Daily Herald | Ashtyn Asay

St. John Properties celebrated the groundbreaking of Valley Grove III on Tuesday afternoon, marking 128 acres of company development in Pleasant Grove.

Daniel Thomas, the regional partner for St. John Properties, established the company’s regional Utah office in 2014. St. John Properties now owns and is developing more than 1.7 million square feet of commercial space throughout business communities in Salt Lake and Utah Counties.

Former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert gave the keynote speech before the groundbreaking at Valley Grove II, located within view of the upcoming construction site. Herbert discussed the importance of development and capitalism within Utah County and Utah as a whole.

“There are 49 states that wish they were Utah, we do really well here,” Herbert said. “It’s in large part thanks to the people of Utah, like you, and for people like Ed St. John and his team here, who are invested in the future here in this great state.”

Herbert represented Utah County in some form for 30 years, first on the Utah County Commission, then as lieutenant governor and governor. All the while, the valley has experienced exponential growth in population and business reputation.

In 1990, the population of Utah County was 263,590 compared to just under 660,000 in the 2020 Census. In Pleasant Grove, under the same time, the population has grown from 13,927 to 38,474 residents.

Valley Grove is a 130-acre mixed-use business community located at Pleasant Grove Blvd. and North County Blvd. in Pleasant Grove. According to St. John Properties, upon Valley Grove’s completion, total development will be valued at $1 billion.

According to Scott Gifford, leasing representative for St. John Properties, although Valley Grove III’s exterior will be nearly identical to the original Valley Grove’s design, the building’s interior will pay homage to the red rocks of Southern Utah.

“There’s a sandstone waterfall effect, it’s really beautiful. You bring all these class A finishes to these tech companies, and they want something beautiful,” Gifford said. “It’s a play kind of on Southern Utah, and the red rock, and the water.”

Like the other Valley Grove Buildings, Valley Grove III will be designed for LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, a form of green building certification used worldwide.

Valley Grove III will be located at 1333 S Valley Grove Way in Pleasant Grove. The building will boast five stories and 140,768 square feet of Class A office space, which will be able to accommodate up to 700 employees. It is projected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.