Wade R. Budge, P.C., Partner at our Salt Lake City law office
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Wade R. Budge, P.C.

Partner
Biography

Wade R. Budge is a land use and real estate lawyer with significant experience advising developers and owners in all aspects of real estate development. He has negotiated entitlements for master planned communities, industrials projects, retail centers, office buildings, subdivisions, and mountain resorts throughout Utah. He also regularly represents clients in the use, acquisition, and disposition of real estate projects throughout the western United States. Wade has advised developers in obtaining public incentives and using public finance tools, including tax increment financing, to facilitate new and redevelopment projects and regularly advises clients with government relations matters involving state and local governments. Wade has negotiated public-private partnerships with dozens of local governments and with every one of the state’s principal development agencies, including the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority and the Military Installation Development Authority.

Credentials

Bar Admissions

  • Utah


Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of Utah
  • United States District Court, District of Utah


Education

  • University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law (J.D., 1999)
    • William H. Leary Scholar
  • Brigham Young University (B.A., 1996)

Languages

Spanish

Experience

Awards & Recognition

  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business®, Real Estate (2018-2024)
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Land Use & Zoning Law, Real Estate Law (2013-2025)
    • Salt Lake City Lawyer of the Year, Land Use & Zoning Law (2013, 2023)
  • Mountain States Super Lawyers®, Land Use/Zoning (2018-2024)
    • Top 100 (2019)
  • Mountain States Super Lawyers®, Rising Stars Edition, Land Use/Zoning (2008, 2010-2011)
  • Utah’s Legal Elite: Natural Resources, Land Use/Environmental (2004-2011), Real Estate (2012-2022), Utah Business Magazine

Representative Experience

  • Advised major sports franchise proponents on legislation for entitlements, acquisitions and public financing for a public-private partnership sports district in Salt Lake City
  • Represented world-renowned ski resort on its 3,000-acre expansion and negotiated entitlements for ski-related facility, leases, and easements for overall resort
  • Led legal team in the creation of multiple public improvement districts to facilitate infrastructure development for a transit-oriented, mixed-use development
  • Represented master developer in negotiating a long-term public-private partnership for a large mixed-use development within a 600-acre state-owned development area located in Salt Lake County
  • Negotiated the acquisition of the largest Utah master-planned community, a community that is located on over 4,000 acres and is entitled for 20,000 residential units
  • Negotiated and obtained entitlements from the local municipality and state entities for the creation of the primary project area within the Inland Port
  • Led disposition team on the sale of more than fifty automotive dealerships across eight Western states in connection with a multi-billion-dollar transaction
  • Negotiated and obtained entitlements for the construction of a world-class, year-round action sports facility, with associated snow sports, lifts, and action sports infrastructure located in Park City, Utah
  • Led the team to acquire an over 250-acre site and establish a partnership to develop a mixed-use community along the shores of Utah Lake and adjacent to a new commuter rail train station
  • Negotiated and represented seller on an approximately $40,000,000 transaction to sell over 1,300 acres of undeveloped open space land located between two major ski areas and three resorts for use as a public and private year-round recreational area
  • Advised and represented developer/owner of a significant, multi-billion-dollar retail, housing, and office project on obtaining entitlements and agreements for development from local regulating authorities
  • Represented property owners and sports teams in drafting zoning ordinances and associated development approvals for professional sports arenas, practice facilities and stadiums in multiple cities along the Wasatch front
  • Negotiated increment incentive agreement for retail business locating a new, approximately $90,000,000 business complex in a growing Wasatch front city
  • Advised multi-family developer on multiple projects involving tax increment financing to support affordable housing projects
  • Represented premier Little Cottonwood Canyon ski resort in obtaining permits and approvals required for an extension of resort area boundaries into significant ski terrain and associated development
  • Negotiated entitlements and ski resort use and access rights in connection with multiple hotel and condominium projects with local governments on behalf of developers
  • Represented developer of a 1,300-unit master planned community and commercial area in obtaining entitlements in Summit County, including negotiating affordable housing, public amenities, and community benefits
  • Represented owner of Utah’s premier golf community in negotiating with governmental entity for approvals for development from local, state, and federal regulators
  • Represented multiple developer and property owners on lobbying Utah legislature regarding laws affecting retail center operators, public financing, real estate transactions and development
  • Represented school developers and both public and private schools in entitling new school sites within residential neighborhoods

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Urban Land Institute (2018-present)
  • Utah Land Use Institute
    • Board Member (2018-present)

Community Involvement

  • Carden Memorial Foundation
    • Board of Directors (2018-present)
  • Utah Land Use & Eminent Domain Advisory Board
    • Board of Directors (2024 – Present)

Representative Presentations and Publications

  • “Financing Infrastructure,,” Moderator, Utah Land Use Institute (October 25, 2023)
  • “Legislative Update – Land Use at Capitol Hill”, Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (April 7, 2023)
  • “Processing Land Use Applications”, Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (April 7, 2023)
  • “Public Participation in the Land Use Process”, Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (April 7, 2023)
  • Legislative Update or “Big Changes are a Comin,” Media Mention, Utah Bar Journal (January/February 2023)
  • “Public “Overparticipation”?,” Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (October 26, 2022)
  • “Innovation in Housing,” Moderator, Utah Land Use Institute (October 26, 2022)
  • “Evolving Land Use Law”, Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (October 26, 2021)
  • “Land Use and Entitlements,” Presenter, University of Utah, Master of Real Estate Development program (September 14, 2021)
  • “The New Triumvirate of Local City Councils, State Legislature, and Citizens at the Ballot Box,” Panelist, Utah Land Use Institute (October 29, 2019)
  • “Land Use Law Roundtable”, Co-Presenter, Utah Land Use Institute (October 30, 2019)
  • “Changing the Focus: Managing State Trust Lands in the Twenty-First Century” 19 Journal of Land Resources and Environmental Law 223 (1999)