Daybreak goes modern?
If you live in Utah, you’ve probably heard of the massive planned community way out west – Daybreak. It’s suburbia gone so…right? Wrong? Old school? However you feel about it, it represents the old suburban dream of our parents and grandparents, among other things. It has that same eerie charm of a perceived perfection – Pleasantville type quality. Up to this point, I’ve mostly avoided it (it’s creepy!) and its targeted marketing. But earlier this week I received a very ‘hip looking’ mailer with a very modern looking home printed on 100% recycled paper boasting about “3 new ways to live in Utah”: Ultra-modern single family homes, row homes, and lofts – unlike anything you’ve ever seen in the Salt Lake Valley. And it was right – I’ve never seen anything like it in Utah, let alone Salt Lake. I was intrigued. (About that targeted marketing…)
So I checked out these new ways of living in the Beehive State and I liked what I saw, or at least I liked that people were starting to embrace a new kind of aesthetic in Utah. It was almost enough to buff out the “creepy” from Daybreak’s perfect patina. See it for yourself and share your thoughts. Would you live there? Why or why not?
Pictured: Style A / Style B from the Solaris Collection by Garbett Homes. Style A starting at $206,900. Style B starting at $239,900.
Award-winning builder Garbett Homes introduces the solar-powered Solaris Collection at Daybreak. These homes demonstrate that a first-time homebuyer can now afford a contemporary modern-style, solar-powered single-family home. Garbett Homes has teamed up with internationally renowned, California-based KTGY Architects to design and build Utah’s first truly affordable solar-powered home.
Go to www.daybreakutah.com/themix then click on “It’s a mod, mod world” or “Home Gallery” for more. Be sure to watch the sweet flyover video for the lofts. It’s almost enough to make me want to live there.
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15 Responses to “Daybreak goes modern?”
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Interesting. I’ve been watching Daybreak for years but it never occurred to me as a place I would want to live. I completely agree it’s creepy out there – plus windy, far away, and then there are those pesky mine tailings.
But kudos to Garbett for trying something like this, plus adding the solar angle. Can you imagine if you could get one of these in Sugar House or 9th/9th?
I’m compelled to go look at them if for no other reason than to show interest to the builder that some of us like this kind of thing. But I would be hard pressed to want to live in Daybreak. Great pricing though.
Geez, here I am, waiting for some $250k old home on the East Bench that’s decent enough to walk through, and Daybreak comes out with this. The drive is crazy, but for that price and style, they have me thinking. But the drive …
WOW!
I’m a little jealous that we bought our house a month ago and we won’t be moving any time soon. I wish this was an option in Utah County because Daybreak is pretty far from our jobs. I really can’t wait to drive out and visit!
Like many others, I find Daybreak a little too manicured for my taste but I was recently involved in an interior project for their new Visitor’s Center in Village III where these new homes are and I must say that I could get used to the way of life out there.
I am a downtowner who believes in moving up, not out but Daybreak is doing some great things in terms of open space and shared yards that I think we could all learn from.
The new modern homes are cool but I am not sure they fit the demographic of those who are wiling to move so far out.
Maybe when they get the trax line open…
I’m a bit shocked to see Garbett doing something like this. Daybreak is still too far, and I still love the downtown core of life.
(Still baffled at Garbett…this had to be a money thing, right??)
The home building industry in general, and especially in Utah, has been stuck in a time warp for about the last 20 years until Daybreak came along. What’s interesting about their plan is that they are creating a place where a lot of the same things we all love about downtown and the closer in neighborhoods can occur (like small parks,local shops, restaurants, cultural stuff etc.) that are walkable, and have an interesting character to them. The first small retail district will open this fall with a few shops and restaurants and the architecture is pretty interesting and unexpected.
I think when the newness wears off, it will feel less creepy and a bit more organic.
I happen to know some of the people at Garbett, and this was really a market driven thing. They saw that this was something that wasn’t available in Utah and knew that there were enough people that wanted it. When I talked to them last week they had seen a VERY favorable response in the form of buyers for these homes.
I saw them today and they are definitely worth a look. They have 2 models open now A and B but they have a plan to do a whole row of 20 all together, very close to trax and all available Nov-Dec this year.
Love the homes and I am also surprised by Garbett. I never thought I would see something like this in Daybreak.
But I could never live there. Sure the old leach pond was covered in a 3 foot layer of clay, but your basement goes deeper than three feet. Sure the toxic water is now filtered, but how filtered is it really?
There is a lot more than just aesthetics to think about out there.
I love the idea of making modern more mainstream in Utah. This state has definitely been an architectural abyss for the last several decades.
That said, I had enough of paint-by-numbers housing in Orange County for 10 years. *shudder* And Daybreak is as close to Orange County as it gets. Love the general concept, but the execution is too sterile, too artificial. What I’d rather see is individual homeowners choosing to have their own homes built with more architectural diversity. It drives me nuts to drive through a neighborhood that looks like a Plan A, B & C development by a big builder, only to realize that these were individual families who bought their own lots and chose their own floorplans. An infinite variety was there for the choosing, yet they manage to look like every other house on the block. Sad.
Presumably, one of the main reasons these homes are so affordable is that the building lot is relatively inexpensive out in Daybreak. I have no feel for specifics, but with my home the lot is worth more than the structure. Anyone know what size the lots are?
If you could plant this same house somewhere in town or on the east side what would you be willing to pay? $350-400K? Would there be a market for them?
I’m going to check these homes and others out this weekend at the Parade of Homes. Looking forward to seeing them, plus a LEED house is SH.
I toured daybreak when they first started the development and they had a block or two dedicated to just model homes from every developer. The prices on the houses were pretty low until I realized that it didn’t include the lot. Not sure if this is still true to the prices given on garbetts website but I wouldn’t be surprised if the prices doesn’t include the lot.
still weird … nice to see affordable modern homes, but there will still be rows and rows of similarly designed homes which is what I hate most about the vinyl villages that already line Utah suburbia.
I did check out these two Garbett homes at DB today. Indeed the prices listed INCLUDE the lot. That said, the lots are extremely small.
I was pretty impressed with them for the price point and for having solar PV. They are certainly something different out there in DB, even though the mix of home styles is very eclectic. Lots of interest in these two while I was there.
Aside from the modern design it was nice to see homes that are scaled a bit smaller. In the past few years at Parade of Homes tours, the houses were out of control big and gaudy.
My taste for Daybreak hasn’t changed though. I think they are trying to do some good things out there but it’s all too artificial for me, and really out of the way for things I do. Be curious to see DB in 20 years. I would love to see these two home designs and others make their way closer into town.
I moved my family from the east side of the valley (Sugarhouse/Millcreek) out to Daybreak a couple years ago when my wife and I found ourselves spending too much time commuting out to the west side for work. We also wanted to buy a home, but didn’t want to get into an east-side fixer-upper situation within our price range. As lifetime east-siders, it took us both some time to adapt, but we have really grown to love Daybreak–what it is now, and what it will be in a few years. I think these new designs are a good representation of what Daybreak is trying to do.
I would encourage skeptics to consider these realities:
1. Yes Daybreak is “far away” … from distant places. It is close, convenient, and friendly for the thousands of people who live out here. I would not recommend moving to Daybreak if you spend your days downtown or on the east side. Kind of goes against the Daybreak vision, anyway.
2. Yes Daybreak is a bit “sterile” … but most of it is less than 3 years old! It needs some time to grow. Also consider it in contrast to the typical beige box developments that surround it–Daybreak looks downright organic and earthy in contrast.
3. The mine, groundwater, and the environment. Misconceptions are widespread. I am a geologist and have gone to efforts to educate myself on the realities of living in the shadow of one of the largest copper mines in the world.
The water table is hundreds of feet below the surface out here, and poses ZERO risk for anyone living above it. We are drinking from the same water district with the same mixed-sources as everyone else on this half of the valley. There is a small percentage that comes from groundwater that Kennecott cleans in a reverse osmosis plant–probably the cleanest water of all.
Nobody is living in or amongst hazardous soils or sediments. There was a small evaporation pond out here years ago, which has been cleaned-up. Even then, no homes are being build on this site.
I would not have my children living and playing out here if there was any risk to their health.
Take a drive out to Daybreak and give it a look. Keep your eastside/downtown perspective in check and consider Daybreak in the context of the people who live and work in South Jordan, West Jordan, Riverton, Herriman, etc.
Amen Ryan! I am tired of people putting down Daybreak and not doing their research. Thanks for your input.