This story appears in the 2025 Advisor, a publication sponsored by Colliers Utah.
Once considered a rural outpost and historically known as a mining district, Tooele County is becoming a magnet for businesses and residents alike. Anchored by the ambitious Lakeview Business Park and fueled by groundbreaking projects like the Savage Tooele Railroad (STR), the county is shaping up to be a blueprint for balanced and thoughtful economic expansion.
A revolution in connectivity
Over the past decade, Tooele has redefined its accessibility for businesses and residents.
“Tooele County is just 25 minutes from an international airport, with infrastructure to support it and ongoing infrastructure projects that will continue to bolster it,” says Tom Freeman, vice chair at Colliers Utah. He believes these improvements make the county an attractive location for industries that rely on speed, efficiency and proximity to urban centers.
One of the most transformative elements of Tooele’s infrastructure evolution is the Savage Tooele Railroad. The first new rail line in Utah in decades, the STR will establish a critical connection between the Lakeview Business Park and the Union Pacific network. Freeman calls it “a game-changer for manufacturing and distribution.”
“Each railcar handled by railroads removes three to four trucks off the road,” explains Phillip Hoskins, VP of business development at Savage. He also highlights findings from the American Association of Railroads (AAR), which emphasize the environmental advantages of rail: Freight rail is significantly more fuel-efficient than trucking, with one train able to move nearly 500 tons of freight on a single gallon of fuel while removing hundreds of trucks from highways. These benefits position the STR as a critical component of Tooele’s sustainability and efficiency.
Lakeview Business Park fuels expansion
At the center of Tooele County’s transformation lies the Lakeview Business Park. The park, developed by The Romney Group in partnership with Prologis, serves as a vital engine for progression in the region. Freeman describes the park as a critical economic center in the county with “more than 1,700 committed acres to business development, including 900 acres of non-rail-served property and 800 acres of rail-served property.”
Tenants like Lineage Logistics and Jabil have established operations at Lakeview, and more businesses are expected to follow.
“Prologis shares the vision that Lakeview Business Park is the premier rail-served, greenfield business park in the western United States,” says Anthon Stauffer, chief investment officer of The Romney Group. He notes that Prologis, “the largest landlord of industrial warehouse space in the world,” brings significant expertise to the project.
At full build-out, Lakeview Business Park is expected to accommodate approximately 24 million square feet of warehouse space and create about 10,000 jobs, according to Stauffer. He also estimates that the total investment could exceed $2.5 billion, solidifying its role as a key driver of Tooele County’s economy.
Balancing progress and preservation
While Tooele County races toward the future, developers and stakeholders remain mindful of balancing growth with sustainability. One of the biggest challenges in the region is water availability.
“Lakeview Business Park secured all the necessary water for their 1,700-acre project at the time that they put this into production,” Freeman explains. “But for others in Tooele County, [water] will continue to be constrained.”
“We want development that is high quality … and addresses some of the challenges in the region, ... while providing opportunities for people of all life stages to be able to find places to live, work and recreate in beautiful surroundings.”
— Alan Matheson
Rio Tinto, a leading global mining and materials company and a key landholder in the region, has embraced sustainability as a guiding principle.
“We’ve got probably 5,000 acres in the Salt Lake Valley and Tooele County that are prime for thoughtful development,” says Alan Matheson, general manager of land and water development at Rio Tinto. The company collaborates regularly with local and state leaders to identify opportunities for its business and to support the communities where it operates.
Matheson also highlights some of the company’s efforts: “We’ve donated about 1,900 acre-feet of water annually to the Great Salt Lake to keep that lake wet.” he says, noting that, over the last few years, Rio Tinto closed down a coal-fired power plant and transitioned all of its heavy mining equipment from conventional to renewable diesel.
“[That transition] reduces carbon emissions by 407,000 tons a year,” Matheson says. The company also recently announced a 25-megawatt solar power plant expansion project.
Lakeview Business Park also reflects this balance between development and preservation.
“During the development period, the acreage continues to be leased by agricultural tenants,” Stauffer explains. “The nature of Grantsville is changing to accommodate residential growth and development in place of the rural, agrarian historical uses.”
Freeman highlights that farmland preservation remains a personal choice, as there are no mandates from Grantsville City, Tooele County or Tooele City dictating land use. He adds that the community strongly values property rights.
A vision for the future
According to Freeman, a significant portion of Tooele County’s workforce commutes outside the county for work, many of them traveling to Salt Lake County. This creates a clear opportunity to bring jobs closer to home, reducing commutes and improving quality of life for residents.
Lakeview Business Park is well-positioned to tap into the local labor force and improve commute options. Stauffer emphasizes the park’s convenient location, noting that it offers a reverse commute of just 30 minutes from nearby cities like Magna and Kearns. This strategic location offers businesses access to a broader labor pool in the surrounding areas.
Rio Tinto’s developments are also shaping the region’s future.
“We want development that is high quality … and addresses some of the challenges in the region,” Matheson says, noting efforts to reduce traffic generation, water use and air quality challenges “while providing opportunities for people of all life stages to be able to find places to live, work and recreate in beautiful surroundings.”