Those who would oversee development of a proposed hotel and major commercial center in the Park City area were in negotiations Monday with Park City and Summit County officials to purchase land for the project.

Park City Manager Tom Bakaly said the talks could continue for several weeks.

“What we’re trying to do is get some concepts and parameters down and then it would go to a public hearing process,” Bakaly said about the land purchase agreement.

Bakaly attended Monday’s meeting.

The military is seeking a location for a hotel in the Park City area to replace its former lodge at Snowbasin. But the proposal has grown to include a separate commercial area to help offset the costs of providing the room discounts to military men and women.

Some tax revenue generated at the proposed commercial center would subsidize military room rates and the military is exempt from zoning ordinances. The terms of a memorandum of understanding between MIDA, Summit County and Park City could allow a developer to build 1.25 million square feet of commercial space on land the two governments jointly own near U.S. 40. The city and county have more than 100 acres near The Home Depot.

Last year’s agreement allowed Park City and Summit County officials to participate in the planning discussions with the state Military Installation Development Authority, an entity formed to make it easier for the military to develop in Utah.

Summit County Councilman Chris Robinson now says the commercial center will be much smaller than 1.25 million square feet.

“It’s going to be significantly less than 1.25 million,” Robinson said in a telephone interview Monday. “That’s just an outer limit that nobody wants.”

County officials hope to negotiate down the size of the commercial center before they agree to sell the Snyderville Basin land.

“There are always a few variables that we can never seem to get pinned down,” Robinson said about the development talks. “It’s the same old question that has always existed. How big is the need?”

The agreement with MIDA means the city and county must sell their land for the commercial development, MIDA Executive Director Rick Mayfield said.

Mayfield met Monday with local leaders at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City.

“We’re still trying to work a deal with the city and the county and nothing is concrete,” Mayfield said.

MIDA for about 25 years could receive a large share of the property tax increment from the commercial project to help fund the hotel. MIDA and Summit County would also share sales tax revenue the development generates.

“We’re not trying to capture all the tax dollars and send it over to Wasatch County or send it to the military. It just isn’t going to happen,” Mayfield said. “It would be just absolutely ludicrous for us to do it. From my perspective, anything that MIDA doesn’t need, we have an obligation to return to the community.”

Critics oppose commercial center

Park City resident Jan Wilking said the new commercial space proposed in the Snyderville Basin would hurt existing businesses in the Park City area.

“Even if it’s half of the 1.25 million, it’s too much,” Wilking said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “How did they ever come up with a number of 1.25 million square feet of development? It seems like they didn’t think it through to come up with that number because I think there are such negative impacts of that much development.”

The military, which offers lower-priced vacation rentals for service members around the world, wants a hotel in Utah. Though a location for the military lodge has not been identified, developers are considering a site near the Jordanelle Reservoir in Wasatch County.

“We don’t even know what the size of the hotel is going to be,” Mayfield said. “We’re working those numbers right now.”

The hotel project could take six years to complete. Military officials in the meantime have discussed using existing lodging in the Park City area for providing room discounts to military men and women.

“If there is a six-year planning time for the recreational experience, is there a hotel in the Park City/Summit County area that could be used between now and when that new one is built? We’re exploring that,” Mayfield said.