Daybreak's New Community

The South Jordan City Council has just approved an addition to a plan submitted by Kennecott Land to build an “Active Adult Community” here in Daybreak. The Daybreak Active Adult Community will have marketing that will target the 50 years and older demographic group, but will not be totally exclusive to that age group. I expect we will start to see the “Daybreakish” advertising for this community sometime this year. An advertisement featuring a husband and wife with gray hair riding bikes around the lake possibly with an “empty nester” caption displayed somewhere prominently.

In my opinion this part of the development will fuel growth and compliment the existing Daybreak community. The plan is for the Daybreak Active Adult Community to be located West of Oquirrh Lake and North of the new Rio Tinto Corporate Center. It will be nice to see some houses on that side of the lake as for years it has just been mounds of earth and construction equipment. The homes seem to be of the parkside variety that Holmes Homes and Richmond American Homes are building in Eastlake. This is logical considering that the targeted group will probably like not having to take care of a yard.

Considering the principles of New Urbanism this new development will bring further age diversity to a community that some consider to be "plagued with children." The current real estate market has been hindered by the tightening of credit standards and lack of affordability in the Salt Lake Valley. However, this particular demographic is most likely not constrained by these factors. This demographic has probably been living in a McMansion in which they have a considerable amount of equity if they do not own it completely. They are tired of having a 4500 sq ft house to take care of along with the burden of high utility costs. They want a simpler life in a community that has plenty of amenities. This trend has been proven and documented in numerous publications both journalistic and academic.

The size of this group is also astonishing. Developing this part of Daybreak now will probably keep Daybreak sales up and will increase their market share in a time when many developers are struggling to stay solvent. I think one of the best benefits of this move will be the generational diversity mix here in Daybreak. Many neighborhoods are built and then populated by people of the same age, socioeconomic status, and stage in life. These neighborhoods are stable for awhile until this demographic experiences a change. Maybe all of the kids have grown and moved on to college or other pursuits. All of a sudden the neighborhood that was once full of kids seems empty. Maybe all of the residents get to the point where they can buy a better house and the permanent nature of a residential neighborhood all of a sudden turns into one in which half of the homes are now rentals. Within a couple of years you see the landscaping and general upkeep of the neighborhood deteriorate.

This type of thing can be prevented if the neighborhood contains a good mix of residents. Many might say that designating a specific area of Daybreak just for the "old fogies" is actually segregating them. I would have to agree with this point of view to a certain extent. However, unlike many active adult communities, this new development looks like it will be integrated with everything else in Daybreak. It will be without walls and fences to keep the young "whipper snappers" out. Overall, mixing generations in a neighborhood is a good thing. This Active Adult Community is a big step in that direction.

A Daybreak Utah Winter

As the days become shorter and the nights longer, a cold has crept over Utah making the air crisp and clear. On Christmas morning I woke up to find the landscape blanketed with the snow that has made Utah a winter travel destination. Many call it "the greatest snow on earth." They love how the dry Utah environment produces a dry powdery snow that is highly desired by ski and snowboarding enthusiasts. Others feel that it can be the greatest back breaking work on earth as they struggle to keep their sidewalks and driveways clear of the seasonal onslaught.

Personally, I have always enjoyed the winter as a welcome change that brings new activities along with the snow. My favorite of these is snowboarding. Utah is home to 13 world-class ski resorts and is a paradise to those who love the slopes. Most of these resorts are within a short driving distance of the Salt Lake Valley and provide a great day trip for family recreation.

When one cannot get up to the ski slopes there are plenty of opportunities for fun right here in the community. Especially for those who are young or at least young at heart. Every time I pass Central Park, the new Eastlake Park, or the hill sloping down from Pale Moon Lane I see a multitude of kids sledding down in a variety of contraptions. They have even been making mounds of snow off of which they enjoy a brief moment of being airborne.

I often see the kids engaged in an epic snowball fight or building "Snowzilla" in the front yard. The kids on Lake Run Rd and Copper Sky Drive have built excellent snow forts.

Near Oquirrh Lake I found cross country skiers and residents walking around in snow shoes. Did you know that you can burn 544 calories an hour by walking the Daybreak trails in snow shoes? That could definitely help with a new year's resolution. If you are the extreme type I found the blog of a Daybreak Resident who is into extreme biking. Apparently he has a snow bike and has been testing it out on the "skateable art" in Eastlake. So to those who hate the snow and the cold that come every winter: get some warm clothes on and remove yourself from your house for awhile. You will find that taking advantage of the greatest snow on earth will boost your spirits and shrink your waistline.

Daybreak on YouTube

Youtube has been one of those technologies that has taken the internet by storm. The idea for Youtube started in 2005 and by July 2006 the company announced that 65,000 new videos were being uploaded daily. It is now the third most popular website on the internet behind google and yahoo and has had a total of 5 billion videos viewed as of July 2008. In 2007 Youtube consumed as much bandwitdth as the intire internet in the year 2000. With all of these videos uploaded to this site, it did not suprise me to find videos that featured areas of Daybreak.

Of course, many of these videos are not by residents. In fact, most of them seem to have been made by Liberty Homes or other real estate agents. These videos take you on tours of the interiors of homes that are on the market. Not a bad idea considering you can now take a tour of a home without having to leave yours.

Other videos that come up if you input "Daybreak Utah" in the search field include a tour of Daybreak by a couple that drove around during the North Shore exibition. Another features a family fishing at Oquirrh lake. The video was posted by metallica mom if that tells you anything. The final video that I found features teenagers skating the "skatable art" in the new Eastlake park. The skater carries the camera with him as he goes over the humps of the "monster."

Who knows, maybe we will see more videos posted in the future as more people start carrying video cameras everywhere. If you have a video that you would like to mention, just leave the link in the comments section of this post.

Oquirrh Lake

Oquirrh Lake is the central organizing feature and amenity in Daybreak. It was named after the Oquirrh Mountains (pronounced O-Ker) that are just to the East of Daybreak. The name Oquirrh came from local Native American tribes. In the Goshute language, Oquirrh means "wooded mountain" while in the Ute language the word means "The Shining Mountains" or "Glowing." Many people believe they named the mountains this because sunlight strikes the Oquirrhs first in the morning before anything else in the valley.

Oquirrh lake was designed and created by a variety of firms and has been a massive undertaking. 35 million cubic feet of earth was moved and used in other areas of the development. Once they had dug a massive hole they constructed a dam and lined the lake with three layers: High Density Polyethelene to keep the water from going into the ground, gravel, and silt to make a natural lake bottom. Twenty-five thousand tons of rock were also put in place to create a shore line and habitat for the ecosystem.

The lake is home to minnows, bluegill, channel cats, large-mouth bass and eventually trout. While there has been some rumors about who will stock and maintain the lake in the future, I have not heard any definitive announcements on the subject. The water that these fish live in comes from Utah Lake and natural runoff. As these two sources are not the cleanest, a computerized filtration system cleans the water to acceptable levels. The most noticeable residents of the lake are the ducks and geese. These birds love the lake even though the lake is designed to detract them from staying for long periods of time. I think the main reason that the ducks and geese come is because kids feed them despite the signs posted around the lake. The lake isn't bad when compared to the pond at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. If you go there at this time of year you will see hundreds if not thousands of these birds wandering the banks.

One question that I get asked a lot is why residents are not allowed to swim in the lake. I have heard people make up a lot of reasons why, but the real reason is that the liability for Kennecott Land would be enormous. Considering the current legal climate I don't blame them. The reason that they seem to state publicly is that it would inhibit the ecosystem. Which is also true, but I believe this to be a secondary reason. All residents are allowed to operate non-motorized watercraft on the lake. Canoes and row boats are common on the lake. I also like the idea of being able to walk a few blocks from my doorstep to go fishing. Overall it is a great amenity for Daybreak.

One of the controversies surrounding the lake is the rumor that Kennecott Land will not build the lake to be as big as the originally planned 85 acres. It seems that future plans have relegated the lake to a smaller 65 acres with the planned third phase being eliminated. This third phase of the lake is an extremely complicated design. It would stretch an arm of water toward the Town Center. This arm would slither through the urban environment much like the canals of Venice, Italy or Amsterdam in the Netherlands. This is truly a grand idea, but would definitely be difficult to implement. The possible reduction in size is an issue that many residents feel strongly about. However, Kennecott Land will ultimately decide on the size of the final product.

The island in the middle however will become a reality in a couple of years. Apparently the homes constructed on this piece of real estate will range from semi-custom to completely custom homes. Waterfront property is hard to come by in Utah so I imagine these homes will fetch a price premium beyond what we have seen so far in Daybreak. I have talked to a few people who claim that several home builders have already been contacted by Kennecott Land to build these custom homes. Needless to say these homes will be the showcase homes of Daybreak.