Falcon Hill master lease agreement moved back to add requests

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KAYSVILLE -- The final lease agreement on the Falcon Hill National Aerospace Research Park will be signed two weeks later than originally planned.

On May 7, officials with the Military Installation Development Authority said that the signing date had been pushed back from May 29 to June 11 because negotiations between the Air Force and park developer Sunset Ridge LLC have taken longer than expected.

"The Air Force and the developer are still in negotiations on the master lease agreement," said MIDA Executive Director Rick Mayfield.

"The Air Force keeps coming up with new requests for the developer."

The park will encompass 600 acres on Hill Air Force Base's west side and will bring software, engineering, composite, computer and other manufacturing companies to the area.

The first phase of development covers about 180 acres near Hill's west and Roy entry gates.

The project is part of the Air Force's Enhanced Use Lease program, which allows private entities to lease underused military land.

In addition to government office buildings, the land will include nearly 2 million square feet of retail space in the first phase alone.

Commercial facilities also will be available to the public and include a shopping center, restaurants, hotels, parking garages and even a new hangar at Hill Aerospace Museum.

"The Air Force has never done this type of deal," Mayfield said. "A lot of things they have done in the past have to be tweaked."

One example Mayfield cited was an issue concerning how to get water to three buildings planned for phase one of the development.

One of the buildings would be privately owned, and the other two would be government buildings, but there was discussion that two separate waterlines should be put in.

"It didn't make sense to use more than one line," Mayfield said. "The Enhanced Use Lease team at Hill is trying to make things practical for everyone involved."

MIDA officials said the negotiations between the developer and the EUL team will change the way the Air Force handles partnerships with the private sector.

"It can be a very bureaucratic and cumbersome process," Mayfield said. "But the developer and the Enhanced Use Lease team are showing the Air Force how to get a better return on their investment."

MIDA Chairman Stuart Adams said although the signing date was pushed back two weeks, the project forecast still looks good.

"It's a very complex area, with four cities and two counties involved," Adams said, referring to Clearfield, Sunset, Riverdale and Roy, cities that border Hill. "But so far, I think it's moving along very well and will continue to do so."

Construction on phase one of the project will likely begin this summer, with construction on new offices expected to begin late this fall or in spring 2009. 

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