Larry H. Miller Group of Cos. Announced Monday that they are acquiring a large portion of Daybreak, the master-planned community in South Jordan.
The Miller Group’s real estate market is buying more than 1,300 undeveloped acres in the eclectic residential community on the west side of South Jordan, including interest in existing commercial properties, as well as future commercial and residential development.
The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. The purchase, according to officials, did not involve existing Daybreak homes.
Steve Starks, CEO of the Sandy-based Larry H. Miller Group, and Brendan Bosman, managing director of Värde Partners, the investment firm in Minneapolis that bought the bulk of Daybreak from Rio Tinto Kennecott in 2016, have the material transaction for the residential markets in Utah unveiled. .
Brad Holmes, president of Larry H. Miller Real Estate, said the acquisition would increase the company’s firm footprint, within a portfolio now focused on sports, car dealers, a chain of movie theaters, finance, insurance and healthcare.
“We are a builder of communities and are committed to the continued success of this national and progressive master-planned development,” Holmes said in a written statement. The firm hoped to “address regional growth creatively and proactively through mixed-use planning and development.”
Larry H. Miller Group continues to branch out
This is the second acquisition of its kind announced by the business empire since it sold its majority stake in the Utah Jazz in October to Ryan Smith, founder of Provo-based customer management technology firm Qualtrics.
Managers of the company, founded by late Jazz owner Larry Miller, who passed away in 2009, said in January that they have advanced Health Care Corp., a chain of high-care nursing, home health and hospice centers in Utah, seven other states.
Daybreak was built in 2004 under the Oquirrh Mountains and opened on a cleared section of Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon mining operations. Designed to be sustainable and pedestrian-friendly, it mixes different housing types in denser neighborhoods and smaller plots than is typical in most suburbs of Utah, with home clusters surrounded by ample open spaces.
In June 2016, Kennecott’s parent company, Rio Tinto, sold Värde Partners the completed homes of approximately 2,500 acres of undeveloped land, Oquirrh Lake and several large commercial buildings, saying the sale will generate cash flow and flexibility as we streamline our business and focus. about mining. ”
The sale also coincided with a drop in commodity prices that forced layoffs for Rio Tinto’s Utah operations.
Since it opened in 2004, Daybreak has included more than 6,000 homes with approximately 21,000 residents. It now ranks among the most successful master-planned communities in the country.
Home sales in the 4,000-acre development have grown dramatically over the past few years, especially with increased demand for housing and a national flight to the suburbs during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We look forward to building on the already established success of this community with the remaining undeveloped commercial area and the thousands of homes to be built in this regional destination area,” Starks said in a news release.
Elected officials welcome Daybreak sale
The agreement was praised by elected officials, including Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, who noted that much of the province’s population growth has taken place in the southwestern part of the Salt Lake Valley.
Wilson said in a written statement that she “looks forward to working with Larry H. Miller Real Estate and other stakeholders to develop plans that support job growth, open spaces and recreation, strong infrastructure and community destinations.”
The mayor of South Jordan, Dawn Ramsey, added that she, with a significant portion of Daybreak still undeveloped, was “excited” to welcome the Larry H. Miller team into her city “to present and future benefit homeowners, employers and businesses. “
Holmes said the acquisition aligns perfectly with our capabilities for real estate development and property management. “
Under his ownership, Värde sought to boost the mix of housing options in Daybreak, while also investing in key commercial pieces in the suburban community, including an expansion of a University of Utah hospital campus, the opening of a veterinary police clinic and the lure of a new Salt Lake County library, to open this fall.
The real estate investment firm has also put forward plans for a large network of interconnected water channels and lakes within Daybreak, known as the Watercourse amenity.
Värde said his investment approach has also helped increase home sales in the community. While Daybreak already accounted for a significant portion of total home sales in Salt Lake County before COVID-19, recent data suggests that sales soared from 452 in 2016 to 1,055 last year.
“We are proud of where the community is today,” said Bosman, managing director of Värde, “and we look forward to following Daybreak’s continued success under the management of the Larry H. Miller Group.”