Courtesy Vineyard City

Utah County’s first drone show will light Vineyard’s night skies on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, in celebration of Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox joining the Woodbury Corporation, Flagship Companies and Vineyard City in welcoming a new development — Vineyard Station. This is the next phase of one of the largest regional developments in the state.

The Vineyard Regional Development is a 2,106 acre development in the center of Utah Valley, which sits in a transportation nexus for the region and serves as a multi-modal hub for the area. The Regional Development has become home to students, young families, talented professionals and retirees, all of whom are free to enjoy connected trails, park amenities, the Geneva Megaplex Movie theater, new dining and retail opportunities and an incoming TopGolf.

Vineyard Station, a transit oriented development (TOD) partnership between Vineyard’s Regional Development Agency, Flagship Companies and the Woodbury Corporation, will bring jobs, higher education, recreation and a perfect space for remote lifestyles to this regional development. The human scale design is a coalescence of innovations of the future and the area’s rich heritage.

Vineyard Station’s focus on longevity, sustainability and walkability will solve many of Utah’s concerns as the state continues its rapid population growth and subsequent high demand on its resources. Recently, the regional development’s investment board finalized its contributing payment on Utah Valley University’s expanding campus. This partnership, and that of Vineyard Station’s partnership, will provide immense opportunities for students and businesses within the area.

Vineyard Station offers urban and rural residents, as well as visitors, quick connections into faster and more frequent transit options that will carry them along the hospital corridor, into diverse economic centers, and to their regional and international travel destinations. The FrontRunner service connects Vineyard Station with Salt Lake International Airport and Provo’s Regional airport, making international and regional travel seamless.

Rendering courtesy Vineyard City/GoDrones

UDOT and UTA will jointly open Vineyard’s FrontRunner station within Vineyard Station, which will be the first new station in over a decade. This FrontRunner location, designated as a northern Utah County multi-modal hub, features double tracking, which has and will continue to transition FrontRunner into faster, more reliable rail service, supporting I-15 and saving millions of dollars in infrastructure.

The FrontRunner station opens directly into Vineyard’s downtown, and will feature a plaza connected to a promenade, as well as a pedestrian overpass that takes patrons to eateries, businesses and beautiful open space amenities and down to the shores of Utah Lake in a 10 minute walking shed. Vineyard Station’s promenade leads directly to Utah Lake and allows easy access to many recreational activities on the lake and along its shores, such as biking, kayaking, kitesurfing, birdwatching and sailing.

Utah’s Department of Transportation funded a pedestrian bridge this fiscal year to complete its alignment of statewide goals to make first and last mile connections, which successfully link housing, jobs, recreation and higher education. This bridge will carry pedestrians to Utah Lake over the Vineyard Connector, allowing for a north/south alternative to I-15. The Vineyard Connector gives direct passage for residents of Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain into the heart of Utah Valley. In addition, travelers from Heber City and Sundance have easy access to transit, workforce opportunities, Utah Lake and Provo’s airport along this regional corridor.

Vineyard’s City Council and Regional Development Board recently approved a master-planned waterfront design along three miles of Utah Lake’s shoreline. The waterfront connects a beautiful network of trails and well-planned green spaces, giving residents and visitors to Vineyard station the ability to leave their cars behind and explore, recreating by foot and by bike. A mix of residential and commercial development will bring renters, homeowners and businesses new options to live, work, play and recreate in the area.

These waterfront concepts create a seamless lakeshore travel corridor from Vineyard’s public lakefront on the south into Walkara Way’s 600 acres of conservation, connecting into Orem and Provo’s trail networks and open space, as well as Vineyard’s northern boardwalks, harbors and beaches, then connecting further into Lindon’s trails and marina.

Courtesy Vineyard City

Everyone is invited to a community celebration to usher in the beginning of vertical development in Vineyard Station to be held on Friday, Aug. 12 at Vineyard Grove Park from 7:30-9:30 p.m. We will celebrate the opening of the FrontRunner station, as well as the start of construction at Vineyard Station. The community celebration will feature a concert by Metro Music Club, followed by Utah County’s first ever Drone Show, provided by GoDrones. The drones will launch at 9:15 p.m.. The first 750 attendees to the evening event will receive a free one-day rail and bus pass courtesy of UTA.

It is anticipated that UTA FrontRunner service will begin in Vineyard on or before Friday. An opening ceremony (by invitation only) will occur at 10 a.m. the same day. Speakers will include Cox, UTA Board of Trustee Jeff Acerson, UDOT Region 3 Director Rob Clayton, walkability expert Jeff Speck and myself, Julie Fullmer, serving as Vineyard Mayor and Regional Development Chair.

Vineyard, and the incredible teamwork brought by public private partnerships and hardworking key stakeholders, is leading out in the state, building a regional development that is responsible, sustainable and preserves Utah’s natural and finite resources, creating long-term quality of life.

We invite all to come and see what Vineyard has to offer now, and how the future will look as Vineyard Station begins to go vertical.