Daybreak is a master-planned community over 4,000 acres (16 km²) in size being built by land development company Kennecott Land (a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Group) in South Jordan, Utah. Home construction began in 2004 and the community is expected to continue building for the next 18 to 20 years. When completed, it will contain more than 20,000 residential units and approximately 9.1 million square feet (850,000 m²) of commercial space.
Description
Daybreak is designed using a traditional neighborhood development model (TND), which means that all homes are within a five-minute walk or bike ride of a major amenity such as a park, the lake, or a shopping area, reducing dependence on automobile travel. The home designs were inspired by Salt Lake City's historical neighborhoods such as Sugar House, The Avenues, and Harvard-Yale areas, and include large front porches and alley-loaded garages. Exterior styles include Colonial Revival, Craftsman and Victorian. The homes along each street also have brighter colors than are found in most suburban neighborhoods. Recently, homes with a more modern style have been added.
The community is currently divided into eight villages: Founder's Park was the original village opened in 2004. Eastlake Village which opened in 2006 features several parks. North Shore Village is likely the community's most diverse neighborhood architecturally and Garden Park Village, which opened in 2009, is a fully maintained neighborhood designed with the 55+ empty nester in mind. Garden Park features its own private clubhouse, fitness area and easy beach access. Lake Village which currently holds the largest and most expensive homes opened in 2013, it is also the latest phase of Daybreak. The new Red Line and the new University of Utah Medical Center are both in the future village called South Station Village. Creekside Village opened in 2013 with features such as the largest park in Daybreak, a zip line and more. In SoDa Row Village you will find the main shopping area within Daybreak along with apartments.
All homes in the community are Energy Star certified. Daybreak was the first community of its size in the region to adhere to Energy Star standards, and the entire community has been designed and built with sustainability in mind. Many of the home builders in the community offer different options that promote green building, including solar and thermal panels, renewable building materials and high performance appliances. Many homes in Daybreak also have fiber-optic connections. Though there is not currently a company in the area that can make use of it.
Daybreak was the 6th Best Selling Master Planned Community in the Nation for 2009. Daybreak sold 375 new homes in 2009, which was a 7 percent increase over 2008, an unusual achievement in the down housing market. Nearly 1 in every 5 homes sold in Salt Lake County were in Daybreak.
Amenities
SoDa Row, is Daybreak's first retail area. It includes several restaurants and retail shops, a day spa, barber shop and a dry cleaner. The Rio Tinto Regional Center is also located in SoDa Row. This is the area headquarters for international mining giant Rio Tinto, which is also the parent company of Kennecott Land, the developer of Daybreak. The University of Utah built a 225,000-square-foot multi-specialty clinic in Daybreak and features a 24-hr. Emergency Room as well as many of the University’s name brand specialty clinics such as Moran Eye Center and Hunstman Cancer. Future plans include a medical campus that could expand to 50 acres.
The most current addition to local shopping is the Trail Crossing Shopping Center. The main shopping feature is Smith's Marketplace, along with restaurants, salon services, medical and banking.
The Red Line of the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) light rail system now gives the residents of Daybreak and the southwest Salt Lake Valley access to Downtown Salt Lake City and the University of Utah, as well as connections to the Salt Lake City International Airport. The Mountain View Corridor also provide access to Daybreak, and Bangerter Highway lies along the eastern edge. Daybreak is also located adjacent to a shopping center known as "The District", which contains 1,200,000 square feet (110,000Â m2) of retail space.
On October 1, 2005, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the construction of the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple, which was built in a prominent location in the Daybreak development. Ground was broken for the temple on December 16, 2006, and the temple was dedicated on August 23, 2009.
The development currently contains three schools: Daybreak and Eastlake Elementaries, and a charter school, Early Light Academy.
Daybreak has a community center, with a full gym and exercise area, as well as a swimming pool and two splash pads/wading pools. Along with the 22 miles (35Â km) of trails and over a dozen community parks, a man-made lake, Oquirrh Lake, was developed for non-motorized boating, fishing, and other recreational activities. The lake began construction in 2005 and is now fully developed.
References
External links
- Daybreak Utah â€" official site
- Daybreak Living â€" official community site
- Photo Gallery â€" Flickr photo gallery dedicated to the Daybreak Community
- North Shore â€" 3rd phase of development
- Daybreak Map â€" A map of the Daybreak development
- Daybreak Daily â€" An unofficial community website
