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Optimism abounds over a vast housing and community development project now getting underway along Salt Lake Valley’s west bench in South Jordan. KSL, along with many others concerned about effectively accommodating Utah’s projected dramatic population growth in coming decades, will be watching with great interest.
“Daybreak” as the development is called, is said to be the largest housing project in Utah’s history. As its mining operation gradually winds down, Kennecott Copper Corporation has decided to transform its vast land holdings into potentially profitable developments.
To Kennecott’s credit, the company has chosen to follow the visionary “quality growth” concepts developed in recent years under the skilled guidance of the Envision Utah organization. Envision Utah’s idea of “walkable, workable and livable communities built around town centers” has been promoted as the way of the future.
Now, we get to see how the concept actually works. Will automobile dependent Utahns accustomed to suburban sprawl actually buy into the idea of a mixed-use development designed, in part, to conserve precious natural resources? Can pedestrian friendly neighborhoods where homes are built in close proximity to schools, commerce, and mass transit attract the masses?
While optimism for the project abounds, we wonder what reality will bring. KSL will be watching closely with the genuine hope Daybreak succeeds.
