Adobe on track for 2012 opening

Adobe is different.

Developers have unveiled grandiose plans for northwest Lehi in the previous decade -- shops connected by a water canal where gondolas transport shoppers through an outdoor mall; a community with large wakeboard lakes, underground roadways and the tallest building in Utah -- that have remained nothing but dreams.

Adobe, however, appears well grounded in reality and is moving forward to open phase one of its new campus by the end of 2012. The company executives gave a site tour to Lehi politicians on Tuesday afternoon.

"It's coming out of the ground, it's really an exciting time," said John Bankhead, Gardner Company project representative. "We have 120 guys working 60 hours a week. We're doing really well."

The software giant is building the 230,000-square-foot campus in Lehi on 38 acres below the west foothill of Traverse Mountain. Adobe executive Jonathan Francom said they will have 850 employees moving in once the first phase of the project is complete. There are three phases planned with a maximum capacity of 3,000 employees.

"This is not a 5-year plan, this is a 10 to 20 year investment for Adobe," Francom said. "We have a long view."

Three other office buildings will surpass the Lehi plans -- the San Jose and San Francisco, Calif., and Noida, India, campuses. WRNS Studio are the architects for the massive building complex.

Francom said they hope to have the campus draw the two counties closer together and to be able to draw on employee talent from both locations.

"Adobe is looking to be a significant presence, and they are planning for this building to be a landmark for Adobe and this community," Francom said.

Adobe purchased Orem-based Omniture for $1.8 billion in 2009 and announced its plans for the campus in 2010. Choosing Utah, let alone Lehi, for a new campus was a tough sell, Francom said.

"Without the incentives and cooperation from the state of Utah and the local municipalities, we would have never gotten this done," VP of operations Mike Herring said. "I think it's really fantastic. We've been working on this for a long time."

Massive walls of concrete are molded with textures from oak planking and other natural materials are reflected in the construction of the building. Huge beams, open areas, light and views are part of the four-story structure, which straddles the boulevard leading up into the neighboring Traverse Mountain planned community. A clear glass exterior, the first 6-feet bordering the windows on each floor will be sacred, according to the planners, leaving space for air movement and light and giving every employee a view from their work space.

"It's going to be really cool," Bankhead said.

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