Brandon Sanderson's Dragonsteel Is Buying the Old Evermore Park Land in Pleasant Grove. Here's What Is Planned

Brandon Sanderson, the best-selling fantasy author who got his start at BYU, says his company, Dragonsteel, is buying the land where Evermore Park once stood in Pleasant Grove, and that the immersive fantasy park will not come back. Sanderson announced the deal in a video update on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Dragonsteel says the site will become "the permanent home of Dragonsteel HQ," with a warehouse, bookstore and event space, next to land the company already owns.

What is planned

Dragonsteel first called the project on its neighboring land "Dragonsteel Village," then renamed it "Dragonsteel Plaza." The Evermore purchase roughly triples the footprint. In an interview with KUTV, Sanderson said the idea is to "do something nice with the space," with "a nice bookstore as an anchor store," and that "the whole place is not intended to be 'Brandon Sanderson theme park.'" Dragonsteel's own headquarters and warehouse would be based there too.

Sanderson arrived at BYU in 1994 and built his career here; our profile of famous people from Utah Valley covers how he and other authors came out of the university's writing community.

Why Evermore is not coming back

"The truth is, Evermore has long been dead," Sanderson said in his video, as quoted by the Daily Herald. He said the existing buildings are unusable and that the ground needs work: "It was built up with a lot of fill that is not stable and that we can't build on." Axios reported he would like to keep part of the village feel but considers the buildings beyond saving. He told KUTV the plan is to "start bulldozing early next year."

When Evermore first went up for sale, the Herald reported, Sanderson toured it and passed because he was not interested in running a theme park. He told KUTV the same thing this week: "I don't want to run a theme park. I'm a novelist."

How the deal came together

KUTV reported Dragonsteel had considered the property before and found it out of its price range. Partnering with The Will Group, a Utah County real estate firm, made the purchase possible. The price has not been made public, and no report said whether the sale had closed.

What Pleasant Grove says

Pleasant Grove Mayor Eric Jensen told KUTV, "we're excited to see something finally happening on this land." New buildings will still need the city's usual permits and approvals; no site plan had been filed publicly as of Oct. 19, 2026. For what else sits in that corner of town, including the go-kart track on Evermore Lane, see our guide to things to do in Pleasant Grove and our page on The Grid, the racing venue next door.

A short history of Evermore

Evermore Park opened in 2018 as an immersive fantasy village where costumed actors played villagers and guests followed a story through seasonal events. Axios reported its founder, Ken Bretschneider, put $37 million of his own money into it. The pandemic hit about a year after it opened, and the park closed in 2024. Bretschneider told the Daily Herald at the time that COVID-19 had long-lasting effects on ticket sales and that, with rising inflation, "the burden was too heavy to keep the business going."

What happens next

Until a Dragonsteel bookstore exists, the valley's independent and used shops are in our guide to bookstores in Provo and Orem. Dragonsteel has said more details on the Pleasant Grove plans will come later; Sanderson posts updates on his YouTube channel, and any site plan will appear on Pleasant Grove's planning commission agendas.