By Carl Fauver | [email protected]

One of the largest business ventures in the 22-year history of Taylorsville City is finally set to open its doors later this month. Touting itself as Utah’s very first “life plan community,” Summit Vista (3400 West 6200 South) will open the doors to its 62,000-square-foot clubhouse — the first of three planned for the site — on Sept. 24. Then on Oct. 10, the community’s first residents will begin moving in. 

“Our first residential building has 114 apartment homes, with occupants committed to 80 percent of them,” said Summit Vista Sales and Marketing Director Kelly Ornberg. “And construction has begun on our second residential building, which is expected to open next August. We hope to continue opening residential buildings about every nine months.” 

The massive 105-acre parcel owned by Summit Vista — 5 acres larger than the famous San Diego Zoo, for comparison — is expected to eventually be home to 1,800 residents, provided demand leads to a complete build out. Three hundred of those apartment homes will eventually provide assisted living. 

The other 15 residential buildings — each featuring about 100 apartment homes — will be clustered around three different, full-service clubhouses. 

“Our clubhouse features an indoor swimming pool, mail room, art studios, bank, billiards room, grocery store and four different restaurants,” Sales Manager Christy Still added, as she guided a late July tour of the construction site. “And we are always talking with residents to get suggestions about what should be included in the two future clubhouses. They won’t all be identical. We’re here to give our residents what they want.” 

Summit Vista purchased this massive undeveloped land parcel from the Utah Department of Transportation. 

“UDOT had owned this land as a place to store its construction vehicles and other equipment since Bangerter Highway was built,” Ornberg said. “Taylorsville City officials were instrumental in helping us to make the purchase and to provide the appropriate construction zoning. They have been very supportive of the project and are excited about the 1,000 new jobs Summit Vista will bring to the city.” 

That number of employees will be reached in six or seven years, as Summit Vista is built completely out. For now, they have been working over the past month to hire 70 people, by Oct. 1. These positions include cooks, fitness specialists, security personnel, front desk staffing and others. 

As baby boomers continue to reach retirement age by the millions each year, Summit Vista investors also have much bigger plans. 

“Our investors hope to create about 10 of these life plan communities,” Ornberg said, noting Summit Vista would likely be the only one in Utah. “Research shows the leading cause of early death among seniors is isolation. Our goal is to get seniors together who enjoy similar activities and passions.” 

Summit Vista officials expect the community to be home to about 150 different clubs as it continues to grow, putting people together for everything from exercising to cooking to reading books. 

Rachael and Jerry Stephens recently sold their Sandy home to be among Summit Vista’s first residents. 

“I like the ease of not having to be responsible for mowing and snow shoveling anymore,” Jerry said. “The Summit Vista people have been great to work with.” 

“We first heard of Summit Vista through a mailer and decided to take them up on their free lunch,” Rachael said. “That was three years ago, and we’ve done a lot of research since then. I can’t wait to move in. We want to start travelling more.” 

At age 74, Jerry and Rachael are precisely the average age of the first 150 Summit Vista residents who will begin moving in next month. 

Apartment homes at Summit Vista range in size from 700 to 2,000 square feet and in cost from $180,000 to $500,000. Residents do not actually “own” their units. At the time they move out, 90 percent of that initial investment is refunded to the owners or their estate. 

Monthly residential fees run $1,500 to $3,000, of which $500 is returned per person for use at the grocery store or restaurants inside the clubhouse.

“People are going to be blown away when they see this place for the first time,” Still said. “It’s where the magic happens. We invite people to come see how stunning and gorgeous Summit Vista is and what it has to offer.” 

For more information about this large new Taylorsville business venture, visit summitvista.com.