Courtesy The Point

Phase one for The Point of the Mountain’s development officially began last Tuesday with the approval from the sprawling future live-work-play site’s governing body to begin issuing solicitation documents.

The project, which will encompass around 600 acres of land in and around north Utah County, is starting with a development around 80 acres. According to Alan Matheson, The Point executive director, it will be slightly larger than the previously announced 72-acre project.

The process will take place over two stages, the first of which being an evaluation of plans submitted by potential developers.

The project board will then evaluate the proposals and narrow the list down to a group of finalists. There will be a pre-proposal conference in January for evaluating the plans, leading to interviews in February.

The selection will be done by using a scoring rubric. While information about the development was sent to potential developers around the country, Matheson said there will be some preference given to companies with experience in Utah.

Courtesy The Point

“We see ourselves as trusted stewards for the public’s investment and will be prudent in our approach to selecting development partners who reflect Utah values,” Rep. Lowry Snow, Point of the Mountain State Land Authority co-chair, said in a press release.

The choice to open it nationwide is to ultimately find the right partner, no matter where they are from, due to the sheer size and scope of the plan. It is also unknown at this time how many potential developers may submit plans.

Proposals from the developers will be made public; however, they could make a request to the state that any confidential business information not be released. It will be up to the state to make the decision whether any request meets the qualifications for redaction.

“It’s important to us that we be open, transparent and rigorous in this process. We’re looking for partners who have experience with projects in this size and complexity. Partners who share our public vision for the site,” Matheson said.

A selection committee of board members, staff, consultants and more will make recommendations to the full board. Matheson expects anywhere from two to five developers to make it to the second stage.

As for the rest of the selection process, the goal is to have the phase one development partner selected by the summer of 2022. From there, every step is planned as far as it can be, barring fluctuating market costs and the availability of resources.

According to Matheson, the goal is to have the new Utah State Prison ready for inmates to be moved in 2022 from the current state prison, which is on the to-be-developed land.

They hope to then work on the land and set up infrastructure — namely roads, open spaces, sewer, water, broadband and more — throughout 2023 and into early 2024. They then hope to work on vertical development in 2024.

“We’re building this not just for today, but for succeeding generations. It’s more important to do it right than to do it fast,” Matheson said.

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