West bench — Property might give Salt Lake County tax, jobs windfall

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.

"The projections are more reliable than what we had before, which was zero," Wood said. "The next study will be more reliable, but you have to start some place.... There is a lot of speculation, but it provides a context for a reference point; and when we'll be looking at this some time in the future again, probably several things will change."

Kennecott Land could start exploring new areas for development as soon as 2010, but a time line for the project is tied to the future of Kennecott Utah Copper's Bingham Canyon Mine. Kennecott Utah Copper has said the Bingham Canyon mine could stay open several decades beyond 2019, and Kennecott Land will begin to phase out the mine with other land uses when the time is right.

In the meantime, neighboring cities aren't the only entities interested in the west bench's potential. The information found in Wood's study is helpful to the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, which forecasts state economic conditions and revenues and helps keep other organizations, like Utah's Department of Transportation, apprised of developing needs.

"A lot of it has to do with planning for the future," said Melissa Glosenger, research analyst for the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. "UDOT and a lot of other planning departments use our projections to factor that into their future plans," she said. "If there is a huge area of growth, they would want to target that area."

Values when project is completed in 2060

When the Kennecott west bench project is completed in 2060, it is projected that the west bench will account for:

• Nearly 26 percent of Salt Lake County's residences
• 21.8 percent of its office space
• 12.5 percent of its industrial space
• 11.1 percent of its retail space

By 2060, the statewide economic activity generated by the west bench development will be:

• 302,200 jobs
• $16.7 billion of personal income
• This will support a statewide population increase of 288,700 people

Source: University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research

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