The future of biotech at The Point. In negotiation for nearly three years, plans for a life sciences campus in the heart of The Point development seem to have fallen through. The current situation is explained in a March 11th, 2024 Salt Lake Tribune article by Tony Semerad.
Richard Linder, CEO of medical-devices startup Xenter has attempted to secure development rights for a significant portion of the 600 acre site as a home for a life sciences campus. Although officials with The Point of the Mountain State Land Authority say they remain receptive to resuming negotiations with the Xenter CEO and hope to see a version of the campus happen, Linder appears resistant to yielding control over how the campus would be developed by the state and its master developer. He has urged that a group of nationally known medical researchers, biotech leaders and developers who are his partners guide the project. A life sciences campus aligns with Utah goals. A 2021 study by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute shows that Utah has the highest workforce share of life sciences jobs (1.9%) in the country. These jobs are high-paying and align with Utah’s higher education system.
As envisioned by XPI, the campus has expanded in size from 100 acres to 200 acres and has grown to include real estate and developer partners, architects, planners, and consultants. The Point announced in midsummer 2022 that a consortium of three companies had been selected to lead work and act as the master developer on the first 100-acre phase of the development. This team is composed of Lincoln Property Co., Colmena Group, and Wadsworth Development Group. Since that time it seems XPI and the master developer have had trouble reaching agreement on how the campus might be broken into phases, architectural styles, building locations, who would control and market new office spaces, retail outlets, differing approaches to parking, and how the campus would mesh with other key features of The Point such as transit, open space, and the Jordan River Trail.
After much public and private acrimony between XPI and the master developer and others associated with The Point, the land authority board issued a formal statement saying it was withdrawing its original four-stage vetting process and urged XPI to reignite talks with the master developer or reshape its proposal as a sub-campus and start a new review. It now appears that the dispute over who knows best how to develop life sciences to its highest potential at The Point remains a major sticking point. There are also financial differences concerning providing financial, land, or other incentives for entities to locate at The Point. These concerns have also emerged in connection with those investigating The Point as a possible location for MLB or NHL stadiums.
As officials over The Point explore the option of life sciences built by the master developer, Linder and his partners discuss taking their venture to Vineyard or to another state, Patrick Gilligan, executive vice president at Lincoln Property Co.told the Salt Lake Tribune that the master developer team remains open to negotiating with XPI.
Two things seem apparent at this point. Life sciences will be a part of The Point’s future and there will not be more than one master developer at The Point. Stay tuned.