Intermountain Health has bought the tallest building in West Valley City and plans to turn it into a sprawling new medical campus, complete with a freestanding emergency department, primary care, and specialty services. The health system announced Tuesday that it acquired the nine-story Fairbourne Building at 3535 Market Street, a 235,000-square-foot tower sitting on an 8.5-acre parcel in the city's downtown core.
Intermountain purchased the property from real estate firm Wasatch Group, according to Intermountain Health. As reported by KSL, Eric Liston, president of Intermountain Health's Canyons Region, said the investment reflects a commitment to expanding access to care. West Valley City Mayor Karen Lang said the facility will give residents convenient access to healthcare close to home, per the same report.
A Tower Built for Transit Turns Into a Health Hub
The Fairbourne Building was completed in 2012 as the tallest structure in West Valley City and won a 2021 ENR Mountain States Award of Merit, according to Engineering News-Record. The Class A office tower also features a 698-panel rooftop solar array engineered to produce 330,000 kilowatt-hours of energy annually, the trade publication noted.
The building sits next to a TRAX hub and major roads including 3500 South, I-215 and Bangerter Highway, and it's located across the street from Valley Fair Mall, per KSL's report. Intermountain said the location makes access convenient for patients throughout the west side of Salt Lake County. The tower is also part of the more than $80 million Fairbourne Station master-planned district, a transit-oriented development surrounding the West Valley Central TRAX station, an Embassy Suites hotel and the city's public safety building, according to EDA Architects.
A City Where Nearly One in Five Lack Insurance
The new campus lands in a city facing steep health-access gaps. A January 2026 study by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute found that residents in northwest Salt Lake County face a 17.3% uninsured rate, nearly double the county average of 9.0%, with 17.9% of West Valley City residents lacking coverage altogether. The same report found that more than one in six northwest Salt Lake County residents cite cost as a barrier to receiving medical care.
West Valley City is Utah's second-most populous city, with a 2024 population topping 138,000 residents, and Census data show it became the state's first large majority-minority municipality, with racial and ethnic minorities making up 52.7% of residents in 2020, according to the city's own community profile at Why West Valley City. Until now, Intermountain's clinical presence there was centered on its West Valley Clinic and West Valley InstaCare on Lake Park Boulevard, which offer urgent care, family medicine, physical therapy and lab services.
Joining an Already Crowded Healthcare Build-Out
West Valley City currently has just one full-service hospital within its boundaries, CommonSpirit Health's Holy Cross Hospital - West Valley on South Pioneer Parkway, formerly known as Jordan Valley Medical Center West Valley Campus, according to CommonSpirit Health. MountainStar Healthcare also runs the St. Mark's West Valley Emergency Center on 3100 South, a 24/7 freestanding facility with 10 treatment rooms, including dedicated space for traumatic conditions and behavioral health emergencies.
Intermountain's move follows an even bigger regional health system expansion already underway a few miles away. University of Utah Health is building an 800,000-square-foot hospital in West Valley City, according to the Utah News Dispatch. The Eccles Hospital and Health Campus is expected to open in 2028.
Part of a Broader Intermountain Capital Push
The Fairbourne acquisition also comes amid coverage of plans involving LDS Hospital, per KSL's earlier coverage. Together, the two stories point to Intermountain activity across the valley.
Intermountain's Wasatch Front expansion includes other projects. For now, interior construction is underway, several clinics and services will open later in 2026, and the freestanding emergency department is planned to open in late 2027.
