Northrop Grumman to move to $1.4 billion Hill AFB research park

HILL AIR FORCE BASE — It's been in the works for two years, but Davis County officials learned Thursday that the first tenant for a 550-acre research park on Hill Air Force Base's west side will be Northrop Grumman.

It signifies the beginning of Falcon Hill Aerospace Research Park, which, when completed, will be northern Utah's largest economic development project.

The research park is also the largest project of its kind in the U.S. Defense Department and could bring as many as 15,000 high-paying jobs to Davis and Weber counties.

Northrop's intercontinental ballistic missile support team, currently located about a mile south of the base, will move within walking distance of Hill's 526th ICBM Systems Group. The location is expected to allow both groups better working relationships.

The new five-story building, with 125,000 square feet of office space, will be located east of the base's west gate, near the base gas station, and will be visible from the freeway.

Falcon Hill, which is being developed by Sunset Ridge Development Partners, eventually will include 8 million square feet of office space and supporting restaurants and hotels on Hill's mostly barren west side along I-15. In return, Hill will receive 1.6 million square feet of office space at no cost for Air Force projects.

"Nothing good comes easy, and Falcon Hill is no exception," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in a statement. "It has taken seven years of working with the Air Force, Hill leaders and all the other responsible parties to bring this deal to fruition. But this contract signals the dawn of a new and bright future for Falcon Hill and Utah's aerospace future."

Groundbreaking on Northrop's building could happen as soon as October.

Thursday's announcement is the latest good news for Davis County, which in the past week saw the groundbreaking for Janicki Industries composites manufacturing operation in Layton, an announcement that ATK would locate a composites campus in Clearfield and the ribbon cutting on an F-22 depot building at Hill Air Force Base.

"Today's announcement shows once again that Utah continues to attract leading aerospace, defense and other high-technology entities from across the country, creating hundreds of new high-paying jobs for Utah citizens," said Utah Gov. Gary Herbert. "The Falcon Hill project aligns perfectly with the Governor's Office of Economic Development's aerospace and defense economic cluster efforts."