The project faces criticism from some city council members, who say the private developer is using taxpayer dollars to turn a profit.
Flagborough LLC wants to turn an old industrial complex in Utah into a high-density community called Utah City, with thousands of housing units, high-rise buildings and easy access to public transit. However, some residents and Vineyard City Council members are concerned that the city is contributing too many public resources to the project — already in 2026, the city has provided Flagborough LLC with $4.5 million.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports:
“The problem we have is many of the citizens feel they’re trying to use our money … toward building their business,” [Vineyard City Council member David Lauret] said. “It’s all rental facilities. We’re basically helping to hand them a business they’ll make money with in perpetuity.”
Flagborough LLC says the project is meant to show "how Utah and other Western states can abandon suburban sprawl" and create a people-centered downtown, Leia Larsen writes for the Salt Lake Tribune. By designing the new development for residents rather than cars, the developers also hope to ease the smog that settles over the area in the summer and winter.
Read the full story: Can a walkable downtown thrive in the heart of suburban sprawl? Utah City is putting that to the test.
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Data reveals that NYC’s bet on congestion pricing has paid off
After almost two years of the program, reports show positive impacts on traffic and air quality and no disruptions to parking.
HUD modernizes 50-year-old manufactured housing framework
The Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan establishes new energy-efficiency standards for manufactured homes, and new guidelines for anchoring them.
Yet again, Seattle’s density zoning update is hit with delays
The city must now examine the ‘maximum possible development’ under a future zoning scenario, rather than the ‘maximum likely development.’
In the heart of suburbia, a Utah developer is building a high-density downtown from scratch
The project faces criticism from some city council members, who say the private developer is using taxpayer dollars to turn a profit.
California voters weigh $11.25 billion housing bond
Prop. 1, combined with other funding, would support over 40,000 new rental units in California.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority