Get graphic from kimberly, please Eagle Mountain University?
    Not exactly, but the growing Utah County community of 17,000 people could become home to a satellite campus (perhaps linked to Utah Valley State College) as part of a 420-acre technology district that could include a hospital and a renewable-energy-research facility.
    Talks are preliminary, but land has been banked for the potential project, and some residents are excited about the prospect of going to college or a hospital without having to battle traffic.
    UVSC has had preliminary meetings with Eagle Mountain representatives, said Val Peterson, vice president for the school's external affairs.
    According to projections, UVSC - to become Utah Valley University in July - will swell to nearly 30,000 students by 2020 and 40,000 by 2030, and Peterson said the main Orem campus could support up to only 28,000 students.
    The school already has branches in Heber City, Lehi, Spanish Fork and near Provo's airport.
    "We know we can't do it just from the one main campus," Peterson said. "We anticipate we'll need a satellite campus in north [Utah] valley and we anticipate one in the south [Utah] valley."
    The school would need approval from its board of trustees, the Utah Board of Regents and the Legislature before pursuing any deal.
    Still, the potential
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has some in Eagle Mountain excited.
    "A university presence is considered to be a key component of this master plan," said city spokeswoman Linda Peterson.
    For Mayor Heather Jackson and several recently elected City Council members, new economic development would fulfill one of their most touted collective campaign promises.
    Jackson said the campus could attract other businesses and snowball into widespread economic growth. In addition, she said, some residential developers are focusing more on commercial projects with the slowing housing market.
    "This would be tremendous for our city," Jackson said. "We're located in between several universities, and transportation is an issue for us. So to have a hospital out here, to have a college or university out here, means that people don't have to drive an hour away to accomplish things they'd like to."
    Jackson said the campus would enable adults to take daytime classes while their kids are in school, and the hospital would bring medical attention closer to home for Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs, which have high birthrates.
    Peterson added that businesses might be giving Eagle Mountain a second glance due to the expanded number of reported rooftops. The city recently challenged a U.S. census estimate and got credit for more than 17,000 residents - up from the former figure of 12,000.
    Peterson says the bedroom community finally has hit "that magic number."
    "This is something the city has been waiting for, for a while."
    sgehrke@sltrib.com