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Planners Detail Next Steps For Point Of The Mountain Development

Envision Utah
Planners are soliciting feedback from the public on the Point of the Mountain project, which is being eyed for its potential as a strategic hub for Utah's high-tech sector.

The nonprofit planning group Envision Utah met with elected officials this week as they start to brainstorm ways to develop a huge swath of land at the southern tip of Salt Lake County.

The project site is made up of 700 acres of state-owned land at Point of the Mountain, and up to 20,000 undeveloped acres surrounding it.

 

Utah’s state prison is vacating the land over the next few years and the state is eyeing potential development to transform it into a strategic hub along the booming I-15 corridor.

 

Robert Grow, president and CEO of Envision Utah, says stakeholders first need to come up with a vision, including factors such as infrastructure, design and business climate.

 

“And it has questions like branding in it,” Grow told members of the Point of the Mountain Development Commission during an update this week.

 

“Is 'Silicon Slopes' the right name? It’s certainly the name that is sticking. But, for example, is that what you want to call it over the next 30 years?”

 

He says phase one will include a transportation and environmental assessment as well as in depth real estate and financial analysis.

 

Most importantly will be gathering input from all the various stakeholders, which includes municipalities, private developers and the public.

 

To that end, Grow envisions one large stakeholder meeting where individuals can break up into their niche interests.

 

“For example, I think it’s appropriate that the water people get together. Where does the water come for this long term? Does it come from Central Utah project? Through Jordan Valley? ...How does all of that happen over the next 50 years?”

 

Envision Utah is proposing an initial stakeholder meeting sometime in mid-December. The public can also chime in with thoughts for the project at pointofthemountainfuture.org.

 

 

 

Julia joined KUER in 2016 after a year reporting at the NPR member station in Reno, Nev. During her stint, she covered battleground politics, school overcrowding, and any story that would take her to the crystal blue shores of Lake Tahoe. Her work earned her two regional Edward R. Murrow awards. Originally from the mountains of Western North Carolina, Julia graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 with a degree in journalism. She’s worked as both a print and radio reporter in several states and several countries — from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Dakar, Senegal. Her curiosity about the American West led her to take a spontaneous, one-way road trip to the Great Basin, where she intends to continue preaching the gospel of community journalism, public radio and podcasting. In her spare time, you’ll find her hanging with her beagle Bodhi, taking pictures of her food and watching Patrick Swayze movies.
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