We have mentioned that a lot of changes are coming to the Mayflower side of Deer Valley - check out our earlier post on the initial plan and the goal to for this side of the mountain to be its own new resort community: http://utahopia.com/blog/mayflower-mountain-resort

Over the next few years this area will be transformed commercial space, public gathering areas, recreation facilities, expanded ski areas, and three hotels making the area a world-class destination for year-round recreation.  In 2007, this area of Mayflower and parts of the Jordanelle area received designation for further recreational and commercial development. Since then the MIDA (Military Installation Development Authority) group and Extell have come together to present a plan that will transform the area. According to Hontz, Extell owns about 5,100 acres but plans to keep a vast majority of that land open for trails, and about 1,200 acres of additional skiing. One of the largest portions of the of the project will be a conference style hotel that will feature 400 rooms with a total footprint of 600,000 square feet. Construction began earlier this summer with clearing of trees for the future ski beach with the ultimate goal being a walkable community. All areas of the village concept will be within a radius of a quarter mile.

Here is the latest slide presentation from the Wasatch Back Economic Summit where Extell informed us of the current operations going on:

https://www.gohebervalley.com/media/uploads/files/wasatch%20back%20economic%20summit%20presentation.pdf

Below is a little more on MIDA and how this partnership came about:

What is MIDA? – MIDA is an authority created by the Utah Legislature in 2007 to facilitate the development of military land in Utah. It serves a dual role of helping strengthen the military presence in Utah while stimulating the State’s economy. Specifically, MIDA was created to act as an independent, nonprofit, separate body corporate and politic, with perpetual succession and statewide jurisdiction, whose purpose is to facilitate the development of military land in a project area; exercise exclusive police power within a project area (unless delegated), including the collection of regulatory fees; receive tax increment and other taxes and fees; and issue bonds to finance the undertaking of any development objectives of the authority. MWF and MWR - The purpose of the proposed Military Recreation Facility (“MRF”) Project Area (“Project Area”) is to provide the military with a “Morale, Welfare and Recreation” facility or hotel (similar to other facilities they have around the world) in a ski resort setting. To have a quality military recreation facility, the desire is to locate the hotel in a larger master-planned development that provides a four-season recreational opportunity, including skiing, fishing, boating, hiking, mountain biking, and golfing. The surrounding development would include villages with other hotels, restaurants, night clubs, spas, and other commercial amenities. This necessitates the inclusion of non-military land in the Project Area. – By an act of Congress, the Air Force was granted a parcel of property in Summit County (“Red Maple Parcel”) on which it could build the MRF or traded it to another location. Wasatch County granted its irrevocable consent to create the Project Area on February 16, 2011 which included at the time 2,600 acres.