The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission is workshopping a proposed mixed-use residential housing development near Junction Commons after eight months of silence on the project.
The Landmark Drive property near the outlet mall is split into an upper portion and lower portion. It currently has 98,000 square feet of retail space in the upper portion and 230,000 square feet of retail space in the lower portion, according to a staff report.
The proposal, represented by Park City architecture firm Elliott Workgroup, posits a redevelopment that would demolish 82,000 square feet of the existing upper portion and replace it with a 10-building residential project.
The development will eventually require permit approvals and a zoning change, but discussions are still preliminary as of now.
The 325 housing units included in the project — 313 apartments and 42 townhomes — would have access to a 7,200-square-foot clubhouse in one of the buildings. Another building would contain 7,300 square feet of commercial space, and developers hope to create two new parking structures.
The parking area for the lower portion would be filled in and replaced with nine mixed-use buildings. Approximately 54,000 square feet on the ground floor would be for commercial use while the top floor would contain another 77 apartments.
Craig Elliott, one of Elliott Workgroup’s managing partners, explained his firm is trying to help the property mesh with the Kimball Junction Neighborhood Plan by adding housing, including affordable housing, and creating a more walkable area. The Kimball Junction Neighborhood Plan was unanimously adopted by the Summit County Council in 2019 as a way to create a coherent walkable and bikeable neighborhood with community gathering spaces and less vehicle traffic.
“We have a fortress of retail where our backs are turned on the community, and we’re focused on a large parking lot in the middle,” Elliott said, referring to a map of the current commercial space. “If you look around, it’s clear this whole area was developed auto-centric, right? It’s the early 1970s, get in your car, drive someplace, then go drive somewhere else. That’s not what we want to see here. We see this as an opportunity to become the village core of the western side of (S.R.) 224.”
The project also aims to consolidate commercial retail space. Elliott hypothesized businesses would become more successful as people move into both market-rate and affordable housing units, especially when paired with increased pedestrian access from nearby properties.
“All of the new commercial in the center core is creating this new gathering space, and those gathering spaces are going to be supported by the residential that’s there and the commercial spaces that are there,” he said.
The architecture firm has also been collaborating with High Valley Transit to incorporate a bus stop into the development and with the Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District for trail maintenance on a path near Walmart to help with easy access to public transportation.
“The goal is to improve those trail systems, integrating the trail systems with the transit centers and then also just improve the actual transit bus stop in that location so it becomes a major rideshare spot,” explained Justin Keys, an attorney who represents the property owners.
Keys estimated the project’s construction would take at least three to five years to complete.
“Redevelopments are always tricky compared to constructing on green space because you’re trying to keep everybody who’s already there happy while adding to the space,” he said.
The Planning Commission overall seemed supportive of the project, although commissioners Matthew Nagie and Tyann Mooney expressed concerns about ensuring the development remains walkable and pedestrian friendly while balancing the need for customer parking.
“Operationally, though, you can think of it very similarly to Newpark,” Keys said. “In the back section of Newpark, there is that parking garage fronted by commercial but then with residential behind it. Those residential users use that same parking garage. You can see the commercial users come during the day. As they’re leaving, residential users are coming home and parking. It works quite well.”
Planning commissioners did not take any official action on the development, but representatives for the project said they’re interested in moving forward and will present further details and requests regularly in the future. The Summit County Council will likely have final say for at least a few of the developers’ asks, including zoning changes.