The Utah State Prison opened in 1951, roughly 20 miles southwest of Salt Lake City in Draper, Utah. Located along the Traverse Ridge in an area known as the Point of the Mountain (or simply the Point), the prison had the capacity to house 4,000 inmates, both male and female. When the prison opened, the Point was a mostly rural area, which has since grown into a popular suburban area. In 2005, a study was conducted to determine whether it would be better to sell the prison or move it to a new location. A special session of the state legislature voted to move the prison in 2015. On July 15, 2022, the Utah State Prison officially closed after all inmates were moved to the newly erected $1 billion Utah State Correctional Facility in the northwest corner of Salt Lake City.

In 2018, in anticipation of the prison closing down, Governor Gary Herbert signed into law House Bill 372, which created the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority (POMSLA). The purpose of the 12-member board of the POMSLA was to work with government and local representatives to “guide future development at the 600 acres of state-owned land near the Point of the Mountain,” as the organization states on its website. This development would begin with the ecologically responsible demolition of the old prison, paving the way for an environmentally friendly, technologically advanced living and working community.

The plans for the Point include 3,300 multifamily homes (400 of which would be affordable housing units), multiple public parks and trails, a 540-room hotel, 2,320,000 sq. ft. of office space, thousands of high-quality jobs, 356,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and an events venue to seat 2,000 people. “Our team of national and local experts are well respected for developing transformative, leading-edge projects centered around the culture and values of the areas we serve. We don’t just build projects; we build communities,” said Patrick Gilligan, a principal at Innovation Point Partners, with whom POMSLA has contracted to begin the development program.

Embracing advanced technology to seamlessly connect the 600-acre site is of great importance to the project, which is why the developers are proposing the use of innovative drone platforms. These drone platforms would include an expansion of existing drone deliveries in the area and the possibility of a vertiport drone mobility system. “Drone delivery technology has been welcomed in Utah with great success,” explained POMSLA co-chair Jordan Teuscher. “For over two years, South Jordan City has partnered with Zipline to deliver everything from critical medicine to cookies right to residents’ front doors. In studying the feasibility of potential drone delivery and air taxi service at The Point, we are taking a phased approach to responsibly planning for the future, while ensuring our plans are grounded in reality.”

Ensuring that dreams of drone deliveries and air taxis remain grounded in reality, POMSLA has contracted NEXA, an aerospace industry advising firm, to implement an in-depth study on the matter. “The Legislature has given us a mandate to create a future-focused transportation system at The Point that seamlessly moves people,” said Mr. Teuscher’s co-chair, Lowry Snow. “To achieve this mandate, we are carefully assessing a wide variety of multimodal solutions that include not only roads and transit but also drones and air taxis.” In alignment with this goal, the Utah Department of Transportation announced that it had contracted 47G, a local aerospace and defense company, to launch the Air Logistics Transportation Alliance, Project Alta, to enhance drone mobility options.

There is still a lot to be done before the Point has a large-scale drone delivery or air taxi system. Mr. Teuscher said that Phase 1 of the project will commence shortly in the heart of the region. “We are transforming this site into Utah’s Innovation Community,” Mr. Teuscher said, “where Utahns will have the freedom to choose from a variety of high-paying jobs, world-class shopping venues, family-friendly activities, recreational amenities, entertainment venues, and so much more.” The collaboration between POMSLA, the community, advising contractors, and developers is optimistic that this vision will come true. They hope to have solutions fully in place in time for when Utah hosts the Winter Olympic Games in 2034. Alan Matheson, POMSLA executive director, said that renovating the 600 acres from a prison into an innovative community “literally and figuratively transitions the site from being a place of constraint into a place of openness, learning, and opportunity.”

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