West bench — Property might give Salt Lake County tax, jobs windfall
According to a study released Monday by the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic Business Research, Kennecott Land's undeveloped 40,000 acres have the potential of bringing billions of dollars in taxes and hundreds of thousands of new jobs to Salt Lake County's west side by 2060.
With half of the county's remaining developable land in hand, and another 40,000 acres of undevelopable acreage on the side, Kennecott Land is poised to change the face of the west bench and influence Salt Lake County's financial future, says Jim Schulte, Kennecott Land's vice president of long-range planning.
"As we begin to think about our property and compare it to development on the east bench, we recognize we're the other side of that equation," Schulte said. "As the west side develops we would expect to see more (economic) centers develop in the west side. It's not a matter of competing with those other centers, it's a matter of providing the same ... (opportunities) closer to that population so that everyone doesn't have to drive 25 or 30 minutes to an employment center."
Just which local government will receive the potential money is a mystery. Currently, the majority of Kennecott's land is in unincorporated Salt Lake County, with the exception of Daybreak, which is in South Jordan.
Schulte says the development may create its own city, join with neighboring cities or stay in unincorporated county territory, depending on what works best with the "vision" of the project. Bordering cities, like South Jordan, are already envisioning annexing parts of the project, which might take 50 to 75 years to complete.
"There are areas in that west bench that are in our annexation area that we would consider, when the timing is right," said South Jordan Long-Term Planning and Sustainability director Brian Preece. "We can do what we can to sweeten the deal, but we can't just go out and grab it."
The project could generate some 260,000 jobs by 2060 and bring about 200,000 more homes and 600,0000 residents to the area, according to the study. In the next 50 years, those numbers could change, but the information is still a worthy starting point, said Bureau of Economic and Business Research Director James Wood.
Recent comments
The suburbs are growing because the population is growing. All the...
Kids Need To Live Somewhere | Dec. 18, 2007 at 11:36 a.m.
How about all you people that keep complaining about the development...
Private property | Dec. 18, 2007 at 10:08 a.m.
As a resident of South Jordan I am now glad that the eastside residents...
Jordan District Hapiness | Dec. 18, 2007 at 10:07 a.m.
