TOOELE ARMY DEPOT -- That formidable seven-pound, four-inch-thick property deed Tooele Mayor Charlie Roberts waved around was more than just a deed to 1,700 acres of surplus Army land and 250-odd buildings.
It was a piece of military history, complete with 45 attachments, and it marked the beginning of a new era for Tooele County's economy."Many considered this an impossible task," Roberts said of the land transfer Tuesday. "It may have taken a little longer than we hoped . . . but the deed is done."
With the land in hand, Tooele city is poised to sell the property next week to a private corporation that will develop Tooele Army Depot's "North Area" into a $56 million business and industrial park over the next decade.
Officials anticipate the regional trade center will create thousands of jobs, generate tax revenue and pump millions of dollars into the area's economy.
Roberts joined federal officials and Gov. Mike Leavitt in a ceremonial signing of the deed that drew about 150 people to the TAD's Eagle's Nest community club.
Maj. Gen. Norman Williams, chief of staff for the U.S. Army Material Command, called the long-awaited property transfer "a monumental accomplishment" that demonstrates state and local government can work with the military.
As for the transfer's historical significance, Roberts called the document the "largest deed ever filed in Tooele County," taking most of one morning to file with the Tooele County Recorder's Office.
Even more significant, however, the transfer marks the first time ownership of a former military installation has been completed before the environmental cleanup of the property is finished.
The transfer process began back in 1993 when the North Area industrial properties were placed on the federal government's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list for conversion to civilian use.
Col. Gary Dinsick, chief of the Army's BRAC program, predicted the early transfer of the TAD property before cleanup will serve as "a bellwether of the future" that will lead the way for other BRAC projects.
Max Dodson, assistant regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, said that even more remarkable was that the initial cleanup needed to transfer the property was completed in just two years. That's "basically unheard of," he added.
Leavitt told listeners he recalls being dismayed when he originally heard the news that a 1,700-acre chunk of the 25,100-acre was marked for closure.
"I remember the fight we had to have this not occur," he reflected. "But this is one of those moments when you have to say closure is a good thing."
Dinsick said the transfer will go a long way in "replacing jobs that have been lost as well as creating new ones."
The Tooele Redevelopment Agency will sell the surplus property to Endeavor Inc., a local development firm selected to handle the conversion, netting about $5.6 million in cash and a percentage of future revenues.
In turn, Endeavor will sell 75 percent to 80 percent of the property to a consortium named Depot Associates for fast-track marketing and redevelopment.
Depot Associates, said Endeavor owner Mathew Arbshay, consists of two high-powered development companies from Colorado and Arizona backed by a major California investment bank.
Eighteen private industry leases already are in force, accounting for some 550 new jobs, and more leases are expected in 1999 as marketing efforts intensify.
In addition to remodeling or replacing a number of the buildings, the redevelopment plans for the construction of more than 1,100 "affordable" single-family homes.
Endeavor also plans to spend another $5 million to $6 million to upgrade roads and provide other infrastructure improvements as the project takes shape over the next several years.