Land Transfer Restored

The White House has approved transfer of 11 acres of Fort Douglas to the state of Utah, effectively reinstating the land transfer removed by line-item veto from a military spending bill earlier this month.

The Army plans to work with the state to draft an agreement by the new year allowing the University of Utah to proceed with plans to construct an Olympic Village on Fort Douglas land.

On Oct. 6, President Clinton axed 38 projects totaling $287 million from a military construction bill. The lost funding included $12.7 million to move the 96th Regional Support Command from Fort Douglas near the University of Utah to Camp Williams, 25 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

Olympic officials were shocked by the line-item veto, which left in limbo their plans to build Olympic and student housing on the site.