Commercial real estate is one of the most significant, and often least understood, drivers of Utah’s economy. Every office building, industrial park, retail center, and mixed-use development represents jobs, tax base, and long-term investment in our communities. A core part of CREDA Utah’s mission is making sure state and local officials, and the staff who advise them, understand the role our industry plays before they cast a vote or write a rule that affects it.

Our Focus: Industry-Wide, Not Company-Specific

CREDA Utah’s advocacy program is intentionally focused on issues that affect the commercial real estate industry as a whole, not the interests of any single company or project. When legislation, a proposed administrative rule, or a local ordinance stands to affect development, investment, or operations across the industry, CREDA Utah engages on members’ behalf. Concerns specific to one company, one property, or one competitive dispute fall outside the program’s scope. This focus is what keeps our advocacy credible and effective: when we show up at the Capitol or before a local body, it’s on behalf of the industry, not any one business.

Part of a National Advocacy Effort

CREDA Utah’s work is part of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association’s broader national advocacy program. At the national level, CREDA advances legislative priorities including adaptive reuse and housing affordability, energy and electrification policy, and transportation and infrastructure investment, along with a wider range of tax, land use, and state and local issues. You can view CREDA’s full national legislative priorities at credaglobal.org/advocacy.

Utah Priority Issues

CREDA Utah’s advocacy work centers on three priority issues:

Powered Land
Utah’s ability to attract advanced manufacturing, data infrastructure, and other large-scale industrial development increasingly depends on reliable, available power. CREDA Utah works with the Legislature, the Public Service Commission, and industry partners to make sure the state’s power delivery infrastructure and policy framework keep pace with demand, so that projects that create jobs and tax base aren’t lost to states offering faster power access.

Taxes & Fees
Property taxes, impact fees, and water and sewer fees directly affect the feasibility of commercial development. CREDA Utah monitors legislation and local policy that could shift additional tax or fee burden onto commercial and industrial properties, and advocates for costs that are predictable, fair, and tied to the actual cost of providing service.

Public Incentives
Tax increment financing, infrastructure loans, and other public incentive tools help make otherwise infeasible projects pencil out, and help direct growth to the areas where communities want it most. CREDA Utah works with state and local government to keep these incentive programs predictable, well-structured, and accessible, so that developers can rely on them when planning projects that create jobs and long-term tax base for Utah communities.