Just a few miles from UVU’s Orem campus in a town called Vineyard, 100 acres of land are officially UVU’s property. The purchase was approved over a year ago but was recently finalized. President Matthew Holland is working to plan this new endeavor.
“With so little property available around our Orem campus, this agreement is all the more valuable,” said Val Peterson, vice president of finance and administration at UVU. “This is an excellent investment in the future of UVU and Utah County.”
Half of the property will be used for new intramural fields and the other half for future building needs. The purchase will also include an additional 900 parking stalls.
“Given our growth trajectory, we simply must expand to keep up with student demand and fulfill our state-mandated mission of open access,” Holland said.
Though the site is only 2.3 miles away, the soon-to-be divided campus will be connected using Utah Transit Authority’s FrontRunner rail line. The line will be useful to students and non-students alike as this area is expected to grow significantly.
Anderson Geneva Development, Inc. is happy to be partnering with UVU and has made quite an investment leaning on the area’s expected growth. The property is worth $20 million but former owner Anderson Geneva donated half of this. Of the remaining $10 million, $5 million has been paid by UVU and the remaining $5 million is to be paid by the agency once infrastructure is put in place.
“We’re thrilled to partner with UVU and make the university a major anchor for what we believe will be one of the finest developments in the county and the state,” said Gerald Anderson, president of Anderson Geneva. “In addition to UVU’s expansion, this property will provide tremendous economic and aesthetic value.”
The land sits right beside Utah Lake and is accessible from the Geneva company and the freeway. It also has room for student housing in the surrounding area and Anderson Geneva has already contracted with a developer for a 15-acre apartment complex. It would appear that on campus housing is in the future of UVU.
“This agreement offers great potential for our campus,” Holland said.
By Tiffany Thatcher
Asst. News Writer
Geneva contributed, but did they also contaminate the land?
It’s awesome that the university is growing but it’s about time we change the mascot from the “wolverines” to “wolverine”. We will put Hugh Jackman’s face on all school merchandise and athletic uniforms.