Plans for North Farmington Station are coming together and the opening of two new roads last week helped put the pieces into place. Innovator Drive and Maker Way, north of Burke Lane, represents the largest public infrastructure initiative in the city's history. 

The roads improve community traffic on Shepard Lane to the interchange, said City Manager Brigham Mellor. “It gets traffic off of that road. That’s the biggest benefit. They also provide the infrastructure for North Farmington Station with all of the utilities so that it is ready for development.”

North Farmington Station, northwest of Farmington Station and Station Park, will be mixed use with office space, commercial and housing, Mellor said. “We’re not trying to build Station Park. The lion’s share of retail will be there. Housing will buoy that up.”

Basically this is allowing the city to meet compliance to the state initiative on housing, he said. “Planning for that housing we’re building the infrastructure that can handle it. It makes sense because we have FrontRunner and the bus route and the interchange there.”

They originally started Station Park in 2007, said Farmington Mayor Brett Anderson. “People said it would be foolish to build a new development during a recession but it worked.”

It’s a natural twin sibling north of Station Park, he said. “The next section has businesses and housing. We anticipate a $3 billion investment from the private sector for the commercial, office and housing component. They’ll live here, go to work and keep things vibrant with nighttime after work evening activities to have a thrilling community.”

Ultimately, until the road opened there was no access to the property, said Mellor. “With the utilities in place it’s ready to develop.”

It won’t be just traditional housing, he said. “The building plans for the type of population and demographics. People want to live in this type of housing. It meets the evolving housing we need in the state of Utah.”

The tax increment is exponentially larger than the city gets from raw ground, Anderson said. “Houses don’t make the money, commercial development makes the money to pay for the needs of the city. It’s 10 fold what we can make on the same lot size in a residential neighborhood.”

Some people don’t want the city to grow, they like a small town, he said. “It’s a great place to live. The secret is out. As people come we have to build the infrastructure with roads, water, police department, etc. that would have to raise tax revenue. This commercial development is a way to pay for growth so taxes aren’t on the backs of the residents. That’s a heavy load.”

Anderson said he doesn't like congestion or crowds either. “To assume we’re not going to grow is not realistic.”

There is so much demand for these things, he said. “It seems the odds are in our favor. Before these roads opened it was just an old dirt road. If you try to pitch it to an anchor tenant they look at it and say ‘this is just a field.’ Now we actually have something to show them and say ‘look at the access to the freeway.’ It’s a totally different conversation.”

It will take about 10 years to complete buildout, said Anderson. “When the recent increase in interest rates slow down and stabilize the economic environment will improve. It has to be right.”

There is nothing like it north of Salt Lake or Hill Air Force Base, he said. “It’s a unique thing and Station Park and this project will feed off of each other.”

It’s a big positive deal for Farmington, said Anderson. “It’s exciting and scary.” λ