Good news – The Salt Lake City Council and Board of Directors of the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City (RDA) have approved a CRA (Community Reinvestment Area) plan, interlocal agreement, and more development for the Northwest Quadrant.
These milestones are a culmination of a year of work by the RDA and the City including outreach, a master plan, zoning, utilities planning, economic development strategy report, and coordination with the State of Utah.
Salt Lake City is the only city in the country with nearly 3,800 acres of developable land within 15 minutes of an international airport, major interstate highway exchanges, railways, and a vibrant downtown. The quadrant is located north of 2100 S. and west of Salt Lake City International Airport:
“The Northwest Quadrant project is an incredible economic and job creation opportunity for Salt Lake City and will further secure our reputation as a worldwide business hub,” said Lara Fritts Director of Salt Lake City of Economic Development, “the CRA is the best way to take advantage of this unique opportunity, to build a sustainable economic engine that will benefit the city for generations to come.”
The Northwest Quadrant has already attracted major employers to Salt Lake City – Amazon will be opening up an 855,000 square-foot fulfillment center, POST Consumer Brands has begun construction on a $50-million distribution facility and UPS broke ground on an 840,000-square foot regional distribution center on the City’s northwest side, adjacent to the Northwest Quadrant boundary. Most recently, the RDA and Salt Lake City were authorized to enter development agreements with Kennecott Utah Copper and NWQ, LLC over zoning and property taxes.
The establishment of a CRA (also commonly referred to as a “project area”) allows for the use of tax increment financing as a funding mechanism to reinvest in a specific area and accomplish the City’s economic development goals. Tax increment is the growth in property tax revenue caused by an increase in property values that a project area experiences.
The interlocal agreement allows for collection of incremental tax revenues to carry out infrastructure improvements, site development and remediation, business development, and other improvements in the NWQ.
The plan envisions the Northwest Quadrant to be a sustainable area of Salt Lake City that respects the unique nature of the Great Salt Lake as an ecologically-oriented industrial park. The city’s timeline is connected to prison’s timeline to maximize available state financing when the state builds the needed infrastructure for the new prison. 
“The Northwest Quad can easily become another key economic driver of development in the region,” said Council Member Derek Kitchen, RDA Chair. “Another benefit in developing the area is that 10% of revenues will be earmarked toward affordable housing options elsewhere in our City.”
Salt Lake City Department of Economic Development 