If you missed the auction of Bountiful Skypark Airport that was scheduled for Thursday, don't feel bad. It didn't happen.
Less than 24 hours before the scheduled auction of the general aviation facility - including the runway, parallel taxiway, ramp, fueling island and main hangar - it was sold, said Mac Brubaker, broker and auctioneer for Tate/Brubaker Real Estate and Auction Services.The buyers of the 34-acre facility were a group of Skypark hangar owners, Skypark Airport Assoc. L.C., who offered $839,000 for the complex. The offer was accepted by the seller, Skypark Inc., and the auction, scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at the site, was canceled.
The sale included four parcels that were to be auctioned separately if a buyer were not found for the entire property. Parcel 1 consisted of 2.09 acres with a warehouse hangar building containing 12,046 square feet of open sapce and 9,224 square feet of office space, including two restaurant rooms and two apartments.
Parcel 2 included 2.1 acres of vacant land with 200 feet of frontage on Redwood Rd.; Parcel 3 included 1.57 acres of vacant land; Parcel 4 included 28.23 acres used for the runway, taxiways and easements.
Skypark Airport was first opened in 1948 and has operated continuously since that time under various names and owners, said Marcia Anderton of Tate/
Brubaker. She said Skypark Inc. and its principal, Dal Way-ment, have had the facility up for sale several times in recent years, but without success.
"Some years it has prospered more than others," she said, "but it hasn't been what they envisioned." Income generally comes from hangar and office rentals and at one time a flying school was based at the facility.
"We advertised it (the auction) nationally and had quite a bit of interest, about 50 calls," said Anderton. "Almost everyone was quite clear that they wanted it to remain an airport - not be converted to some other use - and now it will."
The airport, located at 1887 South Redwood Rd., Woods Cross, is Utah's fifth-busiest general aviation facility.
For the past five years it has averaged some 35,000 takeoffs and landings per year and has provided a base for more than 100 private aircraft.
Brubaker said its popularity stems from its urban location, its low cost for users and convenient access by ground and air.
Skypark is not included in the National Airports System but is a key player in the Utah airport system.
He said the facility is unusual in that most of the land and the hangars surrounding the runway, taxiway and ramp are privately owned.