Daybreak (community)
Description and history
Daybreak was originally the site of Bingham Canyon Mine. Copper, gold, silver, and other minerals were mined there. Kennecott Land conducted an accelerated clean-up of the former mine and its surroundings. The Environmental Protection agency praised the project and has since given the land a clean bill of health.
Development was started by Kennecott Land, a subsidiary of the Rio Tinto Group, in South Jordan, Utah and construction started in 2004. In 2016, the remaining land was sold to Värde Partners, a Minneapolis-based investment firm, leading to the establishment of a new development company called Daybreak Communities, responsible for continuing the project.
In 2021, the undeveloped portion of the community, comprising 1,300 acres, was sold to Larry H. Miller Real Estate. It is anticipated that the construction and expansion of the community will progress over about twenty years. Once completed, the Daybreak community could encompass over 20,000 residential units and approximately 9.1 million square feet (850,000 m²) of commercial space.
All homes in the community are Energy Star certified. Daybreak was the first community of its size in the region to adhere to Energy Star standards, and the entire community has been designed and built with sustainability in mind. Many of the home builders in the community offer options including solar and thermal panels, renewable building materials, and energy efficient appliances. Many homes in Daybreak have fiber-optic internet connections.
In October of 2021, IHP Capital Partners and Fieldstone Homes announced a project to develop dozens of houses inside of Daybreak.
Daybreak master planners included Calthorpe Associates of Berkeley, California; Ken Kay Associates of San Francisco, California; Loci of Salt Lake City, Utah; and Urban Design Associates of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
According to Zonda, a market-research tool for housing, one in six houses built in Salt Lake County in 2022 were located in Daybreak. South Jordan's population grew from 50,148 in 2010 to 80,139 people by the end of 2022.
The City of South Jordan and The Larry H. Miller Company are working together on plans to build out a downtown center within Daybreak. Their aim is to energize the popular master-planned community as part of relocating the Salt Lake Bees baseball team and its stadium to the community.
Amenities
The Red Line of the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) light rail system (via the Daybreak Parkway station and South Jordan Parkway station) gives the residents of Daybreak and the southwest Salt Lake Valley access to downtown Salt Lake City and the University of Utah, as well as connections to the Salt Lake City International Airport. The Mountain View Corridor also provides access to Daybreak, and Bangerter Highway (SR 154) lies along its eastern edge. Daybreak is also located adjacent to a shopping center known as The District, which contains 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m) of retail space.
Daybreak has a community center, with a gym, as well as two swimming pools and two splash pads/wading pools. There is also a fenced dog park and community garden. Local grocer Harmons has also opened a location within the community. Along with the 22 miles (35 km) of trails and over a dozen community parks, a man-made lake, Oquirrh Lake, was developed for non-motorized boating, fishing, and other recreation. The lake began construction in 2005 and is now fully developed. The Watercourse, a new water feature, is scheduled to begin construction in 2019 and will be available 2022 at the earliest.
In early 2023, the Larry H. Miller Company announced that it would build a stadium for the Salt Lake Bees, a AAA minor-league baseball team, in Daybreak. The stadium is funded entirely with private money. The Stadium is part of an expansion called Downtown Daybreak. As of October 2023, it is currently under construction. It will have a capacity of 7,500 people. The Salt Lake Bees are expected to move into the stadium in 2025. While the stadium has not been named, America First Credit Union has acquired its naming rights. The stadium is part of a broader phase of expansion in Downtown Daybreak that includes Megaplex Theatres, other entertainment venues, and apartment buildings. Two-hundred acres have been dedicated to this additional commercial development. The Bees will move to the stadium in 2025. Construction of Phase One of Downtown Daybreak started in early November of 2023. In May of 2023, Miller Sports + Entertainment (MSE) released renderings of Daybreak Field at America First Square. The stadium was designed by HOK and it is being built by Okland Construction.
As of 2024, Daybreak held concerts every Saturday and Sunday evening. Due to crowd control issues, the Live Daybreak Community Council decided that the concerts would become ticketed events during the summer of 2024.
Governance
Daybreak is managed by the Daybreak Community Association.
The Utah state legislature gave South Jordan special tax powers and created a Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone centered around Daybreak. Thousands of high-density residences will be built in and around Daybreak. Plans are place to expand and improve mass transit lines serving the southwest neck of Salt Lake County.