Canyons board hears innovation‑center plan for eBay campus; architects, partners outline eight key spaces and bid timeline

Architects and district staff told the Canyons Board of Education on March 4 that the district’s planned Innovation Center — using the eBay campus — will emphasize industry collaboration, adaptable learning spaces, career readiness supports and community engagement, and that design and bid work are advancing to a planned early‑fall procurement for a trades building.

Leon Wilcox, the district’s business administrator, opened the update by noting that eBay plans to vacate the building at the end of March and that the district will take possession April 1. He and MHTN architects outlined a master‑plan approach that uses five guiding principles: industry collaboration; innovative learning environments; career readiness and support; community and identity; and a future‑forward, adaptable vision. The design team identified eight “key spaces” to organize programming: a Partner Pavilion for industry partners, an Inquiry Lounge (research and AI sandbox), a Gallery for public showcases of student work, Incubators (breakout and studio spaces), Learning Studios/Labs (specialized and hybrid teaching spaces), The Exchange (student services, credentialing and counseling), a Faculty Forum (teacher collaboration), and a Nexus (community multipurpose space).

Architects Allison Lee and Angela Rose (MHTN) showed early diagrams placing the Partner Pavilion and gallery near the main lobby and locating research and presentation zones throughout the three‑story “boomerang” tower. They presented cost ranges for program spaces and identified building upgrades and support‑space needs. Leon Wilcox and district staff said the Catalyst funding approved by the legislature (discussed earlier in the meeting) could provide a local match or capital funding source for some renovations; they also flagged workforce credential funding that recently received a legislative appropriation.

Trade building and sequencing debate: Board members pressed staff for clarity about heavy‑trade programs (welding, diesel mechanics, construction), which may require separate outbuildings because retrofit costs can be high. District staff and architects said the plan is to solicit a bid for a ~25,000‑square‑foot trades building as early as September so that core trades programs could be constructed on a faster timeline; some trades or heavy equipment programs may remain in outbuildings or be phased in as budget and site planning allow. Leon Wilcox sketched sample sizes (7–8,000 square feet per program cluster) and said program clustering will be refined with principals and CTE leaders before the board’s planned program confirmation.

Programs, partnerships and next steps: Staff emphasized the need to finalize a short list of programs that will move to the Innovation Center for fall 2027 occupancy. The district will coordinate with CTE partners (including Jordan School District staff and local higher‑ed partners noted in the meeting) and bring enrollment, wait‑list and CTE utilization data to a roundtable set for the board’s March 18 meeting. Higher‑education partners (SLCC, University of Utah and UVU were named in discussion) remain interested but will finalize participation after the board confirms programming. The board directed administration to provide: current CTEC enrollments and wait lists, inventory of existing high‑school CTE spaces and recommended “phase 1” programs for a fall 2027 opening.

Why this matters: The project repurposes an existing three‑story commercial campus into a district innovation center meant to serve multiple high‑demand career pathways and to act as a recruitment and credentialing hub. Board members described the timeline as accelerated and asked staff to balance flexibility for future program changes with immediate decisions needed for procurement and site construction.

Next board action: The board scheduled a roundtable/study session for March 18 to review the compiled materials and to vote (if ready) on a core set of programs to be moved into phase 1. Staff said they will publish enrollment and program inventory data to BoardDocs in the coming days so board members have time to review before the roundtable.