Development for North Salt Lake now on track

NORTH SALT LAKE — The North Salt Lake City Council this week approved a development agreement with a Salt Lake-area developer to transform a gravel pit on the hillside east of I-15 into a mixed-use development.

Compass Development Group, which owns the 90-plus-acre former gravel pit, plans to make room for 570 residences, consisting of condominium town homes, row houses and loft residences. The development will also feature 120,000 square feet of retail shops and up to 340,000 square feet of office space.

The development, known as Eaglewood Village, is expected to be completed by fall 2008.

VCBO Architects, which was part of the team that worked on the Salt Lake City Main Library, has designed the walkable community, according to a release from Compass. Water features, common areas and walking paths will help increase community involvement, the release says.

That's a far cry from what the land is now, a deserted stretch of property except for the homes on Eagle Ridge Drive that overlook the valley below. A nearby hill experiences landslides in years with heavy rain, indicative of the already high water table.

But the developers say they're committed to mitigate the possibility of landslides when working on Eaglewood Village. Their geotechnical consultant, AGEC, has recommended some extensive and expensive methods to keep the land stable.

In some locations, where the ground is expected to settle 14 inches over the next 50 years, it will likely be necessary to bring in 10 to 15 feet of soil, about the weight of a 10-story building, to make the ground settle faster. In other locations, deep foundations, such as a helical piers system, may be necessary to keep homes anchored to solid ground.

AGEC is also recommending that horizontal drains be inserted into the hillside to get water out of it, because the water causes instability.

That's a lot of work and a lot of expense on the front end, said Ben Lowe, who is developing the site with his father, longtime area developer Steve Lowe. But it's worth it to them to make sure their development is safe, Ben Lowe said.

"It means our profit is farther down the road," he said. "I think we have the opportunity to do well financially on this project."

Eaglewood Village is the largest project Compass has taken on, Ben Lowe said.

From the city's standpoint, the development is an opportunity to beautify the entrance to the city. Now, if you head north out of Salt Lake City on U.S. 89, you see gravel pits on the right and oil refineries on the left.

"That's not what North Salt Lake is about," said city manager Colin Wood.

Eaglewood Village will present a new face for the city, he said.