LAYTON -- The extension of Fairfield Road into the East Gate development site has made 130 acres of the proposed 650-acre project "shovel-ready" for construction and made the land available to show.
The completion of the $2.2 million quarter-mile road extension into the property set aside for a business research park is allowing city officials to show the parcel to potential tenants, said Ben Hart, Layton economic specialist.
The 80-foot-wide road, stretching from 3500 North to 3800 North Fairfield Road, was jointly funded by the city and J.L. Properties of Anchorage, Alaska. The Alaskan firm contributed about $1 million to the project.
"We are in negotiations with a couple of different corporations," said Eric Roman, Utah business development manager for J.L. Properties.
The company has proposals out and is waiting to hear back from those corporations in how they want to proceed, Roman said.
Roman said J.L. Properties is working on the project in concert with Layton city and the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
The investment the city has made in building the road shows its commitment to making East Gate work and its desire to recruit new companies to the area, said Brandon Wood, broker for NAI Utah Commercial Real Estate Inc.
NAI is serving as J.L. Properties' commercial real estate broker on the project.
"The completion of the road completes the access to the initial East Gate area, primarily to the J.L. Properties piece, the first piece to be developed," Wood said.
"The access will be instrumental in solidifying deals that the developer is currently in negotiations with," he said.
Hart said the Fairfield Road extension is a "huge step" in moving the city's economic development effort forward.
"The Fairfield Road extension project moves (East Gate) from a planning phase to a development phase," Hart said. "It makes the property immediately developable."
Eventually, the road extension will make a horseshoe shape around the property by looping around the Sun Hills Golf Course then connecting with 1700 East, which connects into State Route 193, according to officials.
The East Gate development east of Hill Air Force Base will consist of manufacturing and storage warehouse development, Hart said.
"We hope to have a strong office component on the east side of the Sun Hills Golf Course," he said.
Mayor Steve Curtis says the 650-acre project upon completion will bring thousands of new jobs to the area, while the initial phase of the project is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to the city.
"It is helping fulfill the vision of bringing more jobs to the area, and more inventory to the front porch of Hill Air Force Base," he said.
Curtis said there are businesses that have already made a serious inquiry on the property.
"We're just on the verge of a breakthrough. I think it will begin this year. Once that first tenant is landed, you will see a ripple effect," he said.
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