brings people and cars onto the streets around it. The East Bench Community Council's January 2026 update listed two concerns raised by nearby residents. The first was more traffic and street parking along 2200 East. For parking violations such as cars left at crosswalks, the mayor's liaison recommended calling parking enforcement at 801-535-6628. The second was that the southeast entrance has no sidewalk, and the council said possible fixes were being studied.
The council update also says the Curtis Park playground will stay as it is for now, while Asana works with area residents on a city CIP application to fund future upgrades. The staircase itself began with a neighbor. The 2024 minutes trace the project to a constituent's CIP application listing several park improvements, and they say the staircase was the only item covered by the donation agreement.
The next public place to ask about any of this is the District 6 Town Hall, scheduled for December 2, 2026, at Anderson Foothill Library. The council office describes it as an evening of city presentations followed by time for questions and concerns.
Foothill Village's new park-side entrance is part of everyday East Bench life, and we follow changes like this one closely. If you'd like to talk through how the center and the streets around it fit into your plans, Whitney Foley Real Estate is happy to walk through it with you. Let's find your perfect property.
