Putting Assets to Work · Salt Lake County · October 2026

Salt Lake County's land, put to work for Salt Lake County

Twelve county-owned sites, screened for what they can earn under leases the county already has the authority to sign. No land is sold, and the county puts in no capital.

Year-1 recurring revenue
$1.0M to $1.5M
65-year lease value
$26M reported separately
Priority sites
12 on 75 acres
County capital required
$0
1,240 parcels

Everything the county owns, in one list

Each Salt Lake County department kept its own property list, and no one had added them up. We merged them into one inventory of 1,240 parcels on 3,900 acres and put a market value on it.

Public Works
410
Parks and Recreation
290
Library Services
180
Transportation
150
Five other departments
210
Value on the county's books
$86 million
Estimated market valueEstimated
$410 million
58 candidates

Setting aside land that is already doing its job

Parks, offices and roads stay as they are. The screen then removed parcels too small or too restricted to build on, within limits the County Council set at the start, including that no land would be sold.

In active use
1,030 removed
Too small or without road access
92 removed
Deed-restricted or in a floodway
60 removed
Buildable and clear
58 left
Leasable under existing county authority
all 58
12 priority sites

The priority list

We scored each candidate on its size, its zoning and the work needed to clear it. Twelve sites covering 75 acres make the priority list. The phase shows when each could start earning, and each site is matched to the lease type that fits it.

6.1 acres

Site 1: the former county road yard

The top site fronts a state highway two blocks from a bus rapid transit stop. Public Works still stores equipment on the east half.

Today
Light industrial zoning. A drainage easement covers the north 1.3 acres, leaving 4.8 buildable.
Could become
About 2.6 acres of mixed-income housing on the west half and a solar canopy over the 2.2-acre paved yard.
In the way
The stored equipment has nowhere to go yet, and no environmental assessment has been done.
Authority
The county can lease the site under its existing authority. The lease needs a County Council vote.
Next step
Move storage to the north depot and commission a Phase I environmental assessment, then rezone for mixed use and issue an RFQ for a development partner.
Confidence
Medium. Acreage comes from county GIS, and the site has not been surveyed.
$1.0M to $1.5M a year

What the land earns

Under a long-term ground lease the county keeps ownership while a partner builds and operates. For the road yard, the numbers work out like this.

Land value todayEstimated, comparable sales
$3.9 million
Annual ground rent
7% of land value
Rent in year one
about $273,000
Rent once rezoned and builtIllustrative
$430,000 to $550,000

Across all twelve sites, rent in year one comes to $1.0 million to $1.5 million. Over a 65-year lease term the portfolio is worth about $26 million in today's dollars, a figure we report separately and never add to the annual total.

First rent in 8 to 15 months

What it takes to start

Every step in the first eighteen months happens under authority the county holds today. The recommendation keeps every acre and every approval where it is now and adds what the county lacks, which is someone to run the portfolio.

An owner
The Mayor's office names one person who owns the pipeline, the calendar and the reporting.
A property advisor
Hired on qualifications and paid mostly on results. The advisor negotiates, and the county decides and signs.
A reinvestment fund
A share of each lease goes back to the department that gave up the land, so departments have a reason to bring sites forward.

Hover over or tap any parcel for details.