Falcon Hill: a state tax zone inside Roy.

Start here: what Falcon Hill is

The Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) is a state authority the Legislature created in 2007. Its board is appointed, not elected.

MIDA's first project area was Falcon Hill, adopted in December 2008. It covers federal land at Hill Air Force Base that the Air Force leases out under an "enhanced use lease" (EUL). In 2009, MIDA and the Air Force partnered with Sunset Ridge Development Partners, a joint venture of Woodbury Corporation and Hunt Companies, to develop it.

Private buildings on the leased land pay property tax. Inside a MIDA project area, MIDA collects that tax and decides how it is used: on roads, utilities and buildings in the area, on incentives, on debt, on city-type services, on its own administration, and on a share passed back to local taxing entities. MIDA can also use part of the area's revenue as "municipal services revenue" and must split any leftover equally among the cities and counties that levy property tax there (Utah Code 63H-1-503).

The best-known tenant is Northrop Grumman's Roy Innovation Center, the headquarters campus for the Air Force's Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program. Ground was broken in August 2019. A sixth building, the "Legacy Building," broke ground July 14, 2026, with completion set for 2028.

The words used here, like "project area," "EUL" and "tax increment," are explained in Words to know.

Is Falcon Hill inside Roy?

Yes. MIDA said so itself. In Resolution 2025-18, adopted Nov. 17, 2025 and signed by MIDA Chair J. Stuart Adams, MIDA's board wrote that Davis County, Weber County, Clearfield City, Riverdale City, Roy City and Sunset City "each ... levy a property tax within the Falcon Hill Project Area." Under state law, that is what makes a city eligible for a share of leftover municipal services money, and Roy was paid on that basis.

Other records agree. A 2019 news report placed the Roy Innovation Center just south of the Hill Aerospace Museum, along Hill's border with Roy. Northrop Grumman datelines its own releases "ROY, Utah." MIDA's Sept. 18, 2026 board slides list a "Roy Innovation Expansion" in planning.

The money, from MIDA's own records

MIDA has reported Falcon Hill's money several different ways in different documents. Each is shown with its source and date. They measure different things, so they are not added together.

The 2023 report also listed two 2017 Falcon Hill bonds: $2,750,000 in special assessment bonds (balance $2,080,000 in 2023) and $3,625,000 in C-PACE financing (balance $2,658,000). On April 24, 2026, MIDA's board adopted Resolution 2026-05 declaring the 2017 Falcon Hill special assessment bonds satisfied and releasing the liens on Building 1575 (Cazador) and Building J (Redhawk).

How the money moves

State money that went to Falcon Hill

MIDA's Sept. 18, 2023 report to legislators listed $71,194,600 in legislative appropriations for MIDA projects from FY2021-22 through FY2023-24. These rows are at or tied to Falcon Hill:

Source: MIDA, report to legislators, Sept. 18, 2023, "Legislative Appropriations." The total of the three rows is the Hive's math. The Sparrowhawk row is included because it appears in MIDA's table; its exact location was not confirmed.

Roy's own side: two tax votes

Roy City sets its own property tax rate. Its last two requests went like this:

• 2025: Roy proposed raising its property tax revenue 27.96%, or $1,423,978 a year. On a $432,000 home, the city portion would have gone from $384.44 to $492.54, up $108.10 a year. The council approved it after an Aug. 19, 2025 hearing. Residents filed a referendum petition on Aug. 25. In September, the State Tax Commission denied it, along with 34 other entities' increases, because Roy had not posted details of other proposed Weber County tax increases, a new requirement under S.B. 202 (2025) and S.B. 29 (2024). City Manager Matt Andrews said the Tax Commission's checklist did not list that requirement.
• 2026: Roy proposed 55.45%, or $2,807,745. After a nearly four-hour hearing on Aug. 11, 2026, the council approved a smaller increase of about 34.3% on a 4-1 vote. Council members Diane Wilson, Jason Sphar, Alexis Jackson and Janel Hulbert voted yes; Bryon Saxton voted no. The city's packet lists $1,751,100 at 34.29%; the Standard-Examiner reported $1,749,050 after a vote removing council cost-of-living raises.

Roy's stated reason both years was employee pay and keeping staff. In its 2025 ballot argument, the city said 80 full-time employees had left in three years and that it had cut operating expenses 7.5% in the 2025 budget. Opponents argued for smaller increases or cuts.

Roy's own tax-increment area: 1900 Southeast

Separate from MIDA, Roy's redevelopment agency created the Amended 1900 Southeast Community Reinvestment Project Area, 67.52 acres in Roy bounded roughly by Riverdale Road, Interstate 15, 1900 West and 5600 South. The 2023 interlocal agreement with Weber County describes it as "vacant and underutilized land" planned for mixed-use residential and commercial development. When the agreement was drafted, the agency had no developer agreement yet.

Source: Roy Redevelopment Agency, Notice of Interlocal Agreements (Utah Public Notice Website). The total is the Hive's math. Weber County's agreement caps its share at $4,991,735.

• Base year: 2022, with a base taxable value estimated at $49,210,014. Taxing entities keep collecting on that frozen value.
• What it produces now: $484,227 a year in property tax for all taxing entities. At the end of the period the agreement projects about $1,617,984 a year.
• Deadline: the agency must trigger collection by Dec. 31, 2026, with the first payment in 2027. If it does not, Weber County may extend the deadline or end its agreement.
• Who prepared the plan: Urban & Main Consulting. Weber County's signature block names Gage Froerer as Commission Chair.
• Public notice: the agency published notice of the agreements, opening a 30-day window for anyone to contest them, as Utah law requires.

Two tax-increment zones touching Roy

flowchart TD
  T["Roy taxpayers and businesses"]:::pub
  T --> F["Falcon Hill Project Area
run by MIDA, appointed board
about 550 acres of leased Air Force land"]:::mida
  T --> C["1900 Southeast area
run by Roy's redevelopment agency
67.5 acres in Roy"]:::roy
  F --> F1["Property tax from new buildings goes to MIDA
about $4.6M projected for FY2025"]:::mida
  F1 --> F2["Roy got $50,000 in FY2025-26
as one of 6 partners"]:::pub
  C --> C1["70% of new property tax for 20 years
about $24.9M estimated, 6 entities"]:::roy
  C1 --> C2["Collection must start
by Dec. 31, 2026"]:::pub
  classDef mida fill:#2c3e5c,stroke:#1c2a40,color:#ffffff;
  classDef roy fill:#f8ece2,stroke:#b5652b,stroke-width:3px,color:#1e2430;
  classDef pub fill:#eef2f7,stroke:#2c3e5c,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e2430;

Sources: MIDA Resolution 2025-18; MIDA June 11, 2024 budget projection; Roy Redevelopment Agency notice and interlocal agreement.

Map

Pins are approximate, placed at the described area or the city, not at parcels. Copper pins: Falcon Hill and the Roy Innovation Center. Slate pins: the six local governments MIDA names as partners. Open pin: Roy's 1900 Southeast area. Tap a pin for details. MIDA's project area plans on midaut.org include the official boundary maps.

Timeline

• 2007The Legislature creates MIDA.
• December 2008MIDA adopts the Falcon Hill Project Area Plan.
• 2009MIDA, the Air Force and Sunset Ridge Development Partners (Woodbury and Hunt) partner on the lease area.
• 2017Falcon Hill special assessment bonds ($2.75M) and C-PACE financing ($3.625M) issued.
• August 2019Ground broken on Northrop Grumman's Roy Innovation Center.
• June 2021MIDA adopts an updated Falcon Hill Project Area Plan.
• FY2021-24Legislature appropriates $49.3M for the North Gate interchange, the Hill AFB Museum and Sparrowhawk, per MIDA.
• 2023Roy's redevelopment agency and Weber County sign the 1900 Southeast interlocal agreement (base year 2022).
• June 11, 2024MIDA's budget projects Falcon Hill's FY2025 property tax at $4.6M.
• Aug. 19, 2025Roy council approves a 27.96% increase after its hearing.
• September 2025State Tax Commission denies Roy's increase on a notice rule.
• Nov. 17, 2025MIDA Resolution 2025-18: $50,000 each to the six Falcon Hill partners, Roy included.
• April 24, 2026MIDA Resolution 2026-05 declares the 2017 Falcon Hill special assessment bonds satisfied.
• July 14, 2026Northrop Grumman breaks ground on the Legacy Building, its sixth at the Roy Innovation Center.
• Aug. 11, 2026Roy council approves about a 34.3% increase, 4-1.
• Sept. 18, 2026MIDA board slides list a "Roy Innovation Expansion" in planning: a 275,000-square-foot office building on 16.9 acres, targeted for the second quarter of 2028.
• Oct. 21, 2026MIDA Executive Director Dan Hemmert presents to the Legislature's Economic Development and Workforce Services Interim Committee.
• Dec. 31, 2026Deadline for Roy's agency to trigger 1900 Southeast collection.

Numbers that don't match

These differences are between MIDA's and Northrop Grumman's own documents. None is shown as wrong; they may measure different things or come from different dates.

People connected to the record

• J. Stuart Adams: MIDA board chair; signed Resolution 2025-18. His own 2026 state disclosure lists two Roy entities, Roy Medical Building LLC and Roy Medical Center LLC.
  Documented Both Roy entities are on his own form.
  Not checked Where their property sits, and whether any of it is near or inside Falcon Hill. Nothing here suggests it is.
• Sen. Jerry Stevenson: MIDA board vice chair; primary sponsor of several bills expanding MIDA's powers.
• Dan Hemmert: MIDA Executive Director; presented MIDA's overview to legislators on Oct. 21, 2026.
• Mike Ostermiller: MIDA board member since 2008.
• Gage Froerer: Weber County Commission Chair in the signature block of Roy's 1900 Southeast agreement; in Hive files as the Weber County commissioner holding the county's MIDA seat.
• Taylor Woodbury: CEO of Woodbury Construction; gives Falcon Hill updates for Sunset Ridge Development Partners at MIDA board meetings and attended the July 2026 Legacy Building groundbreaking.
• Falcon Hill Development Review Committee: Ariana Farber, Michael Eggett, Rick Grover, Brad McIlrath, Jeff Oyler, Steven Parkinson and Hope Thompson. DRC members are not required to file a disclosure at any budget size.
• Matt Andrews: Roy City Manager; explained the 2025 denial.
• Roy City Council: Diane Wilson, Jason Sphar, Alexis Jackson and Janel Hulbert (yes) and Bryon Saxton (no) on the Aug. 11, 2026 increase.

Weighing it: transparency, money and the public

• What was done in the open: MIDA's resolutions, budgets and reports to legislators are posted on the Utah Public Notice Website and le.utah.gov. Roy held hearings both years and posted its notices; its 2025 increase failed on one missing posting, not for lack of a hearing. Roy's agency published notice of its 1900 Southeast agreements.
• What is hard to find: No posted record found breaks Falcon Hill's property tax down by city, so Roy residents can't see how much comes from inside Roy. MIDA reports the money in several different ways across documents.
• Money back to the public: MIDA projected sharing 17.4% of Falcon Hill's FY2025 property tax with local taxing entities, plus the $300,000 split six ways. It also paid off and released the 2017 assessment bonds and lists $3.5 million in environmental cleanup.
• Who decides: MIDA's board and Falcon Hill's DRC are appointed. Roy's council is elected and answered to residents at two hearings and a referendum petition.

Open questions

Questions to ask, and whom to ask

• MIDA board: How much of Falcon Hill's property tax comes from parcels inside Roy, and will you post that breakdown each year?
• MIDA board: Your 2026 slides say MIDA doesn't tap state coffers, and your 2023 slides list $49.3 million in state appropriations for Falcon Hill-area projects. How should the public read the two together?
• Roy City Council: Where did the $50,000 from MIDA go in Roy's budget, and what city services does Roy provide inside Falcon Hill?
• Roy Redevelopment Agency (the City Council): Will you trigger the 1900 Southeast area by Dec. 31, 2026, and with which developer?
• Weber School District board: The 1900 Southeast agreement sends an estimated $14.3 million of the district's share over 20 years to Roy's agency. What did the board weigh in agreeing?
• Your state legislators: Should MIDA have to report project-area property tax by city, the way city redevelopment agencies report by taxing entity?

Updates since this was posted

• Oct. 27, 2026This page posted.

New updates will be added here with their dates. Earlier entries are not changed.

Connected Hive work

Words to know

Tap a card to see what it means.

Behind this piece

Posted Oct. 27, 2026. Built from MIDA's own resolutions, budgets and reports to legislators, Roy City and Weber County records, and news coverage, plus Hive research from August through October 2026. Records checked but not used: a Pleasant View CRA (not in Roy), a Weber County CRA policy and a Weber County flagship CRA agreement. All figures in charts are MIDA's or Roy's; totals and percentages are the Hive's math and are labeled.