Olympic-training-level surfing wave pool coming to the Salt Lake Valley

Draper's surf pool will create the perfect wave like the one seen here in a different city. Photo: Joshua Koblin

DRAPER — A surf park featuring Olympic-level wave technology is planned for the Point of the Mountain area, part of a broader mixed-use development approved by the Draper City Council this week.

The Veranda West project, developed by The Wasatch Group, calls for 418 residential units, nearly 300 apartments, a University of Utah medical campus, and an 8.8-acre surf park near the site of the former Utah State Prison in the Salt Lake Valley.

A company spokesperson told KSL the surf park will use advanced wave technology capable of producing “consistent and customizable waves” for surfers of all skill levels. But the facility is designed for more than recreation — Jackson Sheppard, of Kamaka Responsible Development, told council members the park will serve as a national training center for U.S. men’s and women’s Olympic surf teams.

“This is a world-class facility; other Olympic national teams use wave pools just like this,” Sheppard said.

The project is expected to generate 100 to 150 local jobs and contribute approximately $23 million annually to the local economy, according to Sheppard.

Water use drew scrutiny during Tuesday’s council presentation. Sheppard said the surf park’s closed-loop pool is projected to use between 6 and 9 million gallons of water annually — a fraction of what high-density housing or commercial development on the same footprint would require.

“If we put high density on the footprint of the wave pool, it would use 28 million gallons per year,” he said. “If we did a commercial development on the same acreage, it’d be 109 million gallons per year — about 12 times more water than the surf park.”

Kainoa Clark, chief marketing officer for The Wasatch Group, said the system is designed to capture rainfall and snowmelt to offset evaporation losses, which developers say makes it the most sustainable pool of its kind on the market.

Draper Mayor Troy Walker said the surf park, while unexpected, fits the area’s intended zoning for dense, mixed-use development.

“We didn’t, of course, envision it would have a surf pool, because that was not something anybody would’ve thought about,” Walker told KSL. “But I think it’s a pretty unique opportunity to have an amenity that will be as much of an attraction as anything.”

Walker noted that the project is a private development and that no tax incentives are being offered to developers.

The park will use wave technology similar to that at facilities in Fresno, Calif., and at one currently under construction in Palm Springs. Construction is anticipated to begin this fall, with an opening targeted for 2028.