Daybreak Place: Apartments in Daybreak, Utah

Kennecott Land will soon be developing Daybreak Place, a 315 unit apartment complex situated North of Daybreak Parkway and just West of the Rio Tinto Corporate Center. While I am not sure about the timeline for the project, I am fairly sure that construction will be in conjunction with TRAX and the village center. Daybreak Place will consist of eight 2 and 3-story apartment buildings with 165 tuck-under garages.

From the beginning Daybreak was planned to include higher-density structures such as apartments and condominium complexes. This is part of the concept of New Urbanism and is necessary to facilitate other amenities coming to Daybreak such as TRAX. However, I would have to review Kennecott Land's plans for this complex more thoroughly before forming my opinion on this new development. Integrating dense development into what is currently a suburb community definitely has its challenges. Given this limited information, I am not sure that this plan meets those challenges effectively.

From what I can see this new complex will have some amenities of its own including a pool and what looks to be a club house. I see this as a definite plus as these amenities ensure that additional stress is not placed on existing amenities. From the picture of the structure you can see the varied facade that counteracts the fact that the building itself is quit large. While this design does not look too bad, I have definitely seen better. I wonder if it has that "daybreakish" look that they seem to strive after?

While I am adopting a wait-and-see attitude for this complex it is definitely better than the majority of similar developments in the valley. For one, it does seem to follow the transect style plan of Daybreak as it is near TRAX and close to the Town Center. Another feature that separates this level of density from the less dense residential to the South is Daybreak Parkway.

From my standpoint this complex could serve as a transition residence for many people who want to move to Daybreak, but cannot quite afford a home of their own. Maybe Kennecott will set up an exception to the time period of the lease if the renter decides to buy a home in Daybreak. This complex could serve a vital function as many people who have had their credit destroyed by foreclosure could still find an apartment in a community such as Daybreak.
With TRAX literally down the street I imagine this complex will attract single working professionals as well.

From what I can see the apartments will be managed by a company called Western National Group (WNG). WNG is a large California based multifamily development firm that covers all aspects from planning to managing. This firm has built and managed tens of thousands of apartment units across the U.S. While I cannot confirm at this time, I have heard that rent for these apartments will range from $600 for a single bedroom apartment to $1200 for a three bedroom unit.

Utah To Grant $6,000 to Home Buyers

Earlier today the Utah State Legislature passed the Housing Relief Restricted Special Revenue Fund. This fund grants $6,000 to individuals who purchase a home in Utah. There are a few stipulations:

• The home must be a "newly constructed" residence which includes all homes that have never been occupied.
• Income limits apply as you will not qualify for this grant if you as an individual make over $75,000 or as a couple make over $150,000 annually.
• The number of grants is limited and are available on a first come first served basis. Approximately 1666 grants are available (10 million dollars)
• This grant is for any home buyer (as opposed to first-time home buyers exclusively)
  

This money can be used as a down payment or for closing costs. $6,000 by itself would probably not do much to force potential home buyers off of the fence, but when you consider all of the other factors ($8,000 tax credit, low interest rates, builder incentives) I think that this will definitely push a few buyers off of the fence. Especially in a time where the down-payment seems to be the biggest hurdle as the credit crunch continues.

For Daybreak, I think that you will see a definite uptick in the market for new homes as builders with more affordable options will be selling some inventory. As for how this will affect the existing home market, I can't be sure. There are great deals to be found in foreclosures and short sales.

To apply for your grant, visit the Utah Housing Corp website.

Looking at Daybreak, Utah In a New Way

At about this time last year I wrote a post about the Streetview technology that Google integrated into their popular maps interface. Another useful web application that has been developed by Microsoft allows the user a "bird's eye" view of any area in the Salt Lake Valley, including Daybreak. This has been integrated into their maps application so to access it you just need to go to maps.live.com. Once you are in the maps section you need to zoom in on the area that you want to look at with bird's eye. Once you are zoomed in close enough the bird's eye option will be available in the navigation bar in the top left of your map screen.
You can zoom in fairly close too.

One of the best features of this web application is that you can view the same spot from four different angles: North, South, East and West.

Building in Daybreak with Brick

Daybreak, as Kennecott Land has eagerly advertised, is a sustainable community and therefore uses sustainable materials in the construction of homes and other buildings. Of course, not all the materials are sustainable, but sustainable materials are definitely emphasized in construction. With this in mind I have looked at the materials used to build many of the homes in Daybreak. These consist primarily of fiber cement siding and stucco. There are very few homes that have been built with what I consider to be one of the best building materials: brick.

I should make it clear that I am not a materials engineer, home builder or sustainability expert. However, I do think that there are simple reasons for using this material more in the construction of Daybreak homes and commercial buildings. Brick may not be the first thing you think of when considering sustainable building as it is primarily thought of as a traditional building material, but lets look a little deeper. What is brick made from? Most bricks are made from clay and water. Both are a sustainable, non-toxic, abundant and can definitely be made locally.

Next, how much energy does it take to make a brick and transport it to a building site? This is one of the primary arguments against the use of brick. It does take a lot of energy as brick must be heated to an extraordinary temperature during the manufacturing process. However, I think that this is offset by how long brick lasts. Bricks resist the elements far longer than stucco or any type of siding. During the life of a home, stucco and siding will be painted and eventually replaced multiple times. Brick, however can last a hundred years or more if used and constructed properly. As for transportation costs, bricks have been made in the Salt Lake Valley for ages. Transportation from the actual production site to Daybreak would literally be only a few miles. In fact, if I am not mistaken, Interstate Brick company is located in West Jordan .

Benefits of brick according to the AIA (American Institute of Architects):

• Durability: Brick is resistant to damage from wind and water, and does not need additional finishes.
• Compressive Strength: Brick can carry heavy loads, but it is often used as a veneer over a separate structural system because of cost. Many brick manufacturers provide larger brick sizes to be used in a single wythe (layer) for load bearing.
• Acoustical Performance: Brick’s mass makes it good for reducing sound transmission; however, its hard surface reflects sound.
• Chemical Makeup: Brick’s raw materials are chemically inert; consequently, they will not contribute to indoor air pollution.
• Fire-Protection: Brick is nonflammable and makes an excellent fire barrier. After brick has been used in a structure it can easily be recycled to be used in new structures.

Considering this, I think that a long-term perspective should be taken on sustainable building in Daybreak. New technologies in sustainable building products are impressive, but considering the information above, the primitive brick may be a low technology solution to sustainable design. You may even argue that brick costs more and you would be correct. However, brick homes tend to appraise for more money and again if you are looking at the long-term, you will not have to replace the outside of your home when the mortgage has finally been paid.

Tax Credit Final Amount: $8000

The stimulus bill has now been passed, but the $15000 tax credit did not survive the cuts made to the original bill. However, the new tax credit is still a drastic improvement upon the old $7500 credit.

$8000 tax credit highlights:

• The $8000 tax credit is available only to first-time home buyers
• The $8000 tax credit is available only when the first-time home buyers buy a primary residence
• The $8000 tax credit is available only to first-time home buyers buying a primary residence between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009
• The $8000 tax credit does not require repayment
• The $8000 tax credit is claimed on a tax return and reduces the tax liability. If the credit is more than the tax liability, the unused credit will be issued as a check to the person claiming the credit
• If you sell the home within 3 years, the entire $8000 tax credit must be payed back
  

Garden Park at Daybreak: More Details Released

Kennecott Land and Ivory Homes finally sent out a press release about the new Garden Park village that is to be built for "empty nesters." The release gave some interesting details. Here is a summary:

• Garden Park will be over 100 acres
• Ivory Homes will build all 500 units
• The community is age qualified, "where households typically must include at least
  one person that is age 55 years or better."
• The community will have its own clubhouse and fitness facility
• Grand opening should be in June

The location of this large addition to our existing Daybreak community is illustrated on the map. As with any plans that Kennecott Land may have, you can be assured that this map will change. However, from this map you can see the convenience of this location as it is literally in the middle of everything.

At first I found it odd that Kennecott Land would select Ivory homes as the exclusive builder for this community, but it seems to make sense when you consider the goals of each organization. Ivory Homes has been and constantly strives to be the "#1 homebuilder in Utah." This rank is associated with the actual number of units built. While building more (500 in all) will boost their numbers, I see this as more of a long-term relationship. Ivory Homes did not jump in at the beginning of Daybreak, but they understand that the whole of the West Bench will be developed by Kennecott Land. If Ivory Homes wants to keep their rank, especially in the Salt Lake Valley, they will need to form a long-term relationship with Kennecott Land. This Garden Park agreement seems to be the beginning of this long-term relationship.

As for Kennecott Land, I can only guess at their reasons. It does look like it would be much easier to deal with only one builder in a project that demands quality and needs to be designed as such. As one of the most experienced homebuilders in the region, Ivory Homes seems to be a logical selection to carry out this plan. Comments would be welcome here. Let me know what you think....

New $15,000 Tax Credit?

Recently the news has been inundated with stories featuring the new stimulus package currently being considered by the U.S. Senate. While partisan politics has definitely played its role in the different amendments to the bill, one measure submitted that was unanimously passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. This provision would provide a tax credit of as much as $15,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price of the home whichever is less to anyone buying a primary residence during a one-year period beginning on the date of enactment.

This supersedes the $7500 tax credit that has been in effect since June of last year. However, the difference is more than just the amount of the tax credit. The $7500 tax credit is essentially an interest-free loan which must be paid back over the course of 17 years. According to U.S. News and World Report this new tax credit does not have to be paid back. It is yours as long as you occupy the new property as your primary residence for at least 2 years.

This measure also stipulates that you can claim this credit on your 2008 taxes even if you buy your home in 2009. So the $15,000 could be an immediate boost for those in position to buy a new home. Many may argue that this measure will probably just be cut from the legislation before it is passed, but as I write this the news is that the Senate has already agreed to the stimulus and will be passing it on to the President soon. The date on which the President signs this bill will be the first date that you will be able to qualify so if you are about to close a deal, you might want to hold off for just a little longer.

Mullins, L.. (2009, Feb. 6). The $15,000 Home Buying Tax Credit: 6 Things to Know. U.S. News and World Report Retrieved Feb. 6, 2009, from http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-home-front/2009/02/06/the-15000-home-buying-tax-credit-6-things-to-know.html.

Future Performing Arts in Daybreak

My first experience in the arts was the annual kindergarten Christmas play. I was fairly clumsy and uncomfortable in my little Christmas outfit, but my parents were ecstatic over my performance. This enthusiasm gave me pride in my performance, even though I only had one line to contribute to the script.

While theatre was not a staple in my family I did enjoy going to numerous live performances over the years including All My Sons, Annie Get your Gun, Les Miserables, and others. The importance of theater in our community is the opportunity it provides to experience the immediacy and power of live performances. The stage is a place where ideas are expressed and examined carrying our imagination to a new world.

Locally, we have seen interest in theatre realized in the Daybreak Community Theatre. This group, whose website you can visit here, has so far produced The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan.
Aristocats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and High School Musical are all slated for this season. As with any organization devoted to the arts, sponsorship and means to produce are always needed. One of the major issues with this group is a place to perform. South Jordan has been using the senior citizens center for many of the arts and desperately needs a venue for the performing arts. The need for such a facility exists, but how would we fund such a facility and where would it be located?

Salt Lake County recently released their Cultural Facilities Master Plan. This plan is based upon substantial research of demographics and market data. Does this plan have something in mind for Daybreak? Yes, The plan proposes the Daybreak Amphitheatre in Sunrise Mountain Park to be upgraded with a stage house and other improvements. This facility would accommodate outdoor performances during the warm months of the year and possibly provide limited space indoors for rehearsals and other performances. South Jordan City should be taking possession of this park sometime this year.

The Daybreak Amphitheatre will be a welcome upgrade to our community, but it does not satisfy the long-term need for a performing arts center. However, the county also announced plans to build three regional performing arts centers in the Salt Lake Valley. Apparently, the county will be able to free up some "play money" because they are finally paying off the Salt Palace expansion and will have decreasing payments for the Real Salt Lake soccer stadium. So now the question is where will they locate these performing arts centers. Of course, everyone would like a performing arts center nearby. Their obvious cultural benefits to the community are tremendous, but they also have substantial economic benefits to the community around them. One of these centers is planned to be located in the southwest corner of the salt lake valley. In my opinion I think that South Jordan should step up and vie for this amenity to be in our community.

The marketing data collected for the county indicates that South Jordan would be a decent place to site this center, but identifies other locations that are considered better markets. Herriman is listed in the report as a better prospect than South Jordan. However, when looking at the whole I think the center will ultimately be located near the town center of Daybreak.

While there are definitely other possible locations in the Southwest portion of Salt Lake County for this center, Daybreak would be a suitable location for a number of reasons. One of the best reasons is that the West Bench master plan indicates that Daybreak will be the hub for transit and major facilities in the southwest corner of the valley. With TRAX and the Mountain View corridor being built, residents from numerous communities could access the center quickly. Another plus would be the land deal that the county would likely get. While I am not too sure of the relationship of the Salt Lake County government and Kennecott Land, I know that the center would be an extremely attractive amenity in Daybreak and would be a selling point for Kennecott Land. This would also have a multiplier effect for their commercial properties as well. As for the county, you might recall the fallout between the county and Kennecott Land early last year over the West Bench plan. Now the director (who was hired mainly to deal with Kennecott Land and plan the West Bench) and a few planning managers in the county government have been put on paid administrative leave for mismanagement of the Planning Department. Hopefully that does not affect the placement of this center.

As for funds, the City of South Jordan has been fiscally responsible and is in a better position than most to vie for this center. With a good land deal from Kennecott, we might be seeing this $30 million to $35 million dollar arts center, which could include a 500-seat auditorium, a 250-seat black-box theater, rehearsal rooms, gallery space and classrooms in our Daybreak community in the future.
The question is when. While the two other centers are likely to be built in the near future, the Southwest center will not likely be built for years to come. This makes sense as the growth of the community supports such a facility, but waiting until there is more population and complimenting infrastructure will ensure the success of this new center.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House Scheduled

The dates for an open house and the dedication of the new Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple in Daybreak, South Jordan were announced Saturday by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The open house will take place weekdays from June 1 through Aug. 1, except for the July 4 and July 24 holidays. The temple will be dedicated Aug. 14-16, with 12 dedicatory sessions scheduled. The 130th operating temple for the church — the 13th in Utah — was announced at the October 2005 general conference. Groundbreaking ceremonies occurred Dec. 16, 2006.

The temple will serve roughly 83,000 residents in the western Salt Lake Valley. It is the fourth temple in the valley. South Jordan will be the first city in the world with two LDS temples.

The Best Home Builder in Daybreak

Who is the best home builder in Daybreak? If you pose this question to a representative of Kennecott Land or possibly the HOA you will probably get an answer similar to, "Well, they are all really great." They might subsequently ask you about your price range. Of course you are going to get what you pay for, but comparing a builder that constructs luxury $500,000 homes with a town home builder fits the oft used phrase of comparing oranges and apples.

However, with Rainey Homes building homes that range from 199k to over 500k and Holmes Homes building homes that range from 129k to over 300k, things have become more comparable. Other builders have started to expand the price range of their offerings as the market for more luxury homes has softened in the last two years. The Daybreak Daily forums have also produced many opinions and have listed numerous complaints about various builders. However, most people tend to only post the bad things they have experienced and not all of the good things. You will find many more complaints than compliments on any forum.

Given this information I think that the most telling measure has been the polls located on this site and on the Daybreak Daily. They asked the same simple question: Who is the best builder in Daybreak? Interestingly, Rainey Homes looks to be the clear leader in both polls. The poll on this blog is actually fairly difficult to manipulate as the IP address is recorded when one votes so that they cannot vote twice. Second in line is Destination Homes which is agreed on by both polls as well. After that it is really a toss up.

In the end I do believe that all of the home builders are decent, but consumers are biased toward quality which is a more common feature with the more expensive homes built by Destination and Rainey. Other builders such as Ivory and Garbett homes have not been around in Daybreak long enough to make a fair comparison assessment. Especially when the product in Daybreak is not what many of these builders are used to providing. In the future, I have heard rumor that when the market for more expensive homes becomes more viable, other builders will build in Daybreak. Especially on the custom home lots.

If you have information that you would like to share about your builder, then please comment on this blog. I post everything as long as it is not spam or offensive. What do you think of the builders in Daybreak? Who is the Best? The worst?