If a friend told you to hold off on buying in Draper until the homes at The Point are ready, what would you actually be waiting for?
As of September 30, 2026, the honest answer is a homebuilder that hasn't been chosen, prices that haven't been published, and a construction start projected for spring 2028. The plan is real and the land is being prepared. It just runs on a much slower clock than a typical buying decision, and that gap shapes what anyone shopping in Draper this fall can do.
What's planned, and where
The for-sale piece of the former Utah State Prison site is called the River District. It covers about 50 acres on the west side of The Point, between Porter Rockwell Boulevard and a future FrontRunner station that planning documents call the Bluffdale FrontRunner Station. Don Willie, The Point's director of operations and external relations, told Building Salt Lake the goal is 800 to 900 units, all for sale. The final count depends on the developer or developers selected.
This is a change of direction. According to the Draper Journal, state officials decided to sell about 50 acres for ownership homes because of the housing crisis. The Journal reports the homes will likely be a mix of townhomes, smaller homes and condos.
The schedule is set by roads, not houses
Every date that matters for a buyer depends on infrastructure that comes first. Based on the July 2026 solicitation and the news coverage of it, the order looks like this:
- Late 2026. Porter Rockwell Boulevard and the backbone infrastructure for both The Point's downtown and the River District are scheduled to be finished.
- By year-end 2026. The Point expects to select its builder or builders.
- Through summer 2027. The adjacent roads get built.
- Spring 2028. Vertical construction in the River District is projected to begin.
Spring 2028 is when homes are projected to start going up, not when anyone moves in. No published source gives a move-in date for River District buyers.
What's in the ground now is the base layer. The Draper Journal reported on September 3 that over the previous 18 months crews had installed 17,000 feet of sewer line, 36,000 feet of water and irrigation line, and 54,000 feet of power conduit. The paper also described the site as "a construction site with dirt as far as the eye can see."
No builder yet, but the shortlist is familiar
Fourteen builders responded to The Point's request for qualifications. On the scoring sheet posted to the state procurement portal on September 4, 2026, the top three were Edge Homes, Larry H. Miller Real Estate and Visionary Homes. Cole West, Pulte Group, DAI-Candlelight, Flagstone Homes, Toll Brothers, Lennar Homes, Garbett Homes, Fieldstone Homes, D.R. Horton, Nilson Homes and Ivory Development followed. The committee advanced all fourteen to the RFP stage, so the ranking is a first cut, not an award.
These builders already sell homes across the Wasatch Front. When River District homes do reach the market, they will probably come from companies whose floor plans and finish packages Utah buyers have already toured elsewhere.
The deal structure matters too. The Point will build the main roads, but builders "are expected to fund and build internal site infrastructure for the for-sale parcels, as well as internal parks, open space, and any amenities within the site boundaries." The builder carries those costs, and none of them have been priced in public yet.
The density numbers point to townhomes and condos
The solicitation documents give projected densities for each housing type. Those densities show more about the eventual homes than any rendering does.
| Area | Planned housing types | Projected density and lot size |
|---|---|---|
| A | Single-family homes and green space | About 8.5 homes per acre, average lot around 5,100 sq ft |
| B | Single-family homes and townhomes | Townhomes at 12 to 16 per acre, lots about 2,722 to 3,630 sq ft |
| C, D, E | Townhomes and low-rise condos only | Condos at about 24 units per acre |
Area E could get more density as a transit-oriented development because it sits near the planned FrontRunner station. Only one of the five areas is single-family only, and its lots average about 5,100 square feet. Most of the district is townhomes and condos.
That makes the comparison to today's Draper prices fairly specific. KSL's zip-code breakdown, based on Salt Lake Board of Realtors data for Q2 2026 (April through June), put the median single-family price in 84020 at $925,000 and the median condo price at $475,000. River District homes will mostly compete in Draper's attached-home tier. A family that wants a detached home with a yard in established Draper is looking at a different product from what most of this district is planned to deliver.
Prices are an open question
The Point's July 13 announcement describes the River District as a model for "housing attainability." The solicitation published no price range, though. Three days later, the Salt Lake Tribune ran its coverage under the headline "As Utah's largest public development takes shape, The Point makes a major push for housing — but don't plan on it being affordable."
Until a builder is chosen and releases pricing, any guess about what a River District townhome will cost is a guess. Buyers waiting on The Point are waiting on numbers that don't exist yet.
What reaches the ground first
The first projects to go vertical at The Point are commercial and rental, not for-sale homes. KSL's June 29 groundbreaking coverage named the 5,200-seat Mountain America Event Center and Chroma, a 363-unit multifamily building with 42,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The developer's own release and the Draper Journal give the venue's capacity as 5,000 seats instead. Oak View Group is slated to operate it. Building Salt Lake reported Chroma could be ready in late 2028 or early 2029.
KSL reported that Convergence Hall is planned as the permanent home of Utah's Nucleus Institute. At the groundbreaking, Mike Ambre of The Point told Building Salt Lake that Convergence Hall, the multifamily project, the event venue and a 60,000-square-foot office building, shown in renderings as Amber, should make four buildings going vertical within 12 months. A separate 400-unit affordable apartment project is being developed with Alta Bay Capital.
University of Utah Health signed a purchase-and-sale agreement for 45.8 acres for a proposed health campus. Draper Mayor Troy Walker told the Draper Journal that other projects at The Point will lease land from the state, but U of U Health will be "buying the dirt." The paper put the campus build-out at five to 10 years.
Transit is still on paper. A 2025 KSL report said a 10-mile Draper-to-Lehi light rail line with a stop at The Point was the locally preferred option, with funding and construction still to come. The Bluffdale FrontRunner station next to the River District is also planned, not built. Anyone pricing a home on the promise of a future train is pricing a plan.
Today's market has room that tomorrow's may not
While The Point lays pipe, the wider Salt Lake County market has loosened. In August 2026, county inventory was 4,140 homes, up 12.9% from a year earlier, and months of supply rose to 4.0 from 3.6. The August median sale price was $554,990, essentially flat year over year. Closed sales fell 13.9% to 987, and homes took a median of 56 days to sell.
The single-family segment kept rising. The county's Q2 2026 single-family median was $645,000, up 4.88% year over year, according to the Deseret News. More inventory and longer selling times give buyers more room to negotiate on terms and inspections than they had a year ago. Higher single-family prices mean that room doesn't automatically become a discount.
For a buyer whose next home is a detached house in Draper, the River District isn't really an alternative. For a buyer who wants a townhome or condo and can wait until at least 2028 without knowing the price, the River District is worth tracking. Draper's existing attached homes, which had a Q2 condo median of $475,000, can be bought now.
If you're also considering nearby cities, our Draper vs. South Jordan comparison and the Draper neighborhood guide cover the established parts of town. Current owners planning a move up can read our guide to coordinating a Draper sale and purchase.
Quick answers
Can I get on a list for a River District home? No sales program has been announced. The Point plans to pick its builder or builders by the end of 2026, and any interest list would come from whichever builder is selected.
Will the homes be priced below the rest of Draper? No prices have been published. The Point uses the word "attainability," and the Tribune's July headline cautioned against expecting affordable homes.
Will The Point add homes that compete with my listing? Not soon. Vertical construction in the River District is projected for spring 2028, and the planned mix leans toward townhomes and low-rise condos.
Is there a train stop yet? No. Both the Bluffdale FrontRunner station and the proposed Draper-Lehi light rail line are planned projects without a construction schedule.
If you own in Draper and want to know how your home compares now, before any River District inventory exists, Tricia Vanderkooi can walk you through current comparable sales in your part of town. Start with a free home valuation.
