GOED hands out incentives for two projects and 291 jobs

Tax credit incentives have helped Utah land a pair of corporate projects that will lead to the creation of 291 jobs over the next few years.

Tax credit incentives have helped Utah land a pair of corporate projects that will lead to the creation of 291 jobs over the next few years.

Entrata Inc., with 191 new jobs over five years, and Peek Travel Inc., with 100 jobs also over five years, announced the projects last week after being approved for incentives by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board.

Entrata, founded in Lehi in 2003 as AKA Property Solutions International Inc., provides website portals and payment processing to the multifamily home industry and develops property management and software tools. The company name was changed in June 2015.

Entrata employs 1,400 people globally and serves more than 20,000 apartment communities in the U.S. Its website indicates it has processed more than 45.4 million rent transactions.

While GOED documents indicate the company is still considering several Utah locations for the $6 million expansion, the company has been offered a local incentive from Lehi.

“The economic climate and booming IT infrastructure of Silicon Slopes has been integral to the growth and development of our company since Day One,” Dave Bateman, Entrata chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. “We’re proud to call Utah home and appreciate the support of our community as we continue to innovate and advance our technology in this great state.”

“Entrata has experienced exciting growth at multiple locations since they opened over a decade ago,” Val Hale, GOED executive director, said in a prepared statement. “I’m pleased to see they’ve chosen to expand within the business-friendly environment of their headquarters state and am certain they will see that pay off in years to come.”

The GOED board approved an incentive of up to $326,360 for the expansion, which is expected to result in new wages of about $38.1 million over five years and new state tax revenues of more than $1.6 million during that time.

The company also had considered Dallas, where it has an office, for the expansion.

Peek, based in San Francisco, offers software that allows people to browse and instantly purchase “hidden gems” to visit during travel. Sandy has offered the company a local incentive for the $3 million regional office project.

The company’s platform combines Peek.com, a marketplace to book activities, with Peek Pro, which is U.S. tour operator software. Peek.com was named one of Time magazine’s 50 best websites, one of the world’s top 10 most innovative companies in travel by Fast Company, and the company has been featured in Forbes, Vogue and USA Today, among others.

Among the backers of peek are Eric Schmidt of Google, Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Square, David Bonderman of TPG, Carl Sparks of Travelocity, and Pete Flint of Trulia.

Peek had considered several others sites — San Francisco, New York, Honolulu and Florida among them — for the project.

“We couldn’t be more excited about opening up this new office in Utah,” Ruzwana Bashir, Peek co-founder and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. “After extensive research and market diligence, it became incredibly clear that Utah provided the perfect mix of employee talent, technology DNA and a hard-working culture to make this new operation a home run for our rapidly growing company.”

The GOED board approved an incentive of up to $206,215 for the project, which is expected to result in new wages of about $17.2 million over five years and new state tax revenues of nearly $1.4 million during that time.

“Peek’s business model combines IT and outdoor recreation, two industries in which Utah really excels,” Hale said. “It’s certainly exciting that we’ve attracted such a high-end company, though not surprising. Peek will be right at home here.”