A research park at Kimball Junction could house companies similar to Myriad Genetics and ARUP, well-known tenants at the University of Utah Research Park in Salt Lake City.
Sports-medicine firms could headquarter below ski jumps at Utah Olympic Park about seven miles from Park City. The Boyer Company will build the Kimball Junction research park on 89 acres of land south of Tanger Outlet Center, Walmart and the Sheldon Richins Building.
The property is being acquired from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which intends to build a meeting house on about five acres it retained near the park.
The development agreement the Summit County Commission approved Dec. 10 requires Boyer Co. give the county land at Kimball Junction for a cemetery, a mass transit hub and an expanded Sheldon Richins Building.
“We are going to have, as part of this, the main county transit center,” Summit County Commissioner Bob Richer said.
Work force housing on the site could be mostly filled by employees at the research park, which would help cut traffic congestion at Kimball Junction, Richer said.
Meanwhile, park tenants should offer high-paying jobs, Boyer Co. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ostler said in a telephone interview Friday.
“The companies that end up going into these parks are high-quality, really fun companies,” Ostler said. “I just feel like over time everybody is going to feel really good about the quality of the development.”
The height of buildings at the park within 500 feet of State Road 224 cannot exceed 35 feet without Basin Planning Commission approval, Richer said, adding that the Sheldon Richins Building is about 39 feet high and sits 100 feet from the road.
“[Boyer Company] initially wanted buildings that were 64 feet high and I was worried the buildings would be too high and too cavernous,” Richer said. “As they step up the hillside after that 500 feet, they will be allowed a higher height.”
The developer will meet next year with county officials to determine the architectural and landscaping design, and ultimate size of the park, Richer said, adding that 25 percent of the 89-acre site must stay as open space.
Summit County Councilman-elect John Hanrahan said commerce at the park could help balance the Snyderville Basin’s tourism-dependent economy.
“In general, I support it. I think it’s a great addition to the area for diversifying our economy,” Hanrahan said. “Everything I have seen so far is very well done and professional.”
Government officials first offered to buy the LDS Church’s entire 430-acre parcel near Kimball Junction. However, developers later envisioned building nearly 1 million square feet of commercial and residential development on the property. Eventually, Summit County and Park City agreed to buy 340 acres of the parcel as open space and the Boyer Co. agreed to acquire another 89 acres for the research park.
Including property at Kimball Junction and Round Valley, city and county officials have an agreement involving Boyer Co. and the LDS Church to purchase about 727 acres of open space in western Summit County.
That transaction should close by Dec. 26, Richer said.
“I’m no longer cautiously optimistic, I’m just plain old fashioned optimistic,” Richer said. “We’ve dealt with a lot of issues, solved a lot of problems and we look forward to closing next week.”
City Hall and the county will each contribute $12.5 million to fund the transaction from open space bonds approved by voters.
“When most vacationers get off of I-80 at Kimball Junction they feel like they’ve arrived in Park City, so I think it’s equally important for Park City because two of the three ski resorts are within their jurisdictional boundaries,” Richer said. “To me it truly is as significant as transaction as we have ever had in western Summit County.”