Those in Summit County who are pining for a Costco might soon get their wish.
A non-binding agreement between Summit County, Park City and the state Military Installation Development Authority contemplates a Costco near The Home Depot in the Snyderville Basin. The store would be part of a roughly 350,000-square-foot commercial center that would be developed in conjunction with a hotel in the Park City area.
Military officials are overseeing the project. The main focus of the hotel would be to provide lodging discounts for servicemen and women. Officials expect the resort to be built near Jordanelle Reservoir in Wasatch County. The Air Force for years has sought a location for a hotel in the Park City area. But the project grew to include the separate commercial center.
Having a Costco nearby would help developers offset the costs of providing the inexpensive rooms for soldiers, explained Park City Manager Tom Bakaly.
“We’ve been working for years to try and have the hotel be the right size and in the right place,” Bakaly said, adding that the hotel could have between 60 and 200 rooms.
More than 100 acres of land near Home Depot are owned by the city and county. Officials have agreed to sell about 35 acres for the retail project.
The property would be sold for about $42,056 per acre.
“That’s what we paid for it,” Bakaly said about the land.
But the project must include a Costco, he added.
“We didn’t want this to cannibalize existing commercial,” Bakaly said in an interview Thursday. “One condition is that it be a Costco.”
The project could also include another big-box store such as Target, he added.
At 350,000 square feet, the center would increase the amount of commercial space in Park City and the Snyderville Basin by nearly 13 percent.
“Any increase is scary and I’m acknowledging that,” Bakaly said. Summit County Councilman Chris Robinson also said Costco is a good fit.
“There are a lot of people in this county who are going to Salt Lake or elsewhere to shop at Costco,” Robinson said. “We think a lot of people would say if it’s going to involve a Costco that is probably better than it being absent a Costco. I think it’s a plus.”
The newest agreement between the city, county and MIDA establishes a fund into which tax revenue would be funneled for helping provide lodging discounts for the military. Much of the sales tax generated by the commercial project would be used to help fund those discounts.
Meanwhile, much of the property tax revenue generated by the commercial project would help fund the development.
Many people on the West Side of Summit County are opposed to the project. Critics claim that local tax dollars should not be used to subsidize a private commercial project.
But the federal government has the authority to bypass local zoning laws. By entering the discussion as landowners, Bakaly said the city and county were able to reduce the size of the commercial project. Last year, a memorandum of understanding between the Military Installation Development Authority, city and county envisioned the possibility of 1.25 million square feet of commercial development at the site.
“I don’t know if anything short of zero is going to please everyone,” Robinson said.
The new agreement would also allow Park City to purchase the Red Maple tract of open space along the State Road 248 entryway for about $2 million. Government officials will not approve the non-binding letter of intent until several public hearings are conducted in February.
Hearings before the Park City Council are scheduled Feb. 10 and Feb. 17. The Summit County Council is scheduled to conduct public hearings Feb. 7 and Feb. 15.