When Dawn Ramsey became mayor of South Jordan in 2018, the city’s population was about 60,000. Fast forward seven years, and more than 100,000 residents are now part of the city.

With that rapid growth have come a myriad of changes and improvements, many of those outlined by participants in the community’s second annual State of the City program held Jan. 15 at the South Jordan Community Center. Among the mayor’s invited guests were Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson; Amanda Covington, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for the Larry H. Miller Corporation; Beth Holbrook, Utah Transit Authority Trustee; and Susan Pulsipher, recently retired Utah State Legislator who represented the city.

“This is an exciting and transformative time in South Jordan’s history,” Ramsey said. “I am sincerely grateful for the trust placed in me and our other elected leaders, and for the expertise of our amazing staff as we work tirelessly to preserve what makes South Jordan so special, while creating opportunities to make it even better.” She praised the work of the city council members, all of whom were in attendance, along with city employees. 

Each of the four powerful women leaders on stage discussed specific projects they’ve worked on with the community. Wilson spoke of the proposed South Valley Performing Arts Center, where ground will be broken in 2026 in South Jordan thanks to a partnership between the county and the Larry H. Miller Family Foundation. She said the Miller partnership pledged $25 million to build the new center.

“We take our arts and culture very seriously in Salt Lake County,” she said. “Had it not been for Larry H. Miller and the city working in partnership, you would have been waiting another 8 to 10 years for this.” Ramsey said the county did a feasibility study to determine the best location for the center, and South Jordan was the choice.

Wilson also spoke on a three-way partnership between the city, county and Jordan School District that will bring new lap lanes to the South Jordan Fitness and Aquatics Center. Though she says she’s not a swimmer, she “is willing to take a dip into those new swimming facilities when completed. We’re excited to be working with the city and schools on this.”

 The developments of Downtown Daybreak are dominant in the growth of South Jordan. Covington discussed both the Ballpark at America First Square, which will open as the new home of the Salt Lake Bees (opening night is April 8), and the LHM Megaplex and Family Entertainment Center and Plaza adjacent to it.

“The Millers are incredible stewards of our state,” she said. “Our company focuses on arts and culture, helping to build robust communities.” The stadium is privately funded and will host events year-round once completed, she said. The Megaplex and Plaza will include shopping, dining, an amphitheater, a playground and a winter ice rink. And regarding the ballpark, Covington said several officials from both major league and minor league teams visited the site recently.

“They said the ballpark is better than many MLB stadiums,” she said.

Critical to that development is the extension of the TRAX Red Line to a new stop adjacent to the stadium and the plaza. Holbrook said adding the new stop “is exactly what UTA believes our mission to be–transporting people. Helping them connect.” She credited, as did the other panelists, the Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone in Salt Lake County that allows a city to use tax dollars to develop housing around public transportation stations.

“We want to be sure we can get you to those places where you want to go,” Holbrook said of UTA’s extension into
South Jordan. 

 Covington said there will be 400 workforce housing units built in the area over the next three years.

“This has become a very special public-private partnership,” Ramsey said of working with all three entities.

Pulsipher said her favorite part of serving in the Utah Legislature was helping the city in which she lives. 

“We worked to limit the scope of eminent domain to protect century farms, including those in South Jordan,” she said. “The city has been great in working with lawmakers to let us know of any way we can help.”

“Our micro-economy is strong and we are committed to our promise of being a business-friendly city, allowing for economic development that will keep taxes low as we maintain our high service levels and ensure our continued quality of life,” Ramsey said. λ