Neil Goldman of Angstrom Development Group celebrated the groundbreaking of The Slope, a mixed-use community in the North Village in Heber City, on Thursday by recalling his childhood.
“When we were all kids, we built with LEGOs. We played with Barbies. We created a world that we wanted to see in our own minds. And we’re building that right now,” he said.
The project has been in the works for the past three years. It will be constructed in eight- to 10-month phases, with a full buildout anticipated in 2029.
It will feature 100,000 square feet of retail space, including “a hell of a lot of good restaurants,” Goldman said. During an open house in October, he and his development partners had estimated eight to 10 restaurants that would strike a balance between approachable and fine dining.
One of these restaurants will be situated in a hotel developed by Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The Andaz Heber Valley hotel will have 85 guest rooms and 62 private condominium units.
Hyatt will also develop 140 four-bedroom villas starting at 2,900 square feet as part of the project.
The overall design of Andaz Heber Valley is inspired by the aesthetics of mountain lodges in Japan and Italy, according to designer Piotr Wiśniewski.
The villas are geared toward wellness and families, said Tina Necrason, global head of Branded Residential at Hyatt. Each features a sauna and hot tub facing Mount Timpanogos.
“We’re seeing a lot of younger families, I think everything from the generational wealth that’s transferring, to those who are looking for second homes. The market keeps expanding. So, we’re going to see families from everywhere, I think, not just in the U.S., but international,” Necrason said.
Angstrom Development Group previously estimated that 75-80% of the villa owners would use them as second homes.
Necrason said the prices of the villas, condos and hotel rooms will be announced in the next three to four weeks. The permanent residences will be priced in the millions, if the estimates Angstrom Development Group provided before the Hyatt partnership was announced hold.
Angstrom Development Group estimates that The Slope will generate $4.45 million in tax revenue annually from the Andaz Heber Valley residences and hotel alone.
The group also plans to develop 130 multi-family affordable workforce housing units for employees who work on the development.
The central plaza is designed with event programming in mind for the broader Heber Valley community, not just community members who live in the development.
And if Goldman’s childhood dreaming wasn’t evident enough, Angstrom Development Group has also planned to build a 200-foot-long tubing hill descending 45 feet from the roof of one of the buildings.
At the snowy groundbreaking, Goldman and his development partners used golden shovels to fling dirt with the help of their young children. Goldman said the five members of his development group are building the project for their children.
“This project started with (Goldman) and I dreaming about building something that we thought would be cool, that we thought we would want to bring our families to and enjoy together,” said developer Andy Dorobek. “And we knew if we did something that we liked, that there would be a lot of other people who would like it, too.”
Of the five developers, one, Ryan Miller, lives in Utah. The other four are from California and Texas, though Goldman has a second home in Utah. Miller has been developing “golf course communities,” hotels and resorts for the past 25 years. He moved to Park City eight years ago.
The Slope will be the first development Miller has worked on in Utah. For years, he had been eyeing the nearly 40-acre parcel of land in the North Fields for development. When Goldman and Dorobek entitled the land, Miller introduced himself on LinkedIn, and they became fast friends and business partners.
The Slope’s positioning in the North Fields has garnered backlash from some residents. The North Fields is a wetland area that has been used primarily for farming for generations.
The controversial Utah Department of Transportation’s Heber Valley bypass, which will divert traffic off Main Street, is also planned in the area. The Slope will not be affected by its proximity to the bypass.
The foremost concern residents have about development in the North Fields is potential pollution of the pristine aquifer that lies underneath the area and much of Heber City, feeding into the Provo River.
The Heber City Planning Commission’s approval of a preliminary site plan for The Slope in December was delayed nearly two months by one resident’s concerns about the groundwater.
Dan Simmons, a farmer and landowner neighboring The Slope, and Greg Poole, a civil engineer with Hansen, Allen & Luce, argued the methods used in The Slope’s third-party groundwater study were misleading because groundwater levels had only been measured once in August 2025 instead of being continually evaluated for seasonal fluctuations.
Simmons said he had observed groundwater rise above ground on his own property in particularly wet seasons.
Heber City engineer Russ Funk hired another third-party engineer to review the groundwater study, who found no issues with how the study was conducted.
The groundwater study is intended to prevent pollution and ensure the development has stable foundations. The findings of the study required Angstrom Development Group to rework the civil engineering of The Slope. During the first phase of construction, the developers will also install a layer of dirt to ensure a minimum of 4 feet of dirt above historic groundwater levels per Heber City code.
Goldman and Dorobek have both called Heber City’s groundwater code more “stringent” than other municipalities. Funk said the same before the Planning Commission approved the preliminary site plan in December.
The developers are well aware of the concerns residents have about The Slope, but insist on an ethos of “conscious capitalism” — putting stakeholders, residents and the land above making a quick buck.
“This land, over 150 years ago, was first inhabited by the Mormon Battalion. … And ever since there, it’s been inhabited, and it’s been looked after, and it’s going to continue to get looked after,” Goldman said during his groundbreaking speech. “We’re going to make sure that we protect the aquifer underneath us. We’re going to make sure we protect the Provo River to our west. We’re going to make sure we protect the North Fields. And we’re going to make sure that each of you has a place where you can go and create memories and come back year after year.”
Dorobek’s response to why Angstrom Development Group had targeted Heber City for The Slope was, “Look at it.”
“We’re nestled in this valley between all these beautiful mountains with a river right next door to us. We have lakes on both sides of us,” he said. “It’s a phenomenal place in this state, in this country, in the entire planet Earth. It’s beautiful here.”