Sandy, Utah

Sandy is a city in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population was 96,904 according to the 2020 United States census.

Sandy is home to the Shops at South Town shopping mall; the Jordan Commons entertainment, office and dining complex; and the Mountain America Exposition Center. It is also the location of the soccer-specific America First Field (formerly known as Rio Tinto Stadium), which hosts Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC home games, and opened on October 8, 2008.

The city is currently developing a walkable and transit-oriented city center called The Cairns. A formal master plan was adopted in January 2017 to accommodate regional growth and outlines developments and related guidelines through the next 25 years, while dividing the city center into distinct villages. The plan emphasizes sustainable living, walkability, human-scaled architecture, environmentally-friendly design, and nature-inspired design while managing population growth and its related challenges.

History

thumb|A view of Sandy City with the [[Traverse Mountains|Point of the Mountain in the background]]

thumb|left|A view of the [[Wasatch Range from a Sandy neighborhood.]]

thumb|[[America First Field]]

thumb|left|The [[Shops at South Town mall in Sandy, before 2017 redevelopment]]

thumb|left|Sandy Library

Early settlements

Located at the base of the Wasatch Mountains south of Salt Lake City, Sandy was a likely area for early settlement. The area was first used by nomadic bands of Paiute, Shoshone, and Bannock Indians who roamed along the base of the mountains as they travelled from their winter home at Utah Lake to their summer fishing grounds at Bear Lake.

Permanent settlers first moved into Sandy during the 1860s and 1870s because of the availability of land in the less crowded southern end of the Salt Lake Valley. The original plat was essentially one square mile, situated on an alluvial terrace running north and south along the eastern edge of the Jordan River drainage system and paralleling the mountain range.

The origin of its name has not been established with any certainty. Perhaps most widely believed is that Brigham Young named Sandy for its thirsty soil, but there is no historical evidence for this. Another theory is that the name came from a legendary and colorful Scotsman, Alexander "Sandy" Kinghorn, the engineer who ran the first train line to this end of the Salt Lake Valley. Though this seems bolstered by the original name (Sandy Station or Sandy's Station), historians consider it unlikely in view of the short period between the start of the train service and the first instances of the name. The city center project is named The Cairns, with the project stretching between 9000 South and 11400 South, and Interstate 15 to the TRAX Blue Line. The project includes the American First Field and the Mountain America Exposition Center.

The project divides the city center into distinct urban villages; the areas currently under development include:

Central Village – An office park and retail development along State Street;
South Village – The largest village, home to City Hall, the Hale Center Theatre, the Shops at South Town, and retail and office space; and
East Village – A transit-oriented development focused around Sandy Civic Center TRAX light rail station, including retail, office, and multi-family residential.

The master plan also includes study areas for future development and single-use areas that are unlikely to change.

Progress

As of February 2017, the first phase of the Shops at South Town redevelopment is complete and the Central Village office towers (including a new InContact headquarters), the Hale Center Theatre, and the Park at City Center residential project are near completion. The East Village transit-oriented development is nearly halfway complete, with residential projects near completion and mixed-use projects planned for a late 2017 or early 2018 groundbreaking. Transit enhancements are planned to connect the TRAX station to the South Jordan FrontRunner station, and create a link between the active villages, by way of rubber-tire bus, trolleybus, or tram. This route has been studied and is currently under planning.

|date=August 2010

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Sandy, Utah – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|80,523

|75,260

|style='background: #ffffe6; |76,172

|91.07%

|86.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |78.61%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|404

|558

|style='background: #ffffe6; |866

|0.46%

|0.64%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.89%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|269

|335

|style='background: #ffffe6; |376

|0.30%

|0.38%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.39%

|Asian alone (NH)

|1,894

|2,599

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,020

|2.14%

|2.97%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.15%

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|260

|541

|style='background: #ffffe6; |659

|0.29%

|0.62%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.68%

|Other race alone (NH)

|67

|124

|style='background: #ffffe6; |463

|0.08%

|0.14%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.48%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|1,126

|1,597

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,925

|1.27%

|1.83%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.05%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|3,875

|6,447

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,423

|4.38%

|7.37%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.76%

|Total

|88,418

|87,461

|style='background: #ffffe6; |96,904

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Sandy had a population of 96,904. The median age was 36.7 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.6 males age 18 and over.

99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 33,453 households in Sandy, of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 59.9% were married-couple households, 14.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 20.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 78,540 || 81.0%

| Black or African American || 978 || 1.0%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 597 || 0.6%

| Asian || 4,078 || 4.2%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 686 || 0.7%

| Some other race || 3,968 || 4.1%

| Two or more races || 8,057 || 8.3%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 10,423 || 10.8%

2010 census

The city population remained the sixth largest in Utah; as of the 2010 census, there were 87,418 people, 28,296 households, and 22,553 families residing in the city.

Education

thumb|[[Jordan High School (Sandy, Utah)|Jordan High School.]]

Jordan School District was the primary school district in Sandy until 2009. In 2007, citizens voted to split Jordan School District to create 2 separate school districts - Jordan School District and the newly created Canyons School District. The Canyons School District is now the primary school district located in Sandy. It began operation at the beginning of the 2009–10 school year.

Sandy has 18 elementary schools (Alta View, Altara, Bell View, Brookwood, Crescent, East Sandy, Edgemont, Granite, Lone Peak, Oakdale, Park Lane, Peruvian Park, Quail Hollow, Sandy, Silver Mesa, Sprucewood, Sunrise, Willow Canyon), six middle schools (Albion, Crescent View, Eastmont, Indian Hills, Mount Jordan, Union), five high schools (Corner Canyon, Jordan, Hillcrest, Brighton, and Alta), one technical school (Canyons Technical Education Center—CTEC), and one alternative high school (Southpointe). The Blessed Sacrament School is a private Catholic elementary school.

Salt Lake Community College's Miller Campus is located in Sandy, and is home to the college's Automotive Training Center, Culinary Institute, Miller Business Resource Center for corporate training programs, and training facilities for the Utah Department of Public Safety. Sandy is also home to a continuing education campus for non-traditional students at the University of Utah, opened in 2015.

Sports

Sandy is home to Real Salt Lake, a Major League Soccer team established in 2004 that plays at the America First Field on the city's west side and the Utah Royals, a National Women's Soccer League team that also shares America First Field. The city is also the home of the Utah Mammoth practice facility, and will be home to a new practice facility for the Utah Jazz in 2027.

{| class="wikitable"

! scope="col" | Club

! scope="col" | League

! scope="col" | Venue

! scope="col" | Established

! scope="col" | Titles

! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Real Salt Lake

| Major League Soccer

| America First Field

| 2004

| 1

! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Utah Royals FC

| National Women's Soccer League

| America First Field

| 2017

| 0

Transportation

thumb| [[Historic Sandy (UTA station)|Historic Sandy TRAX station.]]

Roadways

The city's roads are located on the same grid system as the rest of Salt Lake County.

I-15 runs down the western side of Sandy, with three exits (at 9000 South, 10600 South and 11400 South) located in the city. An additional ramp was built in early 2017 to connect the 10600 South northbound off-ramp to Monroe Street. U.S. Route 89 runs parallel to I-15 through the city as State Street, and Utah State Route 209 runs east/west, terminating within the Wasatch Range at Alta Ski Resort.

Bus

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) operates a bus system that reaches into the city (including two normal routes, three FLEX routes, and one ski service route). Bus routes serve nearby light rail stations, commercial districts (including the Shops at South Town and the State Street commercial district), office parks, and government offices. The ski bus route operates from Historic Sandy TRAX station to Alta Ski Area and Snowbird and runs seasonally.

Sandy and UTA are currently developing a circulator bus or trolley route between Sandy Civic Center TRAX station and South Jordan FrontRunner station. The route, not yet in service, will have the potential to convert into a streetcar route in the distant future. A feasibility study was conducted by UTA in 2015, outlining the need for a circulator route, which was established into Sandy's long-term city center plan in January 2017. The route will incorporate a dedicated transit guideway on 10200 S over or under Interstate 15.

Rail

UTA's TRAX light rail system operates in Sandy. The city is home to four light rail stations: Historic Sandy at 9000 South; Sandy Expo, an infill station at 9375 South, serving the Mountain America Exposition Center and America First Field; Sandy Civic Center at 10000 South, serving the city center and nearby transit-oriented developments; and Crescent View at 11400 South. All of Sandy's light rail stations are on the Blue Line, terminating at Salt Lake Central Station to the north and Draper Town Center to the south.

Notable people

Dee Benson - jurist for the District Court for the District of Utah and soccer player
Ryon Bingham - professional football player
John Brzenk - professional arm-wrestler
William T. Fairbourn - Marine Corps Major General
Jim Fullington - professional wrestler
Bonnie Gritton - pianist and professor
Derek Hough - professional dancer
Julianne Hough - professional dancer
DaMarques Johnson - mixed martial artist
Sean O'Connell - mixed martial artist
Doug Jolley - professional American football player
Megan Joy - finalist on American Idol (season 8)
Karl Meltzer - ultra-marathon runner, 2006 North-American ultra-runner of the year by UltraRunning Magazine
Craig Richard Nelson - actor and director
Grant H. Palmer - historian and author
Jamie Pierre - professional freeskier
Katie Ann Powell - Miss District of Columbia 2024
Dalton Schultz, professional football player
Apa Sherpa - co-record holder for reaching the summit of Mt. Everest (21 times)
Dick Simon - race car driver
Mike Weir - professional golfer
Mary Elizabeth Winstead - actress
Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Elaine Barzee, kidnappers of Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart, kidnapping victim and activist
Daisy C. Allen, Utah State Legislator in 1917

In the media

The 1992 TV movie Deliver Them From Evil: The Taking of Alta View is based on the Alta View Hospital hostage incident that took place in Sandy in 1991.
Elizabeth Smart was discovered walking down the street with her captors in Sandy nine months after being abducted from her home, an event dramatized in the CBS movie The Elizabeth Smart Story.
The fictional HBO drama Big Love is set in Sandy.

Local media

Sandy City Journal, tabloid-style newspaper covering local government, schools, sports, and features.

Sister cities

Sandy has two official sister cities as recognized by Sister Cities International.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! City

! Country

! Since

! References

| Riesa

| Germany

| align=center | 2002

| align=center |

| Piedras Negras

| Mexico