The Yard Case Study

CASE STUDY / THE YARD

Tapping into the Entrepreneurial Spirit

How an expert real estate firm used outdoor amenities to help reposition a declining Silicon Slopes tech campus.

Results Summary

The Yard at Canyon Park Tech Center is a branded and exciting one-of-a-kind sequence of outdoor amenity workplace experiences. Located amid 14 high-tech office buildings, The Yard is where tenants meet up during all hours of the day to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities.

Loft Six Four was engaged to assist The Muller Company find success in their goal to backfill the vacant offices of the aging campus and create value. Our team was asked to serve up a special kind of creativity to make The Yard a favorite place of tenants and help drive sales. We were tasked to help make Canyon Park Tech Center the go-to place for successful tech companies to setup shop.

The Yard now serves as a key piece of the recent acquisition and repositioning of the office park. As a prime marketing tool it continues to provide value to The Muller Company and their growing number of office tenants. It has supported a dramatic increase in longterm leasing opportunities and building occupancy rates.

A New-Old Startup Hub

Originally built as the headquarters for one of Utah’s earlier tech startups, Canyon Park Tech Center was developed in 1985 as the WordPerfect campus. After the company merged with Novell, however, the campus was sold to real estate investors and began to languish in disuse.

Despite its lack of occupancy (with businesses occupying only half of the campus or less), the campus still carried much potential. The Muller Company identified the campus as a great opportunity. They stepped in to reinvent it as a haven for startups looking for a place to grow.

A key component of the repositioning strategy was making Canyon Park a fun and enjoyable place for the roughly 10,000 people that will be working there. Describing The Muller Company’s vision for the property, Justin Farnsworth explained, “We’re trying to create a live-work-play environment here with this campus and really, really trying to embrace and tap in to that entrepreneurial spirit.”

“The Yard at Canyon Park Tech Center is a huge hit with our tenants to gather for a BBQ, relax in the hammock garden or play fun games with friends. Loft Six Four brought creative vision, expertise in design and planning, and made the entire experience enjoyable.”

Sue Donahugh / The Muller Company

Creative Vision

The design of The Yard needed to accommodate a wide variety of activities and user groups. With careful planning and organization of space, we maximized the amount of different amenities while preventing the area from becoming overcrowded.

The Loft Six Four team leveraged our rooftop amenity design experience in order to get the most of a relatively small space. The Yard provides many opportunities for multiple groups to take a break from work, connect with their coworkers, grab a bite to eat, or just enjoy some free-time outside.

To create the right kind of entrepreneurial environment, we designed flexible spaces that can pivot from one use to another easily. This versatile space has been adapted for a wide range of activities and events from weekly basketball games to food truck dining to axe-throwing. The outdoor amenities inspire and encourage creative thought and help tenants take in the regenerative benefits of spending time in nature. Like the startup companies that use the space, The Yard is an exciting feature that is bursting with potential.

The Before and After

It’s always inspiring to see the immediate impact of renovation projects. But at Loft Six Four, we understand that there is more to renovations than a few routine updates. To really get the most out of your investment it’s important to consider which are the best possible improvements..

The Yard demonstrates how much can really be done to improve a space and create large scale value. Before the updates, the spot was simply the location of two basketball courts and a couple of sand volleyball pits. But, with the thoughtful consideration of how people use such spaces, it became so much more. It shows how important a space can be in driving company culture, identity, and growth.

The Yard is now branded, demand generating, and community building atmosphere where tenants can have much more immersive workplace experiences. This ultimately leads to a happier workplace environment for employees and improved company success.

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