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Scarred gravel-pit land marks North Salt Lake's south entrance.
With the requisite city approvals, a father-son development team - Steve and Ben Lowe of the Salt Lake City-based Compass Development Group - intend to transform 94 hillside acres from eyesore to attraction.
"It means we'll finally have an entrance to our city," said Mayor Shanna Schaefermeyer. "I am so excited to see that area being beautified."
Earlier this week, the City Council voted 3-1 to approve the development agreement with Compass.
"My main concerns were the geotechnical aspects" - such as landslides, fault lines, storm water runoff, said Councilwoman Lisa Watts Baskin, who voted yes. "The developer did a thorough study, responsibly addressing those issues."
Councilman Lynn Ballard was the lone no.
"We talked about several concerns in [closed] executive session," Ballard said, declining to get specific. "I stood firm, choosing to vote against it at this time."
For the past 18 months, Compass has fine-tuned plans for Eaglewood Village, a walkable community with 570 residential units, 120,000 square feet in retail and up to 340,000 square feet of office space - all within seven minutes of downtown Salt Lake City.
"We hope to break ground as soon as possible," with a grand opening slated for fall 2008, said Compass principal Ben Lowe.
Among the first buildings to sprout would be a 30,000-50,000 square-foot grocery store at the project's northwest corner - an amenity North Salt Lake needs, Lowe said.
Early on, Compass hired the Sandy-based Applied Geotechnical Engineering Consultants Inc. (AGEC) to gauge the feasibility of building on the hillside and former gravel pit.
Compass pledged to avoid building on the land's steep slope or in earthquake setback zones. The developer also plans to install two detention ponds, one at the south end and the other at a water feature incorporated into the project's north end.
The lay of the land dictates lower and upper sections separated by the steep slope. Retail, office space and 160 residential units will occupy the lower section, with 410 housing units planned up above.
Walking trails will zig-zag the steep hillside, connecting the two areas.
"In my opinion, cities are well-advised to take extra precautions when it comes to hillside development," said City Attorney Michael Nielsen. "North Salt Lake has insisted on several layers of protection for this project."
Nielsen praised Compass for choosing a reputable geotechnical consultant. However, the city went a step further, hiring Phil Gerhart of Springville-based Gerhart Consultants to review AGEC's findings.
That redundant surveillance will continue throughout the project's construction - all at the developer's expense, Nielsen said.
Schaefermeyer expects the project to enhance the city's storm-drain system and help alleviate traffic congestion on U.S. 89.
For several months, Compass collaborated with Utah Department of Transportation officials, formulating a plan to move the frontage road to U.S. 89 about 1,200 feet southward.
That alteration will inconvenience sand and gravel pits along Beck Street by adding a few miles to some of their truck trips.
For that reason, UDOT suggested - and Compass agreed - to delay that work until early 2008.
All in all, Eaglewood Village could signal big change for the small south Davis County city.
"For those of us who have driven by that unattractive entryway all our lives," Nielsen said, "it's frankly shocking to think that something beautiful may go there."