WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
GREEN VALLEY, UTAH
(an area of St. George, Utah)
LOCATION
Green Valley is an area in the west side of St. George, Utah.HISTORY
Green Valley was created out of Bill & Ron Snow's six hundred acre ranch. The land was acquired and annexedinto the City of St. George in 1976. Alan Coombs was the developer and driving force behind this new venture.
An 80-lot subdivision called the "Estates at Green Valley" was the first development in the Green Valley area.
The sales of these lots provided the funds to develop "The Park at Green Valley".
The Park opened in 1978 and had many firsts for St. George. It was a turning point for home building in the
area. In addition to high quality homes, The Park came with an owners association, clubhouse, swimming pool,
weight room, racquetball courts, and tennis courts.
In 1981, The Sports Village was opened with affordable vacation homes. 280 of these homes were purchased in
the next two years.
The most ambitious development in Green Valley was started in 1985. Las Palmas was to have 1,000 deluxe
condominiums, a 1,000 sq. ft. Sports & Fitness Center, 50 tennis courts (including grass and clay courts), an
Olympic size pool, a golf teaching center, and spa. The project was interrupted when the government put some
severe restrictions on condominium financing. But eventually the restrictions were lifted and sales in Las Palmas
improved. It took six years, but eventually 300 units were sold.
During the downtime in the Las Palmas project (1989), a development called "The Cottages" was built using
some of the land originally intended for Las Palmas. 95 single family townhomes with a nostalgic cottage design
were built and sold.
Also starting in 1989, unsold condominiums in Las Palmas were rented out to weekend and over night guests.
A property management and hotel operation was set up and began promoting Green Valley as an upscale
alternative to the downtown motels. The completed swimming pools and tennis courts helped to make Green
Valley a popular place to stay and was beneficial to sales by adding a resort atmosphere and providing rental
income to condominium owners.
The developer's wife, Carole Coombs, had owned a popular day spa in Salt Lake, Bel Viso. She set up a spa
for owners and renters. Green Valley's reputation began to grow as a spa retreat. In the spring of 1998, the spa
was outgrowing the existing facilities. The Green Valley Spa was built with 35 separate hotel suites, a new
restaurant, weight room, aerobic rooms, treatment center, and indoor tennis courts. Two years later, the success
of the spa required the construction of 11 additional grand suites.
PHOTOS
TBDREFERENCES
The Green Valley StoryBy Alan Coombs
A History of Washington County from Isolation to Destination, First Edition
By Douglas D. Alder and Karl F. Brooks
See pages 330-332 and mentions on page 365.
A History of Washington County from Isolation to Destination, Second Edition
By Douglas D. Alder and Karl F. Brooks
See pages 330-332 and mentions on pages xviii, 187, 196, 310, 312, 343, 374, 376, 380, 387, 395, 396, 397.