The future of Salt Lake City's last large undeveloped area will be planned by the same company that recently laid the groundwork for 90,000 acres of the Salt Lake Valley's west bench.

The city selected Denver's EDAW Inc. to create a master plan for the Northwest Quadrant, the area from 2100 South to 2700 North west of Salt Lake City International Airport to 8800 West.

"The proposal was very comprehensive," Salt Lake City planning director Alex Ikefuna said. "They have a good team."

The company was also involved last year in creating the master plan for Kennecott Land Co.'s huge west-bench development, which will span the Oquirrh Mountain foothills on a vast swath of land formerly used to buffer Kennecott Utah Copper's mining operations.

That plan is predicted to bring 500,000 new residents to the Salt Lake Valley over the next 80 years.

The northwest Salt Lake City area, while significantly smaller than the west-bench plan, is adjacent to Kennecott's land and could be developed in a way consistent with that development. However, Ikefuna said the west bench was not the reason Salt Lake City selected EDAW.

Rather, the city was impressed with EDAW's eye for sustainable development principles and smart growth that includes environmental and transportation factors.

Bruce Meighen, the project manager for EDAW's consulting team, said that while the final plan for the northwest area will likely be integrated with Kennecott's west-bench plan, the actual uses could be quite different.

The city also liked the proposed time line: 18 to 24 months, tops, for the master plan to be created, Ikefuna said.

"We're hoping the study will eventually result in a master plan that protects the environment, the natural environment out there, while encouraging a development that is compatible with the area," Ikefuna said.

He said it is uncertain at this point what the northwest development will be — whether it will focus on residential use, commercial use, industrial use, office space or some sort of mix. That will be determined during the master-plan process.

What the city hopes for, he said, is a plan that doesn't detract from downtown but supports it, that "integrates the area with the city instead of having two separate communities."

The planning process will include several meetings with stakeholders and opportunities for public input.

"We're really interested in listening to the community and what they want to do with this key area," Meighen said. "A lot of people don't look at this area as part of Salt Lake City, yet it's only 10 minutes from downtown."

The total cost to the city of the EDAW contract is $120,110.

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