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Farmington » The once-stalled Station Park development in Davis County is back on track — in a big way.

After a two-year delay in the development getting off the ground, a 70,000-square-foot Harmons grocery store opened in May. A 42,000-square-foot Ross apparel store and a Cinemark theater with 14 screens are set to open next month.

There's more. Sporting goods store Sports Authority and furniture retailer Home Goods are planning grand openings in August, followed by Famous Footwear, Sally Beauty, Ulta, Marshalls and a Chase bank office in October.

The 67-acre shopping center, being built by Los-Angeles developer CenterCal Properties, is going up at the convergence of Interstate 15, Legacy Parkway and FrontRunner commuter-rail station. Unlike a traditional enclosed mall, Station Park will have more of a look and feel of the open-air shopping center The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City.

"Over time, many retail developments have become boring," said Fred Bruning, CenterCal CEO. "The idea in Farmington is to create something different, with a 'wow' factor."

CenterCal credits family-owned Utah grocery chain Harmons for breaking a logjam created by the nation's economic downturn. That was when many retailers were hesitant to open new locations, and others scaled back or went out of business.

But the Utah-based Harmons chain elected to move forward on its new store late last year, breaking ground in September and creating a solid anchor.

The newest Harmons is a large store with a deli that sells chef-prepared entrees, a floral department, pharmacy, credit union, classrooms for cooking schools and an upscale seating area.

In addition to the retail outlets, Station Park also will include office space and a hotel, as well as more than one dozen restaurants (none have yet been publicly announced), a spa, gym and public areas, including a playground, park, a water fountain and an ice rink.

"We wanted to create a gathering place," said Bruning of CenterCal Properties.

Bob Harmon of Harmons said the Farmington store had more than 5,000 transactions the first day. "That's huge," he said. "We had people coming from as far away as Morgan and North Salt Lake," he said.

He said sales have been good, even though the other stores and the theater are being finished and won't open until next month.

"We've had people not only driving to the store but riding FrontRunner and even bicycling" via the Legacy Trail, which starts in North Salt Lake and ends, for the time being, at Station Park.

"People are riding their bicycles from Centerville and even as far away as North Salt Lake and stopping at our store," Harmon said.

That's one reason why the store includes more than groceries and has an eatery that offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and specialty beverages, as well as prepared meals that shoppers can take home with them.

Bruning said the goal is to create a broad mix of attractions for all age groups, not just teenagers and the 20-somethings that many new retail developments are catering to.

"We'll have a lot for the [younger clientele], but the grandparents of the world also will find it a great place to visit, and they'll find things they want to buy."

The entire project and its 850,000 square feet of retail, office and hotel space should be built by the end of next year.

lesley@sltrib.com Twitter: @cheapchick ——

Station Park

The retail development, located at the convergence of Interstate 15, U.S. Highway 89, Legacy Parkway and Frontrunner commuter rail station, is growing. Here are some of the businesses set to open by the end of the year:

Harmons grocery • Opened in May

Ross, Cinemark Theatre • July 2011

Sports Authority, Home Goods • August 2011

Famous Footwear, Sally Beauty, Chase Bank Ulta, Marshalls • October 2011