Salt Lake City is moving to sell more than 950 acres of land near its international airport to the Utah Department of Natural Resources, pairing the sale with a permanent conservation easement designed to keep warehouses and other industrial development away from nearby Great Salt Lake wetlands. The parcel sits northwest of Salt Lake City International Airport, land the city has held since 1995, and its future is now working through a formal public review process at City Hall.
According to KSL News, Salt Lake City Department of Airports official Brady Fredrickson briefed the Salt Lake City Council on the proposal, telling council members, “This is a critical area.” The Utah Department of Natural Resources already owns more than 660 acres directly east of the airport parcel, and Utah Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Joel Ferry first approached airport officials in 2024 about protecting wetlands land near the Great Salt Lake, the outlet reports.
The property’s origin traces back three decades. The airport acquired the land in 1995 with help from a Federal Aviation Administration grant, which funded planting native flora and constructing irrigation areas as environmental mitigation for a runway expansion completed at the time, per the same account. Salt Lake City currently spends approximately $70,000 annually to maintain the property, according to a city memo cited by the outlet.
How the Sale Price Was Set
The land is valued at between $3.8 million and $5.1 million, based on two completed appraisals, with a third appraisal expected soon, the station’s report notes. Salt Lake City declared the property surplus in July and had it appraised in August, ahead of the current review process…