First office building rising at University Place in Orem

OREM --The fences are up and the construction has begun on one of five new office buildings at University Place.

The new building is located just east of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant and south of the Macy's department store.

The construction signals the beginning of a busy year for the Woodbury Corporation and Ivory Homes partnership. The two groups will bring to the area a new mixed-used development including business offices, luxury apartment living, a hotel and a large public park.

NorthStar Alarm, currently housed at the Bank of American Fork building on the mall property's southeast corner, has announced its intention to be the anchor business for the new building. NorthStar has grown extensively since it was founded in 2000 and continues to annually expand at 25 percent or more. The company will occupy 30,000 square feet on the top floor of the new building that faces the intersection of State State and University Parkway.

In 2013, financial investment giants Goldman Sachs and The Beekman Group became financial partners with NorthStar and expanded its credit facility to $40 million. NorthStar has more than 44,000 customers in 28 states through a recent acquisition. It is the 18th largest residential security provider in the nation, according to SDM Magazine.

NorthStar Alarm was founded in 2000 when CEO Jason Christensen opened its first corporate office on the top floor of the Cougar Dental office in Provo on the south side of the Brigham Young University campus. NorthStar occupied about 500 square feet of space in the building, which had walls narrow enough to be touched if arms were outstretched.

Soon after NorthStar installed its first home security system in 2001, the companys growth accelerated and its original four corporate employees turned into several. To accommodate the growth, NorthStar moved up the street to its current corporate office in 2004.

We love our current location in Orem between two major universities. We have the luxury of being able to hire incredible people here in Utah County that share the core values of our company, Christensen said. I had been searching for some time for new space, and when this was presented we realized we would only have to move our offices across the parking lot 500 yards to the west."

Other tenants have signed contract agreements for the building, but the company names have not been released by Woodbury.

Orem Mayor Richard Brunst says he loves the fact the Woodburys are willing to reinvent the mall to bring new business and life to the city.

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First office building rising at University Place in Orem