In the late 1970's, while I was in the Air Force, I received orders for Hill AFB, Utah. I remember my wife saying "Utah, I never lost anything in Utah". When we finally arrived I noticed how beautiful it actually was. There was a lot of open countryside, not a lot of trees, and not a lot of people. The local towns were not very big and after 6 pm everything seemed to close up, and if you needed to buy something, it better not be on a Sunday, because there was nothing open.
Now thirty plus years later we are still here, and surprisingly there is still some open countryside left despite the numerous subdivisions, malls, commercial areas, etc that have been built in the last thirty years. In the early 1990's the Air Force was considering closing Hill AFB, which would have been disastrous for the local economy. It was speculated at that time, if Hill AFB was closed the surrounding towns would be virtually empty of any businesses within two years. Today if they closed the base, there would be very little impact on the local economy, that is how much this area has grown.
The latest statistics recently released show that the three major metro areas in Utah that make up the Wasatch front (where 80% of the population live) now have a combined population of close to 2.2 million people. Each of the metro areas have grown by at least 16% and Utah County have had the largest increase with the Orem-Provo area increasing by 39.8%. It has been estimated that withing the next forty years the population in this area will double, which means the local governments need to come up with some answers to several problems such as senior housing, student housing, outdated homes and declining property value which they fear may become major hurtles in the not too distance future.
The Orem town council wanted some fresh ideas to help them formulate a good workable housing plan that would address these needs. They held a town meeting and invited some the local business leaders along with some of the top experts in the real estate fields so they could hear any ideas that they may have.
One of the major issues is the continuing depreciation of the property values, which the city and county must reverse if they expect any investors to become involved with any future building projects. Several of the local real estate experts questioned the value of remodeling the older homes, which were built in the 1930's and 40's. These homes do not meet the current building codes and have major plumbing and electrical issues that need to be fixed. Remodeling these homes (which is more expensive than building new) will not increase the property value unless everyone in the immediate area also does remodeling. The suggestion of tearing down the old homes to build new facilities designed to meet a particular need, is considered the most cost effective and the best scenario for property values to start increasing in value again.
Another concern is the lack of housing options for seniors. One of the suggestions is to develop affordable senior housing so if they sell their home, they will be able to purchase something less expensive like a town home, condo or some other form of senior housing and still have money left over for a nest egg. There are other problems that are starting to develop from the demographics changes in the area, with families getting smaller and single people looking for housing, there is a rising need for a more diverse housing that will meet these different needs. The ideas that were presented were very informative and if implemented properly could meet several the of projected needs. The main missing ingredient that is needed is a comprehensive building and rezoning plan for most of the surrounding area.
This also brought up the concern of how to meet the increase need for transportation, especially in the down towns areas. The suggestion to develop some form of a centralized transit inter modal station is being considered, since there are several other metro areas having already implemented their own versions and it seems to be working for them, with proper planning, there should be no reason it could not work for Utah county.
William Nottoli
I retired from the Air Force in 1989, was a licensed Realtor and Loan Officer in Utah from 1998 - 2007, Currently I am a Affiliate Marketer promoting products on the internet.
http://www.utahcountyutahrealestate.com/
http://www.wrnottoli.com/
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