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DRAPER — The site of the old state prison in Draper will soon look a lot different as the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority on Monday released plans outlining the first phase of development for The Point.
The Point aims to be a living-working community that will feature high walkability, with everything within a 15-minute walk from its heart, a river-to-mountain range trail accessible from the community, which will include retail, entertainment, innovation, educational, office and residential spaces all within approximately 600 acres, according to the plan's framework.
Kicking off the first phase, the state land authority announced it has signed a landmark agreement with its private-sector development partner for the project, Innovation Point Partners, which will invest more than $2.3 billion in private-sector financing to construct the buildings and amenities at the site.
"The significance of this moment cannot be understated. Signing this landmark agreement today marks the culmination of many years working diligently to reflect Utahns' vision for The Point," said Lowry Snow, Point of the Mountain State Land Authority co-chairman and a former state representative. "It is an inflection point that catalyzes myriad opportunities for future generations and signals a major step forward in establishing Utah's innovation community."
Located at the heart of The Point, Phase 1 will include the development of approximately 100 acres and includes high-end office space, multifamily housing, premier retail, shopping and entertainment venues, a people-focused main street called The Promenade and a place for the innovation district dubbed Innovation Alley.
Plans also include a large gathering area called the Central Green, an extensive regional trail called the River-to-Range and a new FrontRunner station at The Point, connecting it to the existing regional transit system.
Development plans for the first phase include:
- Housing: Over 3,300 multifamily residential units, including approximately 400 affordable housing units.
- Parks and open space: 16 acres of parks, including a Central Green, where every home is within two blocks of a park or a trail.
- Roads: 6 miles of roads.
- Trails: 10 miles of sidewalks and trails, including the River-to-Range trail.
- Office space: More than 2,320,000 square feet.
- Hospitality: 540 hotel rooms.
- Events center: 60,000-square-foot venue that seats 2,000 people.
- Retail: 356,000 square feet of shopping, restaurants and grocery stores.
- Convergence hall: A building that represents the first piece of the innovation district at The Point.
- Water: 100% drought-tolerant landscaping.
- Jobs: 4,000 high-quality local jobs created.
- Parking: 12,650 stalls in multilevel parking garages.
"The Point is the premier development happening in the country right now and puts Utah on the map as a global destination," said Jordan Teuscher, Point of the Mountain State Land Authority co-chairman and a state representative. "Once the first phase of redevelopment is complete, The Point will be open and accessible to everyone, enabling Utahns the freedom to choose from a wide variety of game-changing opportunities like obtaining a high-paying job, enjoying family-friendly recreational activities, and obtaining a world-class education."
Before the construction of the headline-worthy aspects of Phase 1 can happen, the state will be building out "critical backbone infrastructure" that will include extending Porter Rockwell Blvd. and installing major utilities such as water, sewer, gas, electric and telecommunications, starting next spring.
To do this, the Utah Legislature has appropriated $165 million in the form of a loan that will be paid back with interest, through revenues from future ground lease payments at The Point.
"All of that preliminary work prior to construction will happen in tandem with the state building the critical backbone infrastructure," said Muriel Xochimitl, spokeswoman for The Point.
Xochimitl said Phase 1 construction will begin after the critical infrastructure is completed and could start as early as 2025.
"They will start to see dirt turning but it will be more on that infrastructure (side) first and then ... just in a couple years, which is a very, very accelerated timeline for development, they'll start to see those buildings going into place," Xochimitl said.
Alan Matheson, executive director of The Point, said that he believes The Point will be something that "generations" of Utahns are proud of.
"We think that The Point will enhance quality of life in a number of ways. Providing jobs, housing opportunities, places for recreation and entertainments (and) a place of innovation," Matheson said.
In the meantime, Xochimitl said that she anticipates "significant" tenant announcements (businesses and companies who will have space at The Point) in the coming months.
"We're confident that we've selected world-class partners who are ready to build a world-class development," Matheson said.
