On Oct. 18, the Spanish Fork City Council approved the Escalante townhomes preliminary plat project. Approval of the project was recommended by the development review committee and planning commission.

The project is slated for 2.11 acres of land at 1060 East and 400 North in the city. The project, planned by Atlas Engineering LLC, is to construct 20 residential townhome units.

Dave Anderson, community and economic development director for Spanish Fork, said a townhome project was first proposed over a decade ago.

“Since then, we’ve seen a few other proposals to put homes on that property as well; each of those, for different reasons, have gone away,” Anderson said.

The price of the total project, along with specific dates of construction, is still undetermined. According to the applicant, the planning process has not been difficult because of the help of Spanish Fork City.

“This is a much better version than what we saw before,” said council member Kevin Oyler.

According to the presentation to the planning commission, there will be significant amounts of open space surrounding the townhomes.

On the east side of the property, a tot lot with a connection to the city trail will also be included, therefore the project will be following the city conditions listed on the Escalante Townhomes Report.

“That a detail of the wood two rail fence with an 18-inch mow strip along the trail be provided,” reads condition five on the report. Members of the project decided on open space, meaning no fence, from the trail, but with a divider line. The remaining eight conditions are listed on the first page of the report.

The preliminary plans show that the exterior of the townhomes will resemble a farmhouse look, made up of stone, stucco and hardie on the exterior. They are expected to have three to four bedrooms per unit, and two or two-and-a-half baths. The main floor consists of a two-car garage, bath, a study and mechanical systems. There are also 12 visitor parking spots planned for the property.

The townhomes will be designated on a previously R-3 zoned property as a triangular-shaped parcel, which will also be incorporating a landlocked area. If it wasn’t for the project, Anderson said it would be “a useless piece of property.” During the planning commission meeting, it was briefly discussed that it would be used as an extra parking space.

Due to rising construction and development costs, specifications are yet to be determined.