ARTICLE
HAMLET HOMES OFFERS A PEEK INTO NEW URBAN COMMUNITY IN
MURRAY
Press Release
April 12, 2006
The Utah Technology Open Infrastructure Agency has reached a new milestone with the
development of Inverness Square in Murray. The community is first of its kind to incorporate
the UTOPIA fiber optic network during construction.
Hamlet Homes will be holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony today for Inverness Square,
located at 297 W. 4800 South. Representatives from Hamlet Homes, UTOPIA and
Intermountain Health Care, as well as Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and Murray
City Mayor Dan Snarr will attend the ribbon cutting.
With residents already living in several of the homes, the ribbon-cutting ceremony is
intended to showcase the gentrification of a brown field into an attractive, new
neighborhood; the development of transit-oriented communities; and the power of UTOPIA,”
said Michael Brodsky, owner of Hamlet Homes.
Residents of Inverness Square receive Internet, telephone and television services provided
by MSTAR over the UTOPIA broadband fiber optic network. Because the service is bundled
as part of the homeowner’s association fees, every resident of the community has access to
the services.
“Fiber optic networks are several orders of magnitude faster than anything that is currently
on the market,” said Roger Black, chief operating officer of UTOPIA.
About 70 percent of Murray residents now have access to the UTOPIA fiber optic network,
which allows them to contract with a service provider for ultra-broadband telephone, Internet
and television services. UTOPIA is currently working with providers MSTAR, Veracity
Communications, xmission and AT&T.
The first phase of Inverness Square is nearing completion and all but the model homes
have been sold. The second phase is set for construction this summer with anticipated
completion next spring, for a total of 110 townhomes.
“Murray is such a desirable community to live in, and there’s not much space for new
residential development,” Brodsky said. The city hasn’t had a lot of new development
opportunities for the past few years.”
Hamlet Homes surveyed Murray City to find underused industrial property that could be
developed into residential housing.
Inverness Square is being constructed on a former industrial site, which was used as a
storage yard. Hamlet Homes will begin building a second community in Murray next year on
25 acres of industrial land near the 4500 South TRAX station. Called Brookhill, the
development will include three- or four-story apartment buildings, townhomes and live/ work
buildings that have commercial space on the ground floor with residential space on top.
Located near TRAX and I-15, Inverness Square is transit oriented. With the homes pushed
up close to the streets, the community is intended to have an urban ambiance. Front
porches, narrow tree-lined streets and a unified architectural theme these all put it together
and make it feel like an urban neighborhood,” Brodsky said.
The two model homes each offer 1,720 square feet of living space, two or three bedrooms,
up to three-and-a-half baths and full, unfinished basements. Standard features include two
bedrooms, two baths, a family room and air conditioning. Buyers can also purchase
upgrade options, such as a fireplace.
Inverness Square is Hamlet Home’s fifth community in Murray in the past 10 years.
Based on a cooperative agreement to create a fiber optic network among 14 cities, UTOPIA
is nearing completion of its first phase in Murray, Midvale, West Valley City, Orem, Lindon
and Payson. After its next funding round, UTOPIA will begin work in Tremonton, Brigham
City, Perry, Layton and Centerville, said Black.
A handful of planned communities in Utah are offering fiber optic networks among their
amenities, including Daybreak in South Jordan, which has partnered with Qwest to lay the
cable. Broadweave has installed its fiber optic network throughout Traverse Mountain in
Lehi.
According to Black, UTOPIA has contracted with several developers to install fiber optics
during construction. “UTOPIA gives their products an edge in the marketplace,” he said.