Tony SemeradAug. 19, 2015 • The Utah Legislature votes overwhelmingly to relocate the state’s prison from the Point of the Mountain in Draper to Salt Lake City — over vigorous protests from city officials. This move sets the stage for The Point, the largest-ever public redevelopment project.
Oct. 1, 2020 • Kelvyn Cullimore, president and CEO of the trade association BioUtah, refers Richard Linder, CEO of what would become the medical-devices company Xenter, to Alan Matheson, executive director of The Point of the Mountain State Land Authority, encouraging them to meet.
Oct. 2, 2020 • Linder, co-founder of BioUtah, writes via email that a controlling board member in CBSET, a top medical research institute in Massachusetts, wants to create a major facility and presence in Utah. The ambitious CEO says he needs 100 acres set aside at The Point to build a life sciences campus.
[Read the whole story about how plans for this life sciences campus unraveled and the players who were involved.]
Dec. 2, 2020 • Xenter makes its initial pitch to the land authority and the governor, seeking at least 100 acres to build its life sciences campus, called XPI. Proponents go on a hard press to persuade the land authority to grant them development rights.
March 17, 2021 • Matheson meets with Xenter officials to advance negotiations, talk about timing and master-planning, with talk of an estimated 200 acres.
March 19, 2021 • Matheson prepares a four-stage system for evaluating the project, directing XPI to proceed with developing its plans for the research campus.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Alan Matheson speaks as the agreement for the first phase of redevelopment at The Point is signed in Draper in November 2023.
April 13, 2021 • Campus proponents, including Linder and CBSET’s Elazer Edelman, take state officials on a helicopter tour of The Point.
May 3, 2021 • State officials release their latest vision for developing at the Point of the Mountain, a mixed-use, sustainable plan with new homes, trails, open spaces and a refresh of portions of the Jordan River. They also launch another public outreach campaign to get Utahns to weigh in on how the project should proceed.
Aug. 10, 2021 • The land authority releases a more detailed vision for The Point, an environmentally sustainable, pedestrian-friendly community, dubbed “a 15-minute city,” mixing green spaces and trails with lots of housing, office towers and retail outlets.
Nov. 19, 2021 • XPI presents its Stage 1 proposal, with detailed architectural and site plans spanning over 200 acres.
Jan. 11, 2022 • XPI proponents make their second major presentation to the land authority. The project advances through the state’s processes.
Feb. 14, 2022 • The land authority designates an internal shortlist of master-developer candidates for The Point.
June 14, 2022 • XPI presents its Stage 3 development proposal, including signed letters of intent, detailed architectural plans and financial modeling.
June 22, 2022 • The state completes the new Utah State Correctional Facility, a billion-dollar, 200-acre complex five miles west of the Salt Lake City International Airport.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People tour a general population housing block at the new Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City on June 22, 2022.
July 12, 2022 • The land authority names its master developer. The team is made up of Lincoln Property Co., headquartered in Dallas; Colmena Group, based in Salt Lake City; and Wadsworth Development Group in Draper. They eventually rename themselves The Point Partners.
July 15, 2022 • More than 2,400 inmates are moved from the Draper prison to the new Utah State Correctional Facility on the western edge of Salt Lake City.
Aug. 24, 2022 • The land authority and XPI meet to continue hashing out differences over moving the life-sciences campus to implementation.
Sept. 10, 2022 • Linder starts raising concerns about its plan with the land authority. A struggle for control of how the life sciences campus will unfold surfaces in emails.
Nov. 29, 2022 • Crews begin demolishing the closed Draper prison.
Dec. 13, 2022 • The land authority releases its most detailed plans yet for the 100-acre first phase of The Point.
Dec. 22, 2022 • One of Linder’s development partners refers to an impasse with the master developer, saying the sides are “too far apart” and suggesting reengaging instead with the land authority.
May 28-30, 2023 • A post-Memorial Day meeting is convened with all the parties, including the land authority, to discuss a nondisclosure agreement. Linder cancels the meeting moments before it starts, hardening the impasse.
Nov. 27, 2023 • After 18 months of negotiating a detailed development agreement, the land authority officially hires Lincoln, Colmena and Wadsworth in partnership as its master developer for The Point.
Late 2023 - Early 2024 • Frustrated partners with XPI, including Linder, start to distance themselves from negotiations with the land authority and hint that the life sciences campus proposal for The Point may be dead — or moving somewhere else.
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