SALT LAKE CITY — "The Point," a multi-billion dollar development that will replace the old Utah State Prison site in Draper, is moving forward.
On Tuesday, the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority announced a development deal for the project. Lincoln Property Company, Colmena Group and Wadsworth Development Group were selected fro the massive development project.
When the prison officially moves at the end of this summer, development will start on the lucrative piece of real-estate the state of Utah owns.
"Six-hundred acres of state owned land, that’s one of the great economic and quality of life opportunities in our state," said Alan Matheson, the executive director of the land authority.
The project is almost like building a new city within Draper. Plans call immediately for a mixed-use development of housing and office space. State officials envision a tech center (almost an extension of Silicon Slopes), a lot of open space and more mass transit options than exist now.
"The Point is going to offer a community that includes so many amenities including creative place making, with an emphasis on technology creation, a new type of green development that will generate both economic benefits and employment opportunities," said deputy Salt Lake County Mayor Catherine Kanter. "An integrated multi-model transportation system that will result in improved air quality and an innovative 15-minute city concept."
The project will cost billions to build out.
"Upfront you always have to make an investment," said Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, the Utah State Senate's budget chief. "So we made the investment in moving the prison. Now we have the investment in the new project, and the new project will be the payoff."
Public feedback called for improvements for quality of life, including an emphasis on trails and green space on the land.
"We have to work with the public to make sure that this public project benefits all of us," said Matheson.
Colmena Group and Wadsworth Development Group are also involved in the development of the inland port project in Salt Lake City. However, state officials said the two projects are not connected. Draper Mayor Troy Walker said the two projects will be big economic boons to Utah.
"Just the property tax alone is going to be worth $30 to 40 million a year," he told FOX 13 News. "You add in the jobs, the income, the tech, the development. You add this to the inland port? And Utah is really going to be the place to be."
Mayor Walker said there is one thing he would like to see put at The Point — an NFL stadium.
"I'm not giving up. I want it. I hope we get it. We need an NFL stadium, that’d be my preference," he said. "I’m a football guy. But I like baseball, too. So either way, there’s a spot for it. I think there’s a market for it."
