Because of Hill’s EUL efforts, the State of Utah created MIDA to strengthen military readiness and quality of life; optimize underutilized federal property; and as a means to incentivize development within the regions of their respective project areas, allocating local government property taxes directly into the communities who pay them. The Falcon Hill Aerospace Research Park is the largest Enhanced Use Lease – managed by MIDA – in the Air Force and one of the largest commercial EULs in the Department of Defense. MIDA is facilitating economic development, infrastructure installations and municipal services across multiple jurisdictions adjacent to Hill AF Base with private-public and public-public partnerships. (Learn more about EULs >>).

In 2007, in addition to being charged with managing the needs of the EUL, MIDA was given powers to act, via a state enabling law (as well as federal retrocession) as a municipality. These powers included granting land use permits, managing utilities outside the base fence, assisting in strategic facility planning, and serving as trustee for the Hill AF Base payment-in-kind account. Since 2009, language changes to the enabling law have provided MIDA with increased flexibility in land use development. MIDA acts as the authority in distributing legislative appropriations and issuing bonds (including issuing tax-free debt.) MIDA is able to create project areas outside of the EUL that it manages if both the property owner and local governing authority provide consent; MIDA only comes into a local jurisdiction when asked.

Falcon Hill is an amazing aerospace research park and one of the foremost in our country. According to the 2019 Hill Air Force Base Economic Impact Report, Hill had a $3.7 billion economic impact on the state’s economy. The report highlighted an annual federal payroll of $1.43 billion, annual expenditures of $811 million, and the creation of about $1.47 billion in jobs.

Falcon Hill is a unique public-private partnership between MIDA, the Air Force and private developers. The Air Force selected Sunset Ridge Development Partners (SRDP), a joint venture between the Woodbury Corporation and Hunt Companies, to develop the land within the project area.  Meanwhile, MIDA coordinates the provision of municipal services outside of the Base’s gates (such as police services, permitting, and utilities), and it also acts as the taxing and land authority for the project area.

The project area lies mostly on land owned by the military, but the project area is split between land that lies outside of the Base’s gates and land inside the Base’s gates. Outside of the gates, SRDP constructed several buildings, including a Tru by Hilton Hotel, the Redtail Building which features a Starbucks and Jimmy John’s, and a building for Weber State University (formerly known as the USTAR building).

The biggest development outside of the gates is currently under construction.  Due to the project area’s unparalleled proximity to Hill Air Force Base, Northrop Grumman selected Falcon Hill to host its new headquarters for its Ground Based Strategic Deterrence Program.  This 231,000 square foot campus will create more than 3,000 high-skilled, high-paying jobs for the state and region.

As part of the agreement, the Air Force receives a “payment in-kind” from SRDP.  This payment in-kind is the construction of new facilities and infrastructure on Hill Air Force Base. As of early 2022, this arrangement has constructed five new buildings on Hill Force Base, including a five-story, 150,000 square foot commercial building.