A Tale oF Two Cities

Provo and Orem share an extensive border and plenty of similarities but are on different, positive trajectories toward meeting the needs of their respective residents.
By Taylor Larsen

British author Charles Dickens famously said the following about the bustling college towns of Provo and Orem in 2020:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Jokes aside, it’s hard to believe how crisply and succinctly Dickens could be describing the tale of these two cities as they enter 2021—hopefully the epoch of belief, the season of light, and the spring of hope as we exit a rough 2020.

So where are they headed?

Tech-Powered Growth

The long-time home of Brigham Young University and a former home to one of the best sandwich places around (I’ll never forget you, Rocco’s Deli!), Provo is quickly proving itself to be a long-term home for anyone and everyone.

“There’s just a lot of projected growth and anticipated development. There are a lot of good things happening here in Provo,” says David Walter, Redevelopment Director for Provo City. “There are a lot of markers showing us we are headed in the right direction.”

Orem has a similar trajectory, with the largest public university in the state—Utah Valley University—within its city limits. With an ambitious team of city officials and the city’s history as a retail center for the county, Family City USA has a great foundation and the willingness to build on it.

But it’s the universities’ proximity to each other, barely longer than a 10-minute car ride, that bring a catalytic effect on the area. With so many people wanting to stay close to these universities after graduation, this part of Utah County is a hotbed for growth.

“They are pumping out 20,000 brains a year,” says Woodbury Corporation’s Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development, Jeff Woodbury, of UVU and BYU. “Those brains are employees and employers and people who are going to provide growth. Those tech companies want to be there because the brainpower is there.”

One major byproduct of that brainpower is Qualtrics, the tech giant on the north side of Provo and whose campus borders Orem. “They are adding 1,000 jobs over the next 10 years and are doubling their space,” said Walter. “They have 150,000 SF right now and are looking to add 160,000 SF of space adjacent to their current building in the Riverwoods.”

Other startups are emerging, and software and development companies dot the two cities—not as much as their northern neighbor in Lehi, but enough to be fertile ground for creativity and growth.

Meeting Housing Demand

The people of Orem and Provo are reaping the rewards of Silicon Slopes gaining further traction within their respective city limits. But while amenities available in Provo and Orem are growing, housing availability isn’t where it needs to be.

Woodbury mentions that NIMBY-ism continues to dominate in each of these towns, especially as each city tries to balance resident desires and city needs. The developer understands it, saying “I can’t tell people we aren’t going to change their lives, because we are.” But he wants residents to realize that if they don’t prepare for this change, the ultimate decisions may be out of their hands.

As Orem City Development Services Director Ryan Clark puts it, “If we don’t provide a place for this to happen, we’re not going to be able to control where this happens.” With affordable housing and overall housing availability such hot button topics, he continued, “We can decide how we control the future, or the [legislature] is going to do it for us.”

Along with quicker growth in rent across Utah County, the price of residential land keeps going up. But all of those interviewed agreed that the idea of punting residential projects down the road to other communities or to a different point in time isn’t going to work.

So are this rising prices of development just land costs? Or are they material, labor, and time costs?

“Yes,” says PEG Companies VP of Development, Matt Hansen of how COVID has helped drive up some of the supply chain issues that then drive up time and labor costs. He and the other leaders are hopeful that the vaccine helps to put a damper on these issues so construction can move forward and needs can be met.

Hansen and Woodbury see it much like Dickens: the season of light.

Why? Because demand is still there. PEG Companies recently completed The Flats at Riverwoods and 200 City View apartments—218 and 159 apartments, respectively, that are on opposite ends of Provo City.

Up in Orem, PEG Companies and Woodbury Corporation recently completed Phase I of The Green On Campus Drive—the 700-bed student housing development. The remainder of project, with another 900 beds, is set to complete this year.

Woodbury Corporation’s flagship property in Orem, University Place, is continuing through with the company’s 15-year master plan. With apartment complexes nearby that have gone up due to Woodbury Corporation’s investment, the company is doubling down on the area’s potential and the city’s needs.

Strong Economic Engines

But these cities, which together count for nearly one-third of the population in Utah County, are maintaining their status as economic powerhouses as they grow.

Clark appreciates how Orem has grown while encircling businesses that have always called the city home. “The businesses that have been around awhile in smaller, older spaces are growing into bigger spaces—they’re taking these new spaces,” says Clark, while the old spaces “are going to these new [businesses].”

But the pandemic has had deleterious effects on retail—Orem’s bread and butter for the better part of four decades. “Retail was undergoing a change anyway, but COVID just accelerated that change,” he says. Clark is confident that property on University Parkway will be in demand for restaurants and retail when the pandemic dies down.

Before 2020, these cities had evolved to fill every niche—taking on retail, tech, student needs, and even reviving industrial and manufacturing, albeit for a different type of clientele than Charles Dickens would have recognized 150-plus years ago.

Spaces like Orem Tech Center on Geneva Road are leasing up as soon as they're built, according to Clark. No longer is it the Geneva Steel mills of yesteryear. Two flex warehouses have been completed, and two more quarter-million SF buildings of similar proportions are projected to go up and add to the collective SF.

South in Provo, Mountain Vista, a business park residing on the former Ironton site of US Steel, is booming. With the help of the Department of Environmental Quality and their remediation efforts, Mountain Vista is a growing manufacturing hub housing companies like healthcare company Press Ganey and shooting range innovator Action Target.

Transport networks like the Utah Valley Express bus rapid transit line were doing quite well before COVID. 10,000 riders per day were utilizing those specific transit services connecting the two cities. That is sure to return after the pandemic, and in the meantime, Provo is expanding their airport.

“We’re building a new terminal and have new gates,” Walter said of the rapidly growing regional airport. Commercial carrier Allegiant Air announced new flights to Orange County and Denver, a promising step to building up the area’s amenities and making it a greater connectivity hub for all of Utah County.

Downtown Infill

Provo is looking to go higher as available land shrinks and existing land has to be converted and redeveloped. Developers simply need to make sure they can provide adequate parking for building users.

According to Hansen, Provo has a great layout for walkability with its smaller blocks adding some charm and setting it apart from its much larger counterpart in Salt Lake City.

He should know—he lives there.

“I’ve had the most urban, walkable experience of my life in Provo, Utah of all places,” he says of living in the city’s emerging downtown. “From [PEG Companies] office, I can walk to lunch. It’s one of my favorite parts of where we are—we can take clients out and walk to lunch.”

He mentions that the local government has been supportive of good development and will allow for increased density in appropriate locations. NuSkin and the Provo City Center Temple have provided a great foundation for continued redevelopment, with PEG Companies’ previously mentioned residential properties continuing to build up the city.

“We’re seeing renewed interest in the residential downtown because people like the quality of life and the lifestyle” that downtown Provo offers, Walter says.

The city is going up in other ways, too. Mixed-use developments like Freedom Commons and Freedom Boulevard to create that perfect blend of live-work-play. With more development coming in to replace the old city hall, additional catalysts are coming in just in time to meet Provo residents’ needs.

Orem, on the other hand, has an older stock of buildings without the same historical value, affording them a different approach. Clark says that their city will probably go through redevelopment over adaptive reuse.

In 2019, Orem City officials completed a visioning and re-zoning process to create five districts at five different intersections on State Street. The goal was to protect neighborhoods with single-family homes but build up density in key sectors. City officials there want it to be a city where everyone can choose exactly the right housing product to fit their wants and needs and still live in Orem.

This is where Woodbury sees a key difference. “People look at Orem not having a downtown, but I see that as an opportunity,” he says. “It’s easier to redevelop a parking lot than it is a set of buildings.”

They’re trying to bring in amenities to help fulfill their unofficial motto: “Build a Better Orem.” New State Street standards with separated sidewalks, trees, and planter strips have gone in for the major thoroughfare, specifically around Orem’s new library.

A new city fitness center is also going in, designed by method studio with Big-D Construction as the general contractor. It matches Orem’s active nature with Clark boasting that Orem hosts the best park system in the county—and even then it might be underselling how good it is. Pickle ball, playgrounds and splash pads dot the city, with a new city park set to go in after the city purchased the school across the street from University Place.

What’s Next?

Woodbury is confident that the Provo and Orem cities are still on the up. “Both cities will grow dramatically over the next 10 years,” he says. “Silicon Slopes will move deeper and deeper into Utah County instead of just focusing on the northern part.”

Clark is confident too. “People still want to live in the heart of Utah County close to the canyon, close to the universities, the retail sector with shorter commutes to the job centers.”

After a harrowing 2020, maybe Charles Dickens was looking at the future of Orem and Provo after all.

“I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous, and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence.”

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