Tooele RDA votes to reimburse $500,000 for removal of Building 595 to attract manufacturer

The Tooele City Redevelopment Agency on Feb. 18 approved Resolution 2026-01 to participate in site removal costs for Building 595 at 1955 West B Avenue in the Peterson Industrial Depot, voting unanimously to reimburse up to $500,000 to TECO after the work is completed.

John Perez, Tooele’s economic development director, told the agency the demolition request came from the Peterson Industrial Depot (PID). He said state contractors originally quoted roughly $1,000,000 to remove the structure but that PID, working with a partner contractor, cut that estimate to $807,057.60. "They were able to get some certifications with their partner company, TECO, and bring that number down to $807,057.60," Perez said, and the RDA executive committee recommended a reimbursable amount of $500,000 to TECO upon completion of the described work.

Perez said the demolition is intended to prepare the site for "a lead" manufacturing company that has expressed interest; he did not name the prospective tenant. Perez described the project as the kind of reinvestment the RDA fund is intended to support, and he said finance director Shannon Wimmer accounted for expenditures and reported a remaining RDA sunset balance of about $6,000,000.

A motion to approve Resolution 2026-01 was made by Councilman Brady and seconded by Councilman Hansen. Councilmen McCall, Hansen, Brady, Gossett and Councilwoman Gochis voted "aye," and the resolution passed.

No additional conditions or a specific tenant name were included in the motion or the presentation. The agency adjourned after approving the resolution. The resolution authorizes the RDA to reimburse TECO $500,000 after the described demolition work is completed; other implementation steps, timelines or contract details were not specified during the meeting.