Spanish Fork's industrial sector could get a major boost after a developer purchased 92 acres of land in the area, the largest commercial land purchase in Utah County in 2006.

Gordon Jacobson, managing partner of the Spanish Springs Development Co., said the company planned to put in city streets in the previously undeveloped area and subdivide the land into lots that businesses could buy, similar to a residential subdivision.

He said the company would sell the lots to industrial and distribution-type companies. Several companies had already expressed interest in buying the lots, he said, although the development company is not ready to sell yet. He declined to comment on who the companies were.

Jarrod Hunt, senior associate at CB Richard Ellis, the real estate service company which managed the sale, said he thinks there will be more demand for industrial land as the population in the area continued to grow.

"Demand for that type of space has been strong the last year and a half," he said. He said the purchase was both part of a trend and also an opportunity that the Spanish Springs company was able to take advantage of.

"The opportunity was there, and it took a developer with a vision to see what it could become," he said.

Jacobson said the city was supportive of the purchase, and everyone involved was optimistic about the development project.

He said there were lots of opportunities for growth around the area, and lots of demand for industrial services.

"We think that it's going to be a great location for businesses serving the Utah County climate," he said.

Hunt said most of the prospective buyers were looking for lots of 1 or 2 acres. He said it took a developer like Jacobson to act as a middle-man to develop and redistribute the lots.

Hunt said a land purchase that big was rare because it required a large investment. He said when the company has the lots ready to sell they will be worth about $14 million, and once they are sold and used, that will grow to about $200 million. He declined to comment on how much the land deal was for.

The land was previously used as farm land, and was sold by three family members. Jacobson said there was quite a bit of competition to buy the land, and the company has been working on the project for over a year. He said that since the land was not near residential areas it would not affect the residential community.

Jacobson said he had looked at land in Utah County before, but not for this purpose. Then when this land came up for sale, he said, the company decided to buy and develop it.

"It was just being in the right place at the right time," he said. He said he considered Spanish Fork an ideal spot for industrial and distribution-type companies. The sale was finalized on Oct. 31.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D4.