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.

eBay Building Computer Center in Daybreak

eBay Inc. and the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) announced today that a “next-generation” data center will be developed in the Daybreak Commerce Park. This data center will support the many websites that Ebay Inc. currently runs including eBay.com, PayPal, Skype and shopping.com among others. This new facility is expected to generate approximately 50 jobs that will be compensated at an average of 150 percent of the Utah median wage.

eBay Inc. chose Daybreak because of the infrastructure (fiber-optic network, low cost of power). The GOED office also cited the highly qualified workforce that has developed in Utah as the result of many high-tech firms locating operations here.

The eBay facility is actually the second large computer operation to locate in the Daybreak Commerce Park, which sits on the northwest corner of Daybreak development. Oracle, a well-known business software developer, broke ground on its global information technology center in October.

The facility is expected to cost 334 million dollars to build. As with every building in Daybreak, the facility will feature new green technology. Considering the building will house literally thousands of power-sucking computers this will be important from a cost standpoint in addition to being a “environmentally friendly” company as well. These new green features will include a “water side economizer that uses outside air to cool water versus motorized chillers and variable speed drives to run fans and chillers on an on-demand basis. Additionally, rainwater will be used to supply the cooling tower and for landscape irrigation.” I take this as extremely good news as many companies have been cutting jobs to sustain their operations. A prime example of this is Kraftmaid Cabinetry who cut hundreds of jobs in the adjacent community of West Jordan.

New Pool in Founders Village - 2010

Early in the development of Daybreak, Kennecott Land had plans to create a beach club that would be situated just outside Founders Village along the shore of Oquirrh Lake. This deal fell through for a number of reasons and residents of Founders Village felt like a promise had been broken. When Kennecott Land announced that a new pool was to be constructed in Eastlake Village, many residents were pleased with the new amenity, but still wanted something similar to be located in Founders Village.

After months of relaying this concern to the HOA and KL, a meeting between a group of homeowners and Kennecott Land has resulted in a plan to build a pool similar to the Eastlake Village pool in Founders Village. The pool will be located next to the Daybreak Community Center (DCC) and has several financial advantages.

The first advantage is that the pool will not need to be designed again as the plans are already in existence. Using these plans saves homeowners an estimated $150,000 dollars. By locating it next to the DCC, there is a possibility of restructuring the showering facilities there to be of use by the patrons of the pool. Local Health Department approval will be needed in this case, but if executed correctly this proposal could save up to $300,000. A final cost advantage is that a variety of firms will be bidding on the project. While this may not seem like a change from other projects, many residents have noted local companies that could construct the pool at a much lower cost than what the Eastlake Pool commanded.

The economic conditions in the construction industry may also be to our advantage as they have become slightly more competitive in recent months. While the swimming pool was discussed at length, the most important product of this meeting was a proposal to transition ownership of the DCC to Daybreak homeowners. Currently Daybreak homeowners are in a 20 year lease agreement for use the DCC with Kennecott Land. The current lease rate is about $270,000 per year. However, under the current agreement this lease will increase to $335,000 per year in 2010. This essentially adjustable rate lease would leave Daybreak Homeowners without ownership of the DCC in the end. The proposed plan is that the homeowners finance the DCC through essentially a mortgage. Attendees of the meeting went over the numbers with the Chief Financial Officer of Kennecott Land and this deal could save homeowners an estimated 6.7 million over 20 years and we will have ownership of the DCC with a pool in Founder’s Village.

Here is a timeline for upcoming events related to this proposal:

• Dec 16th Daybreak BOD meeting
• Jan – HOA will process reserve fund analysis
• Feb – Pool Committee meeting with KL to go over layout and specifics
• Feb – Notices sent to residents of BOD meeting to decide on the proposal
• Mar – BOD Meeting - Residents voice concerns – measure voted on by BOD May (2010) – Founders Village Pool opens on Memorial Day weekend

This proposal could benefit all residents of Daybreak, but especially those in Founders Village. The deal will probably be to the benefit of Kennecott Land as they will be able to free up capital. Specific financial information (terms of the loan, comparative analysis, etc) will hopefully be forthcoming so that homeowners can make an informed financial decision for the future of Daybreak.

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.

TRAX in Daybreak - Real Estate Boost?

As we experience a declining housing market in the U.S., it is important to consider the geography of areas both losing and gaining property value. In Utah we are currently seeing some neighborhoods decline as they are primarily constituted of homes in the higher price ranges. Beyond this trend, there is another subtle trend that I have noticed taking place across the country. Homes within a walkable distance to light-rail stations are fairing better in this down market and some are even gaining value.

The Washington post reported on this trend, showing the percent change in the median home price of individual zip codes of Washington D.C. and its surrounding counties. The paper found that areas without direct access to metro stations - ones that were typically suburban in nature - experienced greater losses in median home value.

In Denver, where they have pushed light-rail construction heavily, the Denver Post reported that values have increased for homes near light-rail stations:

Margarete Humphrey knows her bungalow near the Louisiana Station light-rail stop is in a hot neighborhood. But she was surprised to learn the value of her home has increased over the past two years as much of the metro Denver housing market has declined. Homes near light-rail stations along the southeast line, which opened in November 2006, have increased by an average of nearly 4 percent over the past two years, according to an analysis by Your Castle Real Estate. But the rest of the Denver market declined an average of 7.5 percent.

While most of the studies indicate that transit increases property values, there are a few that have found that it decreases property values. In looking at these studies these negative impacts occur because of the negative side effects that are realized by those properties located right next to rail facilities. The noise, aesthetics, and traffic were cited as the primary culprits. In these studies homes that were in extreme close proximity lost value, but homes further away (but still within walking distance) gained value. However, most of these negative impacts can be mitigated by proper planning. The Daybreak plan looks to mitigate these factors as the TRAX line follows commercial, industrial, and retail properties in its penetration of the community. So these "nuisance effects" are absorbed by these non-residential areas that actually benefit from the traffic of cars and people. Further benefit is realized as these non-residential properties will be using the TRAX parking to their benefit.

So how does transit increase property values? Because it increases access to area destinations for residents in close proximity to transit stations. It is for this very reason that TRAX may be able to add maximum value to the Daybreak community. Daybreak essentially lies on the fringe of development in Southwest Salt Lake County. To get to most destinations, residents must travel either East or North to arrive there. Right now there are limited options to do this and accessibility is definitely a problem. TRAX offers a direct route to Salt Lake City, the University of Utah, various sports complexes, shopping centers, commuter rail, etc. While gas prices have recently gone down drastically, I do not expect them to stay there. The more gas prices increase the more people will see TRAX as their best transportation option. This will only increase property values more.

Overall, transit adds value to communities like Daybreak regardless of the economic climate. Neighborhoods and communities with strong connectivity will thrive in the long-term. Transit has the ability to increase (or at least sustain) value because it provides more people with access to essential destinations in a given area; it also improves one's quality of life in congested metropolitan areas such as the Wasatch Front.

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.

East / West Mobility - The 114th South Corridor

If you live in in the Southwestern portion of Salt Lake County (South Jordan, Herriman, Riverton) and commute, then you probably already know how difficult it can be to drive eastward toward I-15 in the mornings and back again after work. This East - West mobility issue has been a problem for decades. While different roads have been widened to help alleviate traffic, it has always been too little to late.

For Daybreak residents, this new corridor will provide a straight line connecting the community to the largest transportation artery in Utah. This aspect of the plan definitely gets a thumbs up from me. However, to accomplish this, we will be displacing long-time residents of South Jordan. That is the price of progress, but I consider it a costly one. While many may argue that building another road is not the answer, I would have to disagree. This simply provides another option and relieves the congestion on 106th and 123rd. This road will accomodate the current population with TRAX and the Mountain View Corridor addressing future population growth.

Construction could begin as early as late November 2008 with a completion date of fall 2010. Construction will widen the road from four lanes to five, add bike lanes and sidewalks as well as a bridge over Union Pacific and Utah Transit Authority tracks near the Jordan River. The road will connect to I-15 using the usual interchange seen on 106th and 123rd.

Early Light Academy Enrollment to Begin

The Early Light Academy, a new charter school in Daybreak opening in fall 2009, will begin the enrollment process in combination with a parent information night on Thursday (Nov.6) at 7:00 pm. This free session, open to the pubic, will be held at the Daybreak Community Center. In addition to learning about the enrollment and lottery process, parents will have the opportunity to meet the Early Light Academy’s governing board and their chosen team of experts
including Academica West, Atlas Architects, and K12 Inc.

Granted approval by the Utah State Board of Education, the public school will accept kindergarten through eighth grade during its first year, adding the ninth grade in Fall 2010. At full capacity, total enrollment will be at 750 students. Classroom size will not exceed 25 students.

Trees for Daybreak

The street that I called home when I was a child was lined with trees. Any memory that I have while playing in my neighborhood includes these long-lived giants. They were planted long before I was born and will probably outlive me even if I live to be 100. The shade they gave during the hot summer months, the brilliant colors and piles of leaves in the fall, the climate and peace of mind that they provided was more valuable than any other amenity. Sara Ebenreck said that trees outstrip most people in the extent and depth of their work for the public good.

Considering these memories, I am glad that the landscape plan for Daybreak calls for the planting of 100,000 trees among the 4200 acres that will eventually make up the whole of the community. It is one of the major reasons that I moved here. Most of the trees in Daybreak are just getting started, but given time will grow to be the same green sentinels that I enjoyed in my old neighborhood.

This transformation will dramatically affect every aspect of life in Daybreak. For example, one of the main underlying philosophies of Daybreak is conservation and smart growth. We are building homes that are energy efficient, planting water-wise plants and reducing runoff among other things. All of these efforts will be reinforced by the planting of trees.

• "The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day."—U.S. Department of Agriculture
• "Landscaping can reduce air conditioning costs by up to 50 percent, by shading the windows and walls of a home." — American Public Power Association
• "The planting of trees means improved water quality, resulting in less runoff and erosion. This allows more recharging of the ground water supply." —USDA Forest Service

Trees help the environment in more direct ways as well. Especially in Utah, the temperature underneath a tree can be much cooler. By using trees in our neighborhoods, we moderate the heat-island effect caused by the heat radiated by pavement, buildings, and other hardscapes. The quality of the air we breathe is improved by trees as the leaves filter dust and other particulates. Trees also absorb other pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide and recycle it into oxygen.

One of the most interesting affects trees have is on your pocketbook. Besides saving money by lowering energy costs, trees can increase the value of your property. A house with mature trees can be worth 5 to 20 percent more than homes of similar size and quality.

But when will these benefits be realized? While the full benefits will not be realized for at least a generation, proportioned benefits will be realized along the way. Depending on the growth rate of the variety of trees planted in Daybreak, some will take much longer. I personally look forward to a fall day 20 years from now when the trees are turning colors and the children are crunching the leaves under their feet. If you have any other reservations about planting trees in Daybreak, then just look at the two pictures below. The same street photographed at different times (no digital manipulation) one with trees and one without. Which street would you rather live on?

Daybreak Housing Market

The Salt Lake Tribune reported today that homes in the Salt Lake Valley have returned to 2006 levels. According to the median home prices in our zip code (84095), they are correct. If you look at a graph of median home values it is easy to see that we have peaked and that values have decreased since the second quarter of this year. With home values now on the decline, Daybreak, like all other areas, is experiencing a record number of foreclosures. These foreclosures are for every type of property from condos/town homes to 5,000 square ft. single family homes. So now we ride the downhill slippery slope. But how fast and for how long will the market decline? If you can answer that question, then you will probably become a millionaire soon. The market is always unpredictable. However, looking at common sense factors can help establish a good prediction.

One of the largest factors that needs to be considered is Daybreak's success. Daybreak has been steadily increasing its already large share of the new home market. Last year Kennecott Land boasted that for every 10 houses sold in the salt lake valley, one of them was located in Daybreak. This has now increased to one out of every seven new homes. Why? In a market where buyers can be picky, they are choosing a differentiated product. You cannot find a community like Daybreak anywhere else. Another factor to think about is the 7,500 tax credit for new home purchases. The deadline for this credit ends next summer. Buyers will want to take advantage of this for all of the reasons I stated in my previous post on the subject and will not want to miss it.

A third reason is the Village Center. I know, it is definitely late in becoming a reality, but now I can see the skeleton of a retail building being constructed every time I pass Oquirrh Lake. Once this part of Daybreak is finished I expect demand will increase even more. For those of you not familiar with the predominant religion/culture here in Utah, you should not factor out the new temple being built in Eastlake. This like everything else in Daybreak is arriving later than expected, but when complete it will definitely be a major attraction for LDS buyers.

While there are many expensive homes in Daybreak, you can find plenty of affordable options. Most buyers have found themselves priced out of the market, but with options in the 180 to 220 range, some of those buyers will consider Daybreak their best option. Another attraction is that unlike many developments, these townhomes and condos are interspersed with more expensive homes creating a community of variety instead of a mass of town home/condo clones.

Utah as a whole has always been behind the national trend. This would suggest that we have further to go before we see prices increase in a steady fashion. However, Utah's economy is better than most and has not had to wait while congress takes action. Instead, measures were already in the works to boost the housing market long before Utah arrived in a foreclosure "danger zone."

Given these conditions I am betting that Utah and Daybreak especially will have a slower decline that will not last as long as other areas of the country. Especially those homes that are in the low to mid 200s. A local realtor who calls himself Utah Dave brings up an interesting point for those buyers who are looking to upgrade their home. He reasons that while the market for starter homes is still fairly stable, the market for larger, more expensive homes has gone down quite a bit. The old adage "buy low sell high" could apply here. Sell your starter home at a decent price and buy your upgrade at a considerable discount. Not a bad idea.

For those of you who follow this blog regularly you will have noticed that I took a rather long break from writing any posts. I did this for two main reasons: my work has recently taken up much more of my time. I have also been working on integrating a new feature into this blog that will be very informative once complete. Stay tuned...