Canyons School District's plan to turn the former eBay campus in Draper into a career-training center cleared a key hurdle last week.

Sandy's city council voted 5-2 on Oct. 20 to approve 86 townhomes on the district's Technical Education Center site at 825 E. 9085 South in Sandy, Building Salt Lake reported. The Boyer Company will develop the 7.15-acre property into a project called Canyon Gate. The approval came about a month after the council rejected the same proposal in a 4-2 vote on Sept. 15.

The sale of that Sandy property feeds directly into what is happening in Draper. The district's Board of Education approved a contract in August 2024 to purchase the 36-acre former eBay campus at 583 W. eBay Way for $50 million, according to a district announcement. The district plans to liquidate property it already owns to help pay for the purchase.

The 240,000-square-foot facility will become the Canyons Innovation Center, a hub where high school students can earn industry certifications and college credit in fields like engineering, health sciences and advanced manufacturing. The campus sits near a FrontRunner station in the heart of the Silicon Slopes tech corridor.

The campus also includes 16 acres of developable land. The district has said it may set aside acreage for a future west Draper elementary school.

In February, the district received a $17.2 million Catalyst Center Implementation Grant from the Utah State Board of Education. Combined with proceeds from surplus property sales, the state funding covers virtually all costs of retrofitting the building, according to the district. Construction crews have broken ground on the Innovation Center's trades building, and the campus is on track to open in fall 2027.

The Sandy vote turned on a revised development agreement that tightened rental restrictions. Sandy City Attorney Lynn Pace said the new deal caps rentals at 20% of units for five years after sale, written into the homeowners association's covenants. The earlier version only restricted rentals while The Boyer Company owned the units.

Tracy Cowdell, an attorney working with Sandy and The Boyer Company, said the updated terms represent the developer's final offer. "I confidently am telling you that I think they have gone as far as they are willing to go," Cowdell said.

Council Member Kris Nicholl voted against all three ordinances, saying the method of reviving a previously rejected proposal did not adequately notify residents. Council Member Cyndi Sharkey also voted no on the rezone and development agreement but supported the general plan amendment, making that vote 6-1.

The Innovation Center's fall 2027 opening will determine when the Sandy site is fully vacated and construction on Canyon Gate can begin.