A crowd watches as six excavators participate in a ceremonial groundbreaking for infrastructure development at The Point in Draper. The stateowned
600-acre site, formerly home of the Utah State Prison, will be transformed into a mixed-use development, starting with a 100-acre Phase
1. This image is a screenshot from the event’s live video feed from the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority.
Ceremony launches new work at The Point
Brice Wallace
Business Journal
The road to prosperity begins with a road.
That’s how proponents of The Point are viewing the latest milestone in the development of the 600-acre property in Draper near Point of the Mountain. A recent ceremonial groundbreaking event for Porter Rockwell Boulevard, the main artery of the development, marked the start of infrastructure work at a site that is envisioned to someday be a bustling hub of housing, offices, dining, entertainment and an Innovation District.
“By breaking ground today, we are quite literally setting the stage for Phase 1 development to start in earnest,” Michael Ambre, The Point’s executive director, said at the event. “Over the next several years, you’ll see buildings go vertical from this site.”
Most groundbreakings feature a row of dignitaries using ceremonial shovels, but The Point event had a “go big” attitude as six excavators moved the dirt at the boulevard site.
Once infrastructure is in place, the 100-acre first phase of development, including the Innovation District, will take shape at the heart of The Point property. Phase 1 is envisioned to be the springboard for development of the 600 acres, which in turn is expected to lead to development of more than 20,000 undeveloped acres nearby.
Jordan Teuscher, a state representative and co-chair of the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority board, noted that demolition at the former Utah State Prison location tstarted two years ago and the toppling of the final guard tower occurred about a year ago.
“Now, that decades-old prison facility, with its razor wire and guard towers, is completely gone, and we have a completely new canvas where we can build what we want and what Utahns want for this space,” he said. “From this area, Utah’s innovation community will rise from the ground.”
Speakers at the ceremony spoke in lofty terms about their visions for the state-owned site.
“This groundbreaking really does mark a momentous occasion for our state and for this project, for a new era in our state as we kickstart the development of a site that is owned by all Utahns — something that is truly unique,” said Gov. Spencer Cox. “It’s unlike anything else that is happening in the country. This is really unique, all over the world, as we travel and look at other projects that are happening.”
The governor described The Point as “the epicenter of the fastest-growing part of the fastest-growing state in the country.” It will be a site of tens of thousands of jobs, incorporating cutting-edge technology to change the world, and include thousands of new housing units, parks and open space, world-class office space, shopping and entertainment, among other elements, he said.
Good infrastructure, made possible by $165 million from the Legislature, will support good development at The Point, Cox said. The state’s commitment “will truly catalyze the development so it’s done the right way. … Here we are, at the precipice of doing something really great.”
House Speaker Mike Schultz said the Porter Rockwell Boulevard connection “will benefit the whole southwest part of the valley.”
“The Point gives us the best of both worlds: the opportunity for Utahns to build a site while leveraging the benefits of private-sector competition, technological innovation and capital investment,” he said.
The Innovation District, he said, will be “a robust ecosystem that will drive cutting-edge innovation and technological advancements in a way that we’ve never seen before.” The groundbreaking event marked the beginning of a new era for Utah’s innovation community that will lead to “a bolder and brighter future for all Utahns, especially for our children and grandchildren,” Schultz said.
Senate President Stuart Adams said The Point someday will be the site of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars of state GDP and world-class shopping.
Utah already has the nation’s best economy and is its fastest-growing state, which makes The Point “the fastest-growing spot in the nation,” he said.
The Point also is in the heart of the Silicon Slopes community, where future developments in artificial intelligence will help Utah’s place in the tech world, he said.
“Everything we have is AI-driven,” Adams said. “I firmly believe that the country who controls AI will control the world, whether it be weapons systems, whether it be technology, whether it be the economy. And we know that in order to control AI, we need technology and development. We have that happening here. I believe we’re in an arms race right now. … I believe we’re in an AI arms race, and this facility, what we’re doing here, will help us be able to solve that.”
“I think it is great for our future, not just for my community,” added Draper Mayor Troy Walker. “It’s going to transform this area, our neighboring cities, Bluffdale, Riverton, Herriman, Utah County and north. We’re going to be the epicenter of something unique, something special, something transformative. …”
“This is not just another development,” Teuscher said. “A lot of people ask me, ‘Why is the state involved in a development project? Why not just sell it off, turn it over to the free market and let them build what the state actually needs?’ And the answer is, because of this Innovation District.”
Utah already is the innovation capital of the U.S., and the district will reinforce the state’s strength, he said.
“There is nothing like it in the country. It is a generational opportunity,” he said of the Innovation District. “It will attract the best and brightest from around the world to come here to solve some of our nation’s most pressing challenges and create a more prosperous future for the rising generations of Utahns.”
The infrastructure work will use concrete recycled from the prison for roads and building foundations. The only surviving structure from the prison is a chapel built by inmates. Porter Rockwell Boulevard is envisioned to move people as well as cars, serving as a pathway for pedestrians, cyclists and visitors. Other infrastructure projects include the installation of major utilities such as power, water, sewers, storm drains and telecommunications.
The money allocated by the Legislature is in the form of a loan that will be paid back with interest through revenues from future ground lease payments.
The Point authority has signed a 20-year Phase 1 agreement with its private-sector development partner, Innovation Point Partners, which is a partnership among Lincoln Property Co., the lead developer for The Point; and two local firms, Colmena Group and Wadsworth Development Group. If IPP meets the conditions in the agreement, it will have the exclusive option to develop Phase II of The Point. That phase will consist of at least 99 acres. IPP will invest more than $2.3 billion in private-sector financing to construct the buildings and amenities at Phase 1.
Whenever it is completed, The Point development “will be known globally and loved locally,” Teuscher said.
“Our children and our grandchildren will look back on this day to remember The Point as an inflexion point for our state,” he said. “We’re literally breaking ground on groundbreaking work that will set us on a historic trajectory of progress and prosperity.”