The key players for The Point and the stalled push for a life sciences campus

The Point: Utah goes big on redevelopment

The Point, on the west side of Draper, is state-owned land and covers about 600 acres freed up for development when Utah moved the state prison.

Few locales have grown as rapidly as southern Salt Lake County and northern Utah County. That has helped make the newly opened prison acreage some of the state’s most valuable property.

Along the way, state officials and planners have built a public consensus about what should go up there: a mixed-use, sustainable community erected and operated for maximum benefit to taxpayers, complete with open space, trails and other amenities. A major share of The Point’s housing, according to state law, needs to be accessible to average Utahns.

[Read the whole story about how plans for this life sciences campus unraveled, and a timeline of The Point’s beginnings and this particular project’s apparent end.]

The whole project is governed by The Point of the Mountain State Land Authority, an 13-member panel that includes legislators, Draper’s mayor, other representatives of state and local governments, those with specialties in real estate and private citizens.

The land authority hired Alan Matheson, former head of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, as its first executive director in 2019. He oversees the agency’s day-to-day operations and a skeletal paid staff and a team of hired outside consultants guiding the development.

A driven Draper CEO who wants a piece

When it comes to the business and technology of medicine, Xenter CEO Richard Linder is nothing if not driven.

The 54-year-old medical-devices entrepreneur and father of five survived a severe illness that wiped out his pancreas and spleen, a brush with death he says left him motivated to create companies focused squarely on helping patients and physicians.

After founding, building and selling three successful life sciences firms to giants like Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific, Linder started Draper-based Xenter in February 2020. Its main promise: a range of new wireless sensor implants capable of uploading vital data to surgeons from inside the human heart.

The ambitious and jet-setting CEO’s current pitch on Xenter — delivered recently to potential investors in Europe and the Middle East — projects revenues of $40 million by 2025 and $1.2 billion by 2030.

Linder says a public stock offering for Xenter is not far off.

Eight months after Xenter’s birth, Linder approached Utah officials seeking development rights to a chunk of land at The Point.

His goal: Build a world-class life sciences campus that would not only house Xenter’s research and manufacturing facilities but also create a place to relocate some of the world’s leading medical scientists and nurture new biotech companies.

The Point Partners: Three major developers in one

The Point Partners is the name given to Utah’s go-to developers for the biggest redevelopment project in state history.

The consortium of Lincoln Property Co., headquartered in Dallas; Colmena Group, based in Salt Lake City; and Wadsworth Development Group in Draper won a tough bidding process to be the state’s choice as master developer.

Lincoln, Colmena and Wadsworth are all privately held companies.

Founded in 1965, Lincoln has extensive experience developing commercial space and multifamily residential properties. Included in its roster: several life sciences facilities in the U.S.

Colmena’s 65-year-old portfolio includes apartments, assisted living facilities, research parks, student housing, shops, hotels, industrial properties and lots of mixed-use projects.

Wadsworth, founded in 1996, is known in Utah for construction, though it has built a variety of commercial projects across the Intermountain West.

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