The plan for the new Park City Senior Center continues to take shape.
On Thursday, the Park City Council reviewed three preliminary designs for the center, which will be on the Mawhinney parking lot and an adjacent lot. The options considered were parking, open space and building space for programming.
The majority of the councilors felt comfortable with a building footprint of about 7,500 square feet, which could allow a 15,000-square-foot two-story structure. They also preferred Option No. 3, which balances open space with parking.
The decision provides direction to Sparano + Mooney Architecture, but it is not final and could change as work progresses. The Salt Lake City-based firm — which is working with city staffers and members of a senior city committee to put together the design — had asked for information on the desired size and footprint of the project.
The current center, just south of Library Field at 1361 Woodside Ave., has outgrown its 3,200-square-foot space. The Mawhinney site, which is in Old Town Park City and off Park Avenue, is across the street from the Park City Library.
The 1.09-acre Mawhinney lot is mostly used for surface parking, including the overflow from library activities. It has 47 parking spots, and 55% of the site is open space. The Land Management Code requires 30% open space.
A presentation at the meeting listed the opportunities and challenges of each option.
The probable cost of building a 15,000-square-foot structure on the site is $11.1 million. Other estimated expenses, such as parking and contractor-related costs, can vary.
Option No. 1 would have 51 surface stalls, an $18.5 million to $18.8 million estimated cost and 44% open space.
This option would be the least complex and least expensive to build, allow preservation of some of the existing trees and landscape on the site and provide a simple traffic circulation and parking pattern.
Challenges include that there is a relatively large parking area visible from Park Avenue and an overall reduction of open space.
Option No. 2 would have 60 underground parking stalls, an estimated cost of $26 million to $27.2 million and 66% to 68% open space.
The option would create a large amount of open space and eliminate visible surface parking. Potential vehicle circulation would be in alignment with the library access point, which would improve traffic safety.
The challenges include that it would be the most complex to build and maintain, as well as the most expensive option. The option would require most existing landscaping to be removed and shoring along Park Avenue to be built.
The preferred choice, Option No. 3, would have 57 parking spaces, 27 on a surface lot and 30 underground stalls. The total cost estimate for the project is $21.3 million to $21.8 million and 60% to 62% would be open space.
Option No. 3 would increase the amount of open space and allow some preservation of existing green space and landscape. In addition, it would provide some surface parking for ease of access to the park and senior center and limit visibility of surface parking from Park Avenue frontage and would have the potential to retain primary circulation from Sullivan Road or on Park Avenue.
This option would be the second most expensive option to build and require approval for parking in the Urban Park Zone.
A new senior center has been under discussion for years and at one time, the plan was to include affordable housing, but that changed to building just the senior center.