Canyons board narrows options for Innovation Center design, sets timeline for contractor bids and naming process

The Canyons Board of Education discussed competing design options, cost risks and an early timeline Thursday for the district's Innovation Center at the former eBay campus, with staff urging the board to finalize pre-design direction soon to keep an August 2027 opening on track.

Business administrator Leon Wilcox told the board, “I want to really meet that August 2027 opening date,” and outlined a compressed design and bid schedule: finalize pre-design in one to two months, complete schematic design over the summer, get construction documents and bid packages in the fall, mobilize contractors in February and aim to have spaces ready for equipment install by June 1, 2027.

The board and staff spent the bulk of the meeting evaluating whether a large, two-story “Boomerang” multipurpose/conference space should be retained in the main building or whether that function should be moved into the cafeteria to free square footage for student engagement areas. Supporters of keeping the Boomerang multipurpose room cited its size, natural light and the ability to host garage-door access for large prototypes and vehicles; opponents worried conversion costs and how often a very large conference space…