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DRAPER — Major changes are already being planned for Utah's old prison site at Point of the Mountain, but could those changes include drones and other "advanced air mobility" options?
That's something the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority wants to know.
The land authority announced Thursday that it has hired the financial advisory firm Nexa Capital Partners to analyze the feasibility of the idea at the Point, a 600-acre property that Utah is redeveloping since moving its prison to a new site in 2021.
"In studying the feasibility of potential drone delivery and air taxi service at the Point, we are taking a phased approach to responsibly planning for the future while ensuring our plans are grounded in reality," said Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, who also serves as co-chairman of the land authority.
It comes as more Utah companies have tested out drone deliveries. Teuscher said the company Zipline has had "great success" delivering products to peoples' doors in a partnership with South Jordan.
Meanwhile, the Utah Department of Transportation has also expanded interest in studying vertiports and air taxis. That was announced as the Utah-based aerospace and defense company 47G launched the Air Logistics Transportation Alliance, or Project Alta, in May that seeks to expand the field.
"In partnership with 47G, we plan to create a well-functioning transportation system in the air that connects seamlessly with the transportation system on the ground," said Paul Damron, UDOT advanced air mobility manager, after the agency conducted a vertiport demonstration. "Imagine a world where you can hop on an air taxi and travel anywhere along the Wasatch Front in 20 minutes."
Nexa Capital Partners, a company based near Washington, D.C., will be tasked to see if both options can fit within the Point as it's built out and what they may look like if they do. The firm has previously completed similar studies across North America, ranging from Toronto to Arkansas.
Tulinda Larsen, a principal for the company, said the firm is "thrilled" to study the area. She explained that the study will provide "actionable insights and recommendations" for the board, transportation planners and others behind the project to consider.
"The forward-thinking plans established for the first development phase provide us with an excellent blueprint for integrating a transportation system in the air that connects safely and seamlessly with the transportation system on the ground," she said in a statement.
Drone and air taxis may not be the only transportation changes for the area. UDOT included plans to expand light-rail service to the area in its Point of the Mountain Transit Project plan released late last year.
Utah Transit Authority's TRAX line currently ends near 12300 South in Draper, but its southernmost terminus could end up at the development site. UDOT officials said last year that they're eyeing a section of the FrontRunner commuter rail line near 14600 South for a new station for the Point, as well.
All of it would fit into a large community that is expected to have at least 3,000 housing units, 2.3 million square feet of office space and 356,000 square feet of retail space in its initial phase of development.
Lowry Snow, a former Utah legislator who also serves as a co-chairman of the land authority, said the Utah Legislature mandates that the Point includes a "future-focused transportation system" that "seamlessly moves people."
Studying drones and air taxis, he said, is a part of reaching that goal.
"We are carefully assessing a wide variety of multimodal solutions that include not only roads and transit but also drones and air taxis," he said. "We are taking incremental steps to ensure we remain at the forefront of innovations that benefit all Utahns through better mobility, enhanced job access and improved air quality."
