Since construction began two decades ago, Daybreak, a 4,100-acre master-planned community in South Jordan, Utah, has been a catalyst and model for regional growth. The community is now home to more than 30,000 residents living in over 9,300 houses. Construction of another 10,000 homes is planned by 2036, during which time the community’s population is expected to increase to at least 50,000. Additionally, the community is projected to have more than nine million sf of leasable commercial space by 2036.
Daybreak continues to be a “release valve” for the entire Salt Lake Valley, said Brad Holmes, president of Larry H. Miller Real Estate, a development firm that in April 2021 purchased 1,300 acres of undeveloped land in the community. Last October, the developer broke ground on the first phase of Downtown Daybreak, a 200-acre mixed-use entertainment district that will serve as a walking and biking district within the community, anchored by a minor league baseball park and movie/entertainment complex.
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For more than two years, Larry H. Miller Real Estate worked with a design team that included MVE + Partners to create the master plan for Downtown Daybreak. Tim Beuchat, senior associate partner at MVE + Partners, declined to comment further on the project, other than to say his firm is in construction documents for the neighborhood’s first two mixed-use buildings, which will include residential apartments, retail and neighborhood parking constructions. Steven James, the developer’s chief visionary, did not respond to questions sent by BD+C.
According to Downtown Daybreak’s website, the area’s first phase will include 75,000 sf of retail and food and beverage space, 100,000 sf of office space, more than 300 residential units, parks and outdoor recreation that includes an ice rink, an outdoor amphitheater and stage and a third light rail station for the TRAX Red Line.
It appears that the housing being built for Downtown Daybreak will be mostly multi-family. One builder, Sego Homes, is advertising its Sky Terrace Collection townhomes, which range from 1,449 to 2,491 sf in size and from $454,900 to $597,000 in price. Another builder, Holmes Homes, offers nine floor plans from its Tempo Condominiums brand, ranging from $355,900 to $419,900 in price and from 1,092 to 1,329 sf in size.
Sports and entertainment anchors
The Salt Lake Bees, a Triple-A baseball team affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels, currently play at Smith’s Ballpark, a 14,354-seat stadium. On Opening Day in 2025, the team, which is owned by the Larry H. Miller Company, expects to move into its new home, a 7,500-seat stadium in the heart of Downtown Daybreak. The privately funded stadium will offer a range of ticket options, from open lawn seating to luxury boxes.
According to Ballparkdigest.com, the stadium’s construction partners, along with MVE + Partners and Larry H. Miller Real Estate, are Okland Construction, TallyCM, HOK, Urban Design Associates, Atlas Architects and Loci Landscape Architects. America First Credit Union is Downtown Daybreak’s naming rights partner, and the downtown square will be called America First Square. (At press time, the name of the stadium had not been released.)
The other Downtown Daybreak anchor that Larry H. Miller Real Estate is building is a megaplex entertainment center that will have between eight and 10 movie screens with luxury seating, 16 to 20 bowling lanes with lane-side dining, arcade games, a sports-themed lounge with access to an in-house chef and scratch kitchen serving food made from fresh produce and spaces for private dinners, parties and events.
Downtown Daybreak is expected to take 15 years to build, with much of Phase 1 slated for completion next year. (The construction cost of this project has not been disclosed.) The neighborhood will be a 25-minute drive from the Salt Lake City airport. It will also be close to the University of Utah South Jordan Health Center, two other light rail stations, two miles of the Mountain View Corridor and over 50 walking trails.
South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey sees Downtown Daybreak as a “regional destination” with opportunities to create interaction. The new neighborhood “will rebalance the entire valley,” predicted Andrew Gruber, executive director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, who came up with the idea for Daybreak more than 20 years ago with Envision Utah, a business development nonprofit.
Salt Lake City Station becomes a hotel
As Downtown Daybreak begins, downtown Salt Lake City is undergoing an evolution of its own.
His new construction projects include the 225-key Asher Adams Hotel, an adaptive reuse of the historic Union Pacific Depot. This Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, developed by Athens Group and Hatteras Sky, was completed last October and is scheduled to open next fall. Okland Construction is the CM of this project, HKS Architects provided architectural design services and JNS Design developed the interior design of the hotel. Pivot, the lifestyle operating vertical of Davidson Hospitality Group, will manage the hotel.
Utah Business announced that The Athens Group is converting the railroad depot into 13 historic guest apartments and building an all-new building with 212 modern apartments. The hotel will include a 1,500 sf fitness center, 9,000 sf of meeting space and 3,200 sf of outdoor gathering space.
The Asher Adams Hotel, as completed, will be attached to The Depot, a 17,000 sf live entertainment and events venue that is also connected to the Delta Center arena, home of the Utah Jazz NBA franchise. The hotel will be located near the city’s Olympic Plaza in the northern part of The Gateway, a popular open-air retail, residential and office complex. Gateway offers 650,000 sf of dining, entertainment, shopping and special event space. Gateway first opened in November 2001, and since 2016 has been owned by Vestar, a Phoenix-based real estate developer that specializes in shopping centers.
On Feb. 15, The Larry H. Miller Company said it will invest $3.5 billion in the Power District, a landmark development in Salt Lake City. The company’s new renderings of this 100-acre project include renderings of a ballpark (the Miller family has long expressed interest in bringing major league baseball to Salt Lake City). The company is working with Sasaki on the Power District, according to the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper.
