SoDa Row Shops Revealed

Daybreak is about to become the home to seven new locally-owned and operated businesses. Kennecott Land officially announced the tenants for the new SoDa Row mixed use commericial section of Daybreak. Daybreak residents will now have the chance to walk or ride a short distance to go out to eat, get a haircut, deposit a check, or take the kids to dance or karate lessons. Here is a list of the latest tentants to be contracted for SoDa Row:

Grab a meal

Tio’s Mexican Restaurant - As a decent Mexican resteraunt is not located even close to Daybreak, this place will be a welcome addition. Tio’s is a local Mexican restaurant with one other location currently open in Murray. I asked around about the place in Murray and heard good reviews consisting of authentic food and good service.

San Gelato Café - Gelato in Italian literally means "frozen" and that is what this cafe will mainly serve - Italian icecream. 36 different flavors to be exact. Not in the mood for dessert? Try the a panini, an italian sandwich which has become immensly popular here in America. Pizza, salads, soups, and wraps will also be served at this cafe. Learn more at www.sangelatocafe.com

Flips, Dance, and so much more

Black Diamond Gymnastics - Black Diamond is a Park City based business that will open a second location in Daybreak. It provides gymnastics, dance, cheer and martial arts. However, the list of activities at this new state of the art facility will be wide ranging. Right Star Academy, an academic preschool and tutoring program, will be integrated into the facility as well. Black Diamond offers unique services. An example? How about the Big Air program. The Big Air program is especially for skiers, boarders, skaters, etc. The curriculum focuses on trampoline and tumbling instruction designed to enhance core strength, air awareness and self-confidence while learning the proper technique of flipping and twisting. Learn more at www.blackdiamondgym.com

Get a Haircut

Guy's Barbershop - A truly local establishment where local owner, Guy Dumas, will provide the traditional hair cutting services as a one-man show. Want to know about the neighborhood and the locals? I would ask him. As part of his job description, he will be more knowledgable about individual residents than anyone.

Kids and Clothes

Oopsie Daisy will be the new children's botique in Daybreak. It will offer distinctive children’s clothes, shoes, gifts and furniture. Not a bad idea considering Daybreak is crawling with youngsters.

The Cleaners

Classic Cleaners is an environmentally aware business with two other locations in the valley. I've personally heard good reviews about the other locations. Usually people mention a quick turn around time and friendly service.

Stash the Cash

Zions Bank - Founded in 1873 in Utah, this bank has been a major entity in Utah business from the beginning. Now a local branch will be located in SoDa Row for the convenience of residents.

New Three Story Townhomes in Daybreak

Kennecott Land is set to unveil the first commercial component of Daybreak called SoDa Row. SoDa Row, short for Southern Daybreak, was referred to in earlier blog posts as the village center. While many residents are excited for the shops to open their doors this year, many do not know of the full plans that accompany this new portion of Daybreak.

The residential parts of the village center will exhibit higher densities than the surrounding areas which is appropriate to support the commercial activity and adhere to the transect style of planning. This is not a new idea, but there has always been the question of exactly how Kennecott Land would accomplish this. Kennecott Land has recently confirmed that one housing style to accomplish this density will be three story townhomes.

I am not quite sure who the builder will be or exactly what style they will use, but if the past is of any indication the townhomes will most likely be modern in design. However, the builder and or Kennecott could use a variety of styles in the required sustainable manner. In the last post discussing the South Station Lofts, I criticized the architecture of what will be the highest density residential development of Daybreak to date. I am not an architecture critic and have not participated in any formal training on the subject. However, I do have preferences for more traditional architecture. That said, there were many comments on the post with a few that praised the style of architecture citing the aesthetic appeal of a variety of styles. These comments made me wonder how many residents or soon-to-be residents agree with the blend of modern and traditional architecture being implemented in Daybreak.

Looking to these new three story townhomes, I wonder in what style of architecture the readers of this blog prefer the homes to be constructed. Below is a list of architectural examples in which three story townhomes have been constructed in the past 10 years. They are labeled with a letter. Select the one that you find the most appealing and enter it into the poll located in the right side bar of this blog. After a month, I will post the most appealing style.

University Healthcare at Daybreak

Kennecott Land released a statement today about a new medical care facility that will be built right here in Daybreak. While this facility is not as massive as the hospitals located near the University of Utah or in Murray, the statement indicates that the facility will only be the first phase of a medical “campus” to be built in the coming years as Daybreak is built to completion.

This first phase will feature a 150,000 square ft. building that will be situated on about 10 to 15 acres. To get a perspective of the size of this first facility, the Rio Tinto Corporate Center that presently stands next to Oquirrh Lake is 175,000 square ft. So it will be a little smaller, but not much. Within this space the University plans to incorporate primary and specialty care along with radiology. They will also have a pharmacy and vision care center there as well. Not a bad start to what will be a regional medical center.

Future plans include an expansion of the campus that will take up to 50 acres to be situated near TRAX and the Mountain View Corridor. This future medical campus will include a full-service hospital, surgery and imaging center and an AIRMED base. From my perspective this facility and future campus will be a major boost to Kennecott Land’s Daybreak plans. Having quality medical care nearby is an attractive proposition to the massive demographic wave of baby boomers. These are people who will need medical care close at hand and will move to a neighborhood like Daybreak to be near it. Hundreds of workers will be employed and will be spending their lunch breaks at nearby cafes and might decide that it would be nice to be able to walk to work. While many of the workers will be support staff, other employees will include doctors, nurses, technicians and managers. Professionals that will seek a nice neighborhood nearby to live in.

All of these benefits along with the impact it will have on the local economy and tax base has convinced me that this move is a true stroke of genius by Kennecott Land. However, as I have mentioned in earlier posts, this medical facility will need to be integrated into the community seamlessly. This can be accomplished with good planning and design of which Kennecott Land has certainly demonstrated so far with Daybreak. Hopefully this trend will continue. However, I can’t help but notice a peculiar yet increasingly common sequence of events in this case. First Kennecott donates a mass of money to support the new Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah and now the University plans its new regional care facility to be in Daybreak. Of course we have seen this with many other capital projects in which Rio Tinto has an interest. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours.

Utah Obesity and Daybreak

The University of Utah recently released a study that compares rates of obesity with where people live. This study concluded that people who live in older neighborhoods are significantly thinner than residents of the newer suburbs. Most of these older neighborhoods were built before 1950, but considering the amount of building during the depression and the war, you will find that many of these neighborhoods had homes built in the first and second decade of last century. It was during this time that mixed-use communities were still legal before the separate zoning of commercial and residential. A prime example is the Yale / Harvard area of Salt Lake City. With village centers at 13th South and 17th East, 15th South and 15th East, and another nearby at 9th South and 9th East, most people can walk to the necessities of life. Schools are right in the middle of the neighborhood as well.

This study adds to the growing amount of literature linking obesity to non-walkable suburbs. People find it easy to say Americans are lazy and gluttonous, but the fact is that many U.S. communities simply are not designed for walking. Utah suburbs discourage walking because they are not very safe for pedestrians. Simple attributes such as sidewalks or traffic calming devices are not present. Another discouraging factor is when walking in a cul-de-sac you literally have to walk through a maze of secondary streets to reach most destinations. The only real direct route is to cut through yards. In the traditionally designed suburb, most destinations are not even within an easy walking distance of the homes. All of these factors play a role in discouraging pedestrians. This new study indicates that this active lifestyle is simply easier to achieve in communities that are walkable.

Virtually everything American society has done for the past 100 years has made it easier for us to be lazy. Early concerns about this were shown by the government with fitness and health campaigns being introduced in the early fifties. Currently, it is estimated that 17.1% of US kids Ages 2-19 Are Overweight. This sedentary lifestyle that correlates with obesity does not necessarily stop in childhood. This lifestyle is carried on to adulthood where almost two-thirds of all adults are overweight or obese. It is passed down through the generations, but this is not done solely by genetics. If you are overweight your child has a 40% greater chance of being overweight or obese. With so many opportunities to exercise in Daybreak, it is time that parents be an example to their children and lead a healthy lifestyle.

While Daybreak is cited in this study as being a model of healthy residential development, the study is only referring to the Daybreak that is planned. In an earlier post I talked about walkability in Daybreak. Daybreak is currently not a walkable community. This status will only change once the village center is up and running. With the giant district behemoth shopping center outside the gates, it will be difficult to entice residents out of their cars to visit local shops.

The Future of New Urbanism in Utah

I received an e-mail from a reader not too long ago about my stance on New Urbanism. He insisted that New Urbanism did not have any place in the Utah suburbs. He further suggested that the movement was just a planning fad that would end with only a couple developments in the Salt Lake Valley carrying the banner of New Urbanism. In response, I have decided to post a picture of New Urban developments in the Salt Lake Valley. They are located throughout the valley in all four quadrants branching out from the city center of Salt Lake. While a couple already exist, the majority of these developments are either in the planning or construction phases. As you can see, New Urbanism is not a trend that will go away any time soon and considering the movement has been gaining momentum since the 80s, I do not think it is short term.

In looking at where development is occurring in Utah, the fringes of the community are still popular, but there is a growing trend that is the result of the energy crises. This trend uses transit as a lifeline to the surrounding communities. Numerous TODs (Transportation Oriented Developments) have started already and many more are planned. Any empty space near a proposed TRAX station has become prime real estate for these communities.

Many more New Urban projects are starting all over the state. Ogden, Layton, Farmington, Woods Cross, Park City, Heber, Lehi, Orem, Mapleton, Richfield, Cedar City, and St. George all have projects on the drawing board or being constructed. Of course, none of these projects match the scale of Daybreak or the West Bench which has many more communities planned, but this is clearly the new direction in development. This is by no means an exhaustive list. In fact, if anyone would like to inform me of other communities planned or being built in Utah, then please share. This list is merely what I could gather via the internet.

As for whether or not it belongs in Utah, I would like to refer to another comment that I received: "..let the free market reign." In Utah our demand is being pushed by our demographics. People want to start a family and own a place instead of rent. With housing and land prices going through the roof people need affordable choices. These choices need to save the owners money and time. With the option to ride mass transit, lower utility bills, and maintenance-free options, you can stretch your budget much further. New Urbanism will continue in Utah by choice. This choice has already been seen in the marketplace for housing and will continue well into the future.

Daybreak Village Center

The plans for Daybreak seem to have been in a constant state of flux. Village centers that once appeared on old maps cannot be seen on the new maps. The timing for the village center has also changed. "We would like to have a retail village center built and occupied by the summer of 2005." indicated one executive in an interview when Daybreak was just getting started. If he only knew what the Boyer company had in mind for South Jordan. The change in timing was most likely in response to The District development. New businesses in Daybreak would not be able to compete in the shadow of this retail giant. The timetable was pushed even further back as of late. The good news is that the first phase of the Village Center will arrive this summer. This phase includes the Kennecott Corporate Center. The first part of the 45-acre village center that will include 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, an additional 60,000 square feet of office space and between 475 and 525 high-density multi-family residential housing units. The second phase, which will arrive anywhere between the fall of this year to the summer of 2009, will consist of the anchor grocery store and assortment of shops that address everyday necessities. You can see the general layout in the picture below: Finally, the third phase will be the afore mentioned high-density residential buildings and more commercial. This residential area will probably be the most controversial part of Daybreak because of its density. However, it is this density that will enable Daybreak to become the new urban town that Kennecott has envisioned. As I said before the execution of the details in this new addition to Daybreak will be critical. Kennecott has to solve a major dilemma. They need to make the transition from a relatively low density neighborhood to a high density village center utterly seamless. Kennecott had better put all the necessary talent and thought needed into this venture or they might endanger the vision that they have worked so hard to create. This area is being closely watched by many citizens especially those who live on Topcrest. Citizens will always refer back to this part of Daybreak if this is handled improperly. Possibly saying, "Oh no, not another Topcrest."

Kennecott Land indicated, "On the commercial side, there will be seven individual buildings as a start, there will be more than that ultimately" The character of the buildings is different than what I had imagined. It doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the architecture in daybreak with the exception of the visitor's center. After looking at the Emmigration Market in the Harvard/Yale area (the area that Daybreak is modeled after) I found some similarities in the design. However, if you look at the traditional main streets in the towns of Utah you will find two to three story buildings made of brick. While I'm sure that costs and efficiency are factors in the design decisions I do not think that the illustrations distributed so far resemble anything traditional in Utah.

One building that is definitely not traditional is the Kennecott Corporate Building. It is impressive as a class A office building with LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), but I feel that it is out of scale with its surroundings. The building would be better suited in the town center. (Of course I may feel differently once the village center is built out) I do have to give credit to the contractors who designed the building. The systems in the building, solar panels, parking, all seem to be designed well. As Kennecott brags, "they are truly state of the art."

"The village center has a very high emphasis on architecture, interesting buildings, interesting locations. It's not about creating the most efficient, cost effective box. We set out to create a place and the architecture was driven by that goal. The office was intended to complement the surrounding area as opposed to changing it."

I agree and disagree with this statement. As I said before I do not think that some of the designs indicated in the renderings fit into the current community. However, there have been many new urbanist communities that through traditionalism have become what they fear the most: homogeneous. Several communities in Canada come to mind. Sure all of the homes as individual units are impressive, but if you put them all together you are inundated with the homogeneous architecture. Variety is needed, but this could be the equivalent of a jazzy saxophone soloist in the middle of the Utah Symphony.

Another aspect of the town center that concerns me are the town/row homes that will be built next to the roundabout as you enter Daybreak. These will be the first up-close buildings that many people will see when they enter Daybreak. From what I can see right now, these buildings look to be urban contemporary similar to the new Garbett row homes in North Shore Village. Is this the first thing you want people to see upon entering our neighborhood? No, not really. Even though it seems to be part of the Village Center it is technically on the edge of Daybreak where everything else is classical architecture from early last century. Modern will simply not present a cohesive design, even if it is "Daybreak-ish." In my opinion variety is good, but this part needs to have the flavor of Founders and Eastlake combined.

One part of the plan that I am truly looking forward to is the urban park that is mentioned here:

“Within the Main Street plan, we are designing an urban park that provides elements such as seating, pop jet fountains, an outdoor fire pit, sun shades and music,” says Kaufman. “Above all, the Village Center is positioned between great neighborhood parks, Oquirrh Lake and a variety of area trails.

Additionally, all of the greenery on top of the buildings is welcome in my book. It is rare that you see that level of detail for buildings in Utah. From what I understand, this greenery will not only make the buildings look better, but will also reduce the heat island effect caused by large buildings and concrete. It might even help conserve energy and thus reduce utility bills.

Daybreak's village center will make or break the community in my opinion. The sheer expense, the entire village center will cost $150 million, along with the fact that it will be in immediate competition with The District from the start make this Village Center a "must win" endeavor for Kennecott. The plans and time tables for Daybreak are always changing. Plans are never perfect and a little adaptability is crucial, but these changes will create the heart of Daybreak and therefore must be free of major defects.

Kennecott and New Urbanism

The West Bench plan is an impressive road map to a sustainable future on the West side of the Salt Lake Valley . I like the plan along with many citizens and groups throughout the valley. This plan is especially interesting considering that a mining company is responsible for building these green new urban communities. However, the way Kennecott has chosen to communicate this plan intrigues me. I have found that many of my neighbors in Daybreak are puzzled when I mention that Daybreak is a New Urban community. They have never heard of the term. That is completely understandable since I have not seen Kennecott use the word in any of their advertisements or brochures.

They use the terms smart growth and sustainability all the time, but not “new urbanism.” Of course, I have not searched through every single piece of literature that Kennecott Land has ever produced. Is Kennecott shy about the fact that Daybreak follows new urban principles? More likely Kennecott decided that the public was not ready for an advertising campaign that proclaims the merits of new urbanism. This makes some sense considering that the Daybreak community was the first major new urban community in Utah . Introduce the concept slowly so people get used to the idea. So you see the advertising featuring the kids playing, the traditional architecture, community gatherings, and the silhouette of the tree on the yellow background with the tag line “this is getting good.” These advertisements appeal to our nostalgic side of how neighborhoods used to be. It also appeals to parents who feel that it takes a community to raise a child. Not that these advertisements are bad. They’re not. In fact the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" applies here. But while they show the pictures of and people who live in a new urban community, they do not convey the philosophy behind the development.

Maybe that is why some people are surprised when the City of South Jordan distributed the flyer informing citizens about the future Daybreak apartments. Conflicts usually come about because people or groups have differing expectations. Kennecott Land should probably stick with their current campaign, but they need to inform the residents and prospective residents about the philosophy behind Daybreak. Maybe then people will know what to expect.

Renting In Daybreak

In an earlier post I talked about how apartments are an integral part of new urban communities. In my opinion if they are integrated properly into a community they can bring diversity and allow people that could not otherwise afford to buy a home a chance to live in Daybreak. How do Daybreak residents feel about apartments being built? According to a Daybreak Daily website poll most Daybreak residents do not like the idea. In fact, 62.5% of the 115 respondents indicated that they were not happy with the decision to build apartments in Daybreak. (May 13) They are not alone. Most owners of single-family homes or condos in the United States do not want to live near rental housing. They see them as high-crime areas that put extraordinary burdens on local schools and civil services. However this has been proven completely false. Numerous studies conducted by Harvard, NYU, and numerous government entities prove that these claims are false. Per unit crime in apartments is almost equal to that of single family homes. As for property values, "Between 1987 and 1995, single-family houses located within 300 feet of apartment communities appreciated at roughly the same rate as those not near an apartment property, 3.12 percent compared to 3.19 percent."

On the other hand I feel that there is something to be said about the habits that tend to be exhibited by renters. People frequently moving in and out result in noise and create an environment of impermanence and of a transitory lifestyle. Property managers report a higher incidence of rule violations by tenants. Examples include noise disturbances, illegal parking and overburdening of the Association recreational facilities. These rules are broken because many tenants are ignorant of these community restrictions. Rental occupancies tend to be shorter than owner occupancies and do not facilitate long-term relationships among neighbors. Resident owners are more likely to carefully maintain exclusive use common areas than are tenants. However, most of these negative attributes apply to homes and condos that are rented out. These are properties that are integrated into the community with the purpose of being owner occupied. The condos and homes in Daybreak that are being leased are more likely to exhibit these problems. With the proper planning the negative impacts can be minimized.

From what I understand Kennecott intends to build many apartments in or within close proximity to the village center. This is good planning, but the devil is in the details. How exactly will they integrate it with the predominant architecture in Daybreak? Exactly how close will these apartments be to single family homes? I would not want to walk out of my front door and stare at a massive facade of a 5 story concrete apartment building. Kennecott Land seems to have a penchant for surprising stake holders by withholding details until the last minute. I would urge them to be a little more forthcoming with residents. Especially those on Topcrest.

Many aspects of the community hinge on the successful integration of higher density housing. Take TRAX for example. You cannot justify having a line run into daybreak without a certain amount of residents in the immediate area of the stations. This calls for density. To truly be a walkable community a development must have a higher density for all essentials to be in close proximity to all homes in a community. From a business standpoint, it makes sense to build these apartments now. It is good timing that they are ready to build the village center and apartments right when the market for rental properties has become much more attractive and commercial entities are still expanding. In all practicality I feel that these apartments can be a great addition to the community if they are done properly. I just hope the planners use the successful attributes of other new urban communities.

Big Box - New Urbanism Style

Big box stores. You know, the large, free-standing, rectangular, generally single-floor structures built on a concrete slab. Many people hate these massive conglomerations of retail space and others love them. The formula has been standard for quite some time now. Build the box by a large freeway or shopping district and put 20 acres of parking around it. People will drive to the store. This formula is about to change. I doubt that big box stores are going away, but the way they do business will change. The last frontier for big box stores who have already conquered the suburbs and rural areas are city centers. Walmart, target, borders, home depot, and many others have redesigned their stores and strategy to meet this new market. These new retail locations blend in more with the urban environment and are almost always more than one story. They have trimmed down a bit too. Instead of the gigantic 200,000 sq. foot stores you will find medium box size stores from 60,000 to 100,000 sq feet. The storefronts are near the sidewalk and the parking is either underneath or in back.

While these stores can suit city centers, they can also serve new urbanism neighborhoods and communities. Companies who traditionally use big box stores realize that they need to change the architecture of their stores to match the surrounding community. This realization has come from numerous attempts of these companies trying to locate their stores in these communities only to get shot down by local residents. Walmart wanted to put a box in Kentlands, but the residents would not stand for it. Usually stores like Walmart would just go to a nearby plot of land or outside location to open the store and enjoy the same customer base. In my opinion, Walmart is already employing this activity with two of their stores being built within a short driving distance of Daybreak. However, Kennecott has a strangle hold on all of the land on the West Bench. It will be up to them if they want a Walmart on their land. If big box stores want in on future developments on the West side of Salt Lake County they will have to play by Kennecott's rules. Now if we can only get Kennecott to stick to their guns.

Big box stores have already been mentioned by Kennecott in their plans for Daybreak. From what I understand these stores will be located in the main town center and not in the village centers. When these new stores are built what will they look like? Big box retailers have already opened alternative designs in other cities across the US. I have included a few pictures in this post that I have found on the web. Many of these stores, in addition to the structural features already mentioned, will have apartment lofts above the main store front. This will further the mixed-use tradition of new urban communities. The overall design of many of these stores can make them as aesthetically pleasing as their previous stores are ugly. Well, maybe not that pleasing, but close. New Urban News did a piece on how big box stores can blend in to a new urban community. They found that it can be done by wrapping the outside of the box with new urban structures. This has been done in Belmar Colorado by Continuum Partners.

The idea is to simply hide the gray wall exterior of the big box stores by surrounding them with buildings that are architecturally appealing. These can be mom & pop shops, restaurants, town homes and condos, etc. There are difficult problems to over come with logistics, code, and space utilization, but these "wrapper buildings" stand on their own economically. People want them and developers rent or sell them at a profit. The buildings are so small that they can usually only facilitate mom & pop stores instead of national chain stores.

In an earlier post I urged you to buy local and not shop at big box stores. I stand by this. If you have a local independent merchant support them first. However, big box stores are not going to go away. The efficiency with which they operate delivers the prices that customers want. The market will force them to adapt, but they will still be here for years to come. If they are going to be a part of our community, then they had better fit in with the community.

Businesses In Daybreak: A Wishlist

Everyone has their favorite stores that they would like to see in their neighborhood or close by. In many ways I miss the local independent businesses that were located near my neighborhood. Of course I would love to see similar businesses come to daybreak. Here are just a few:

Emigration Market

Emigration has served the Harvard/Yale community since 1942. The market specializes in the finest cuts of meat and seafood, bakery, produce, home delivery and is proud of it's award winning deli and catering.




Game Night Games

Game Night Games is a game store located in Salt Lake City that carries a large selection of strategy board games and card games, particularly European games. They feature an in-store play area and regular game nights, tournaments and events. The store is also available for private game parties.


Eggs In the City

This neighborhood coffee shop and diner is inviting and comfortable with large windows, cozy booths, and an outdoor patio. The food is simple but tasty, offering up a traditional menu of bacon and eggs, pancakes, sandwiches, and fresh bakery items.




The King's English Bookshop
The King's English is a locally-owned independent book store. They have the most comprehensive children's book selection in the state of Utah as well as mysteries, new fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, nature, and western writers. They have eight book-packed rooms and host frequent readings and signings by both national and local authors.

Spoon Me
Spoon Me is a new frozen yogurt restaurant located in Salt Lake. The shop was started by a local entrepreneur that graduated from the U. Spoon Me cups, spoons, straws, napkins, even the garbage bags are 100% biodegradable in as little as 90 days. Spoon Me frozen yogurt is also low in sugar and with less than 80 calories a serving it’s a treat that everyone can enjoy.

Buying Local

One of the cornerstone principles of New Urbanism is that a community must be walkable. To be walkable, most of the essential needs of residents should be within a 10 minute walking distance. Schools, shops, dining, and recreation should all be a walkable distance from your house. So far, Kennecott has delivered well on these principles except for two obvious components: shops and dining. Kennecott is currently in negotiations with a variety of possible retail vendors for placement in the Village Center. I have heard different rumors about grocers, coffee shops, bakeries, and the like, but nothing solid yet. In the mean time, we go against the whole philosophy behind Daybreak: we get in our cars and drive to big box retail and grocery stores outside of Daybreak. Now that we have established our purchasing behavior with the big box stores, what will happen when the intended small stores move into Daybreak? These local businesses will have to start out in the shadow of the big box stores and they are right outside the front gate of our community.

The Boyer Company is the company when you are talking about commercial real estate. This company has a portfolio that includes the Gateway, Draper Peaks, Quarry Bend, and the Junction. This is the company that planned and built The District right outside of Daybreak to the East. Kennecott has less than stellar relations with The Boyer Company. In fact they filed a lawsuit against South Jordan on November 3rd of this last year accusing the city of making a back-door deal with The Boyer Company. The deal was to put a high-density housing development right next to Daybreak. This deal would have made a traffic nightmare and did not consider the impact of the surrounding community at all.

So will our local shops survive in a big box world? That question will be answered collectively by the Daybreak community. If we want to be able to walk down the street on a Monday afternoon to buy the meat for a barbecue, fresh produce for a home-made smoothie, or the best lure to catch fish in Oquirrh Lake, then we need to support the local businesses that come to Daybreak. In business you vote with your money. Buy local. But don't just support the local businesses because it is part of the overall Daybreak master plan, do it because of the many benefits gained by everyone:

Local, independently owned businesses are the heart and soul of any community. These are the stores in our neighborhoods; their owners are our friends and neighbors. More often than not, it is the knowledgeable service and attention to your needs that you value and respect in local businesses. What you may not know is that local business contributes more to the local economy, since the money you spend at a local merchant has three times the impact in our local and regional economy. Those who work with local businesses are more likely to earn a living wage and receive benefits. Food that is produced locally is fresher and requires far less energy to transport to market And not insignificantly, it is local business owners who are there with contributions for schools, hospitals, local projects, youth groups, neighborhood functions, and civic projects. They don’t have to go to corporate headquarters for approval. The owners are your neighbors. -Local First Utah

According to the professional brokers flier that has been circulated, Kennecott has signed Black Diamond (rock climbing & multi-sport facility), a baker, a grocer, and will have a music conservatory. I hope they succeed in making Daybreak a truly walkable community.