Layton industrial research park promising

LAYTON — Over the next year, Layton residents should expect to see a transformation of 500 acres of open land into a thriving industrial and business park.

Half of the land, adjacent to a future East Gate of Hill Air Force Base, sits within the city limits. The other half is located in unincorporated Davis County and winds around the privately owned Sun Hills Golf Course. And, according to city officials, it is ripe for development.

Davis County commissioners recently approved an agreement with Layton under which the city is permitted to include the Davis County land in an economic development area, which will generate property-tax revenue Layton can use for building infrastructure, such as a loop road for the development.

The city already found a developer who currently has 65 acres under contract with an option on another 26, says Ben Hart, Layton's economic development specialist.

Though the city is still keeping quiet about the developer's name, Hart said this will be the developer's first project in Utah.

The city expects to introduce the developer, which has over $1 billion in assets and a diverse real-estate portfolio, to the public soon.

"We're very proud to have them as part of this project," he said, adding that the developer is committed to making the most out of the project, which aims to bring life-sustaining jobs to Layton.

And that's not all, said Hart.

"As you know, there's a transportation problem in the county," he said.

According to Davis County data, 45 percent of Davis County's work force leaves the county every day for work.

Wilf Sommerkorn, the county's director of community and cconomic development, said he has long been encouraging cities to identify and plan for development that will create jobs to keep commuters in the county.

Earlier this year, county officials commissioned the University of Utah to study the county's economics and demographics.

The report showed manufacturing jobs in Davis County have dropped from 15 percent to 11 percent over the past 15 years.

Kent Sulser, the county's manager of economic development, said the county needs more offices and more manufacturing, because those jobs tend to pay higher wages than retail jobs.

Hart said Layton's East Gate business park could do just that.