Utah Tech Sector Attracts SoCal CRE Companies

An emerging tech sector in Utah has striking similarities to Silicon Valley, and it could mean significant future growth. San Diego-based management firm Intersection is expanding its footprint in the Salt Lake City market as a result. Most recently, the firm is now managing the 291,000-square-foot Canopy Properties near Salt Lake City. The property is among the largest tech campuses in the market. This year, the firm plans to continue to grow its footprint in the market.

“We see a strong migration of the tech sector to the Utah County area, something we are very familiar with in our Northern California location,” Scott Kirkpatrick, senior director of real estate services for Intersection, tells GlobeSt.com. “We feel our newest asset under management is an excellent example of a property poised to house the best and brightest talent since the project was built from the ground up with data center capability.  With Provo now being touted as “Silicon Slopes” and boasting a 65% increase in the tech industry since 2010, we are just a few freeway exits away from this activity.”

To grow its portfolio in Utah, Intersection is creating a full-service platform with both brokerage and property management and will target entrepreneurial firms. Long-term, the firm plans to become an active player in the market through investment and development. “As we settle in with our newest asset under management, we look to establish a presence in both Utah and Salt Lake Counties with additional third party property management and brokerage assignments,” says Kirkpatrick. “Once we have a greater foothold in the market, we will start to focus more intently on acquisitions. That is probably 12 to 18 months out.”

Intersection has opened a new office in Utah to accomplish these goals. The office is located in Lindon, Utah, outside of Salt Lake City. “Lindon, is only 45 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City and just 10 minutes from Provo, one of the top tech-centric cities in North America,” says Kirkpatrick. “It is a great place to enter the market because of its robust growth. Ultimately, we are expect to have offices in Salt Lake and other markets within the metro-area that provide attractive opportunities for our client or where we can add value for new third-party clients.”

The tech market in Salt Lake City is in its early stages of growth, and Kirkpatrick sees a long runway ahead. “Salt Lake City, Provo and the Point of the Mountain submarket continue to be excellent targets for companies seeking a young and energetic workforce,” he says. “Jobs continue to come to the market and new developments are seeing significant healthy absorption. It’s difficult not to appreciate a market where new jobs are being created and vacancies across the board are below historic norms. There is a rather large pipeline of office developments so we’ll be watching rental rates carefully to ensure that they remain stable. But generally, our outlook for the Salt Lake Metro Area economy is bullish.”