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Renting an Apartment in West Jordan
What You Should Know
West Jordan is a city and a suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of
Utah. As of the 2000 Census, the city had a population of 68,336; by 2005, West
Jordan had an estimated population of 91,444, placing it as the fourth most
populated in the state.
The city occupies the southwest end of the Salt Lake Valley at an elevation of
4,330 feet (1,320 m). The valley is surrounded by mountains that rise
dramatically to an elevation of 11,752 feet (3,582 m). Named after the nearby
Jordan River, the limits of the city begin on the river's western bank and end
in the eastern foothills of the Oquirrh Mountains, where Kennecott Copper Mine,
the world's largest man-made excavation, is located.
Settled by Mormons in the mid-19th century, mainly to provide natural resources
and military defenses for Salt Lake City, the city has developed into its own
regional center in the 21st century. Currently the city has four major retail
centers; Jordan Landing is one of the largest mixed-use planned developments in
the Intermountain West.
Companies headquartered in West Jordan include Wasatch Software, Cyprus Credit
Union, Mountain America Credit Union, and Dunford Bakeries. Corporations with
regional centers in the city are Sysco, Kraftmaid, Balkamp, Fairchild
Semiconductor, and Dannon Yogurt Company. West Jordan is the base of the Utah
Army National Guard and home to the state's second-largest courthouse. The city
has one major hospital, Jordan Valley, and a campus of Salt Lake Community
College, which is planned to become the main campus upon completion in 2020.
City landmarks include the historic Sugar Factory, built in 1916, Gardner
Village, established in 1850, and Salt Lake City Municipal 2 Airport, commonly
referred to as "Airport #2", Salt Lake County's regional airport for smaller
passenger planes.
History
Location of West Jordan, Utah
West Jordan received its name from Mormon settlers who entered the Salt Lake
Valley in 1847 under the leadership of their prophet, Brigham Young. These first
European-Americans thought of the area to be their Zion, or Holy Land, and thus
named the river flowing west of their first settlement, Salt Lake City, the
Western Jordan, a nod to the River Jordan in Palestine. The name was later
simplified to "Jordan River". Like its Middle Eastern namesake, the Jordan River
flows from a fresh water lake (Utah Lake) to an inland salt sea (Great Salt
Lake). West Jordan was founded around 1849 on the western banks of the Jordan
River.
One of the first sawmills in the area was built in 1850 in the city by Archibald
Gardner. Archibald Gardner was a devout Mormon whose legacy can still be seen in
modern West Jordan. His collection of now historic mills and houses have been
renovated into a specialty shopping district known as Gardner Village.
Early West Jordan relied primarily on agriculture, mills, and mining activity to
form the base of its economy. The first leather tannery west of the Mississippi
River was constructed in the city in 1851.
Today, West Jordan is one of the fastest growing cities in Utah. Growth has been
phenomonal, beginning in the 1970s and continuing unabated since. The population
grew from 4,221 in 1970 to 27,327 in 1980, 42,892 in 1990, and 68,336 in 2000,
reaching 89,011 according to 2004 Census estimates. Sears chose the city as its
first Sears Grand location, a new store concept, which opened its doors in 2003
at the Jordan Landing shopping center. Transportation issues along with school
overcrowding are the city’s top concerns as it attempts to deal with rapid
population growth.
Current major construction projects include the completion of Jordan Landing, a
new main campus for the Salt Lake Community College, the expansion of Jordan
Valley Hospital, and Midvale's current transit-oriented development on the east
border in the Jordan River bed. Future plans for the city include the Mountain
View Corridor freeway and the "Mid-Jordan" UTA TRAX light rail line.
Old downtown West Jordan is planned to be reconstructed as a transit-oriented
development and called "Briarwood". The plans call for an expanded Main Park, a
history museum, conversion of the Sugar Factory into a playhouse, an indoor
recreation center, a senior center, and a large courthouse to serve the Utah
State Third District. The second phase calls for the demolition of a dilapidated
commercial area, to be replaced by six-story buildings housing a performing arts
center, a large library, a hotel, an education center, a conference center,
retail and office space, a trail linking to Gardner Village and the Jordan River
trail, and a cultural pavilion to house the planned light rail station.
Geography
West Jordan is located at 40°36′23″N, 111°58′34″W (40.606385, -111.976217)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 80.0
km˛ (30.9 mi˛), all land.
West Jordan is bordered on the west by the Oquirrh Mountains and on the east by
the Jordan River. The western neighborhoods of Welby, Copper Hills, and Jordan
Hills are rapidly-growing regions located along the lower slopes of the eastern
Oquirrh Mountains. The fastest development is currently taking place between
4800 West and Utah State Route 111, a highway that traverses the slopes of the
Oquirrh Mountains.
The city lies approximately 18 miles southwest of downtown Salt Lake City. The
city is bordered on the north by Taylorsville and Kearns, on the south by South
Jordan, on the east by Sandy, Murray and Midvale, on the west by Copperton, and
on the extreme northwestern corner by West Valley City.
Transportation
Interstate 15, a ten-lane freeway, is located east of the city limits, providing
access from the north and south, while Interstate 215, an eight-lane beltway, is
located northeast of the city. Bangerter Highway (Utah State Route 154), an
expressway, traverses the center of the city, just east of Airport #2 and the
Jordan Landing shopping center. A ten-lane freeway in the Mountain View Corridor
is planned to have three exits in the city and run north-south at 5600 West. The
road is currently undergoing environmental review and no date for completion has
been set.
New Bingham Highway, mostly a four-lane road, begins as 7720 South at State
Street (U.S. Route 89) in Midvale, curves into 7800 South as it enters the city,
and finally heads southwest to end at Copperton. Redwood Road (Utah State Route
68), a six-lane road, runs through the eastern portion of the city. In the far
western extremes of the city, Utah State Route 111, a two-lane road, runs
through the rural area along the foothills. However, development between SR-111
and 4800 West is continuing rapidly.
West Jordan is served by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) bus system, with most
lines running every 30 minutes during peak hours and every hour the rest of the
day. UTA is also planning to construct a new TRAX light rail line, dubbed the
"Mid-Jordan Line", which will run in an existing railroad corridor and serve the
city with six stations. The line, which will terminate at the Daybreak Community
in South Jordan, is expected to be completed in 2009.
Transportation has been a major issue in city politics. During the past 30 years
the city has expanded rapidly from about 4,000 in 1970 to almost 100,000 in
2005, outstripping the capacity of roadways and infrastructure. At City Council
meetings it has been common for residents, particularly those on the western
edge of the city, to complain about having one-hour commutes to downtown Salt
Lake City, a distance of 26 miles. The mayor has blamed this situation on the
fact that the city is the most populated in the state that is not directly
served by a freeway.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 68,336 people, 18,897 households, and
16,232 families residing in the city. The population density was 853.9/km˛
(2,211.3/mi˛). There were 19,597 housing units at an average density of
244.9/km˛ (634.2/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city was 88.76% White, 0.64%
African American, 0.56% Native American, 2.04% Asian, 0.94% Pacific Islander,
4.76% from other races, and 2.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of
any race were 10.07% of the population.
There were 18,897 households out of which 57.3% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 72.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 14.1% were non-families. 10.2% of all
households were made up of individuals and 2.0% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.60 and the average
family size was 3.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 37.8% under the age of 18, 12.2%
from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 14.8% from 45 to 64, and 3.2% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there
were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $55,794, and the median income
for a family was $57,818. Males had a median income of $38,141 versus $26,391
for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,221. About 4.1% of
families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1%
of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
Some Things to Consider When Looking for an Apartment...
When searching for a new apartment make sure to take your time to think
through what are the most important things to you in an apartment and plan your
search based on those priorities. Here are some things to consider when planning
your move:
1. Consider the areas where you would like to live
* What is the crime rate?
* If you have children - what rating does the local school system have?
* Is there area convenient shopping, health and recreation services in the area?
2. Make a list of your housing priorities
* Do you have pets?
* Do you need parking?
* Do you need to be on the ground floor?
* What amenities are important to you - swimming pool, fitness room, in unit
laundry?
3. Evaluate the building
* What is the condition of the unit and building?
* Are the grounds maintained?
* Are windows, steps, and railings in good condition?
* View the property at night. Is it safe and well lit?
4. The security of the property
* Are there security service? When is the guard on duty?
* Does the building have controlled access?
* Does each unit have secure door and window locks?
5. Talk to the neighbors
* Ask other residents whether they are satisfied with the building.
6. Amenities
* Who is allowed to use the amenities?
* When are they open?
* Are the fees charged to use those facilities included in rent?
7. Ask about Utilities
* Does the owner or tenant pay the utility bills?
* Are any utilities included with monthly rent?
* Do units have separate thermostats to control heat and air conditioning?
8. Review the lease
* How much notice must you give before moving out?
* Can the rent be increased? If so, by how much and how often?
* Are pets allowed?
* What is the security deposit and cleaning costs upon move out?
* What is the responsibility of tenants for damage to property?
* Is there a penalty for breaking a lease?
9. Information too bring to a lease signing
* Credit Report
* Pay stubs/tax returns
* Reference
* Application
More Apartment Information
An apartment (or flat in Britain and most other Commonwealth countries) is a
self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building. Apartments
may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by tenants).
Some apartment-dwellers own their apartments, either as co-ops, in which the
residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or
in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the
public spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but
large older houses are sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment
connotes a residential unit or section in a building. Apartment building owners,
lessors, or managers often use the more general word units to refer to
apartments. Units can be used to refer to rental business suites as well as
residential apartments. When there is no tenant occupying an apartment, the
lessor is said to have a vacancy. For apartment lessors, each vacancy represents
a loss of income from rent-paying tenants for the time the apartment is vacant
(i.e., unoccupied). Lessors' objectives are often to minimize the vacancy rate
for their units. The owner of the apartment typically transfers possession to
the occupant by giving him/her the key to the apartment entrance door and any
other keys need to live there, such as a common key to the building or any other
common areas, and an individual unit mailbox key. When the occupant move out,
these keys should typically be returned to the owner.
Apartments can be classified into several types. Studio, efficiency, bed-sit, or
bachelor apartments tend to be the smallest apartments with the cheapest rents
in a given area. These kinds of apartment usually consist mainly of a large room
which is the living, dining, and bedroom combined. There are usually kitchen
facilities as part of this central room, but the bathroom is its own smaller
separate room. Moving up from the efficiencies are one-bedroom apartments where
one bedroom is a separate room from the rest of the apartment. Then there are
two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc. apartments. Small apartments often have only
one entrance/exit. Large apartments often have two entrances/exits, perhaps a
door in the front and another in the back. Depending on the building design, the
entrance/exit doors may be directly to the outside or to a common area inside,
such as a hallway. Depending on location, apartments may be available for rent
furnished with furniture or unfurnished into which a tenant usually moves in
with his/her own furniture. Permanent carpeting is often included in an
apartment.
Laundry facilities are usually kept in a separate area accessible to all the
tenants in the building. Depending on when the building was built and the design
of the building, utilities such as water, heating, and electric may be common
for all the apartments in the building or separate for each apartment and billed
separately to each tenant (however, many areas in the US have ruled it illegal
to split a water bill among all the tenants, especially if a pool is on the
premises). Outlets for connection to telephones are typically included in
apartments. Telephone service is optional and is practically always billed
separately from the rent payments. Cable television and similar amenities are
extra also. Parking space, air conditioner, and extra storage space may or may
not be included with an apartment. Rental leases often limit the maximum number
of people who can reside in each apartment. On or around the ground floor of the
apartment building, a series of mailboxes are typically kept in a location
accessible to the public and, thus, to the letter-carrier too. Every unit
typically gets its own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large
apartment buildings with a full-time staff may take mail from the mailman and
provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or some other location
accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a doorbell) for
each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such as two- or
three-flats, or even four-flats, garbage is often disposed of in trash
containers similar to those used at houses. In larger buildings, garbage is
often collected in a common trash bin or dumpster. For cleanliness or minimizing
noise, many lessors will place restrictions on tenants regarding keeping pets in
an apartment.
In some parts of the world, the word apartment is used generally to refer to a
new purpose-built self-contained residential unit in a building, whereas the
word flat means a converted self-contained unit in an older building. An
industrial, warehouse, or commercial space converted to an apartment is commonly
called a loft.
When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's family
member, the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny flat, though
these (sometimes illegally) created units are often occupied by ordinary renters
rather than family members. In Canada these suites are commonly located in the
basements of houses and are therefore normally called basement suites.
Staying in privately owned apartments rather than in a hotel is quickly becoming
popular with travelers.