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

Kennecott Utah Copper has long been known for its mining operations, but a recent study shows sister company Kennecott Land is also sitting on a gold mine — of real estate.

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."

Kennecott paid an undisclosed amount of money to the U. to give estimates on the 40,000-acre project's economic potential. According to the study, it is estimated that local governments will collect an estimated $12 billion in taxes and fees from the development between 2010 and 2060. When the project is completed, it is estimated the west bench area — Kennecott's land that reaches from northern Salt Lake County, west along the foothills of the Oquirrh Mountains and south to Herriman — will generate $480 million annually in local tax revenue.

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."