Industrial zone: tooele is a hidden gem to the west of the oquirrh mountains.

• Author: Webb, Gaylen

As industrial development intensifies in Salt Lake County and space becomes scarce, companies are increasingly looking beyond the shadow of the Oquirrh Mountains to Tooele County, the new Mecca for industrial development.

A string of recent announcements highlights this trend. In April, Airgas Inc. announced it would build a specialty gas production facility in Tooele County. In May, outdoor retailer Cabela's broke ground for a 600,000-square-foot regional distribution hub in the Ninigret Depot, an industrial park on Tooele's west side.

What's the big draw to Tooele County? Wide open spaces, lots of available land, shovel-ready infrastructure and a strong transportation grid.

Room to Grow

The Salt Lake Valley is bounded by the Oquirrh Mountains, the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake. It's essentially landlocked. "The land base is definitely eroding," says Mike Farmer, executive director and industrial specialist for Cushman & Wakefield I Commerce. He says there are only a few sites in the valley large enough for industrial development, "and with each deal that goes down, opportunity is lost."

On the other hand, land is plentiful in Tooele County. Not only that--but it's also much cheaper. Farmer says industrial land in Tooele is less than half the price of similar parcels in Salt Lake.

Currently, there are three major industrial developments in Tooele County. After the military exited from a large portion of the Tooele Army Depot, the property came under the control of a redevelopment agency. Commercial interests opened the Utah Industrial Depot in the space vacated by the military. That was later sold to Ninigret Group, a developer with considerable success in the Salt Lake Valley. Ninigret cleaved off half of its interests in the depot to another developer, Roger Peterson, who owns Utah Fabrication, a heavy steel fabrication company and depot tenant since 2000. Peterson acquired most of the established buildings in the depot and created the Peterson Industrial Depot, while Ninigret Group kept most of the developable ground.

Meanwhile, Miller Business Park is located across the street from Miller Motor Sports Park in an enterprise zone between Tooele City and Grantsville. The park comprises about 900 acres of developable land. It was designed for build-to-suit for big box distribution, manufacturing and motor sports uses.

Other developments are in the works as well. Shawn Milne, Tooele County commissioner, says Grantsville has...