Park City Council members are split on some design elements of a proposed housing development for the five-acre Bonanza Park.
Brinshore Development, the municipality’s partner in the mixed-use project, sought direction at a Thursday meeting on unit mix, density, building heights and other elements. The discussion was the sixth in the past several months seeking input before the project advances to the Park City Planning Commission with more detailed design and engineering plans for the site at the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive.
The plan envisions a development with a Mountain Town Village concept, featuring a village green that includes gathering spaces, multi-use pathways and art integrated throughout. A large bloc of workforce or income-restricted housing is planned and open space would make up 70% of the site.
Pop-up shops, a winter market, yoga classes, movie nights, block parties and live music are among the potential programming ideas. A parking garage, businesses and local shops are also part of the mix.
The project would create a “third space,” a place that isn’t home or work but “a welcoming, flexible environment where the community naturally gathers,” according to the plan.
The plan identifies two options for density and building heights. Option 1 has five three-story buildings and one four-story building, totaling 106 units, and Option 2 has four three-story buildings and two four-story buildings, totaling 114 units.
Council members were asked which option they preferred and Ed Parigian said he wanted more units.
“You know I want more housing,” Parigian said. “I want 125 units.”
He also said people don’t need programming “left and right.”
“They want to live their lives 365 days a year and just be,” Parigian said.
When asked if he was OK with the proposal moving through the planning process, Parigian said, “Bring it to planning all you want. I really don’t care at this point. I’m not in favor of this whole project. It’s turning out to be exactly what I did not want it to be.”
The feedback at Thursday’s meeting was described by Councilor Jeremy Rubell as “a little all over the map.”
There was a division on whether and how much multi-disciplinary art space to include in the design.
The developers suggested a large arts pavilion with a modular design that could be divided into smaller spaces to handle both big and small groups. They gave as an example that a 1,800-square-foot space could accommodate 72 dancers or seat 60 people in a sketch class.
Councilor Tana Toly wants the pavilion to be part of the project.
“This is the kind of stuff that I think really belongs in this area,” she said.
In addition to the pavilion, the council discussed looking into including a black box theater at the site, which is a small performance space with black walls.
Two council members support having the community art space and the black box theater, one who prefers just the pavilion and another who wants the black box theater only.
A concern for the councilors, including City Councilor Bill Ciraco, is traffic.
“There needs to be a transportation solution as part of this,” Ciraco said. “It doesn’t necessarily need to be built before, but we need to have a plan and we need to be committed to doing something in order for this to work.”
Speakers at the meeting were also concerned about traffic congestion. One speaker said she loved the idea of community gatherings, but the new housing units and garage would bring more vehicles to the area and make the situation worse.
A few attendees said the site was not a good place for a park, but others felt differently. One community member said the site would be a beautiful location for it.
“It would be a great community statement,” he said.
Another speaker said that if the city puts recreational opportunities at Bonanza Park, they should be indoors so they can be accessed year-round.
Pam Bingham, who serves on the Park City Public Advisory, said the development would be a terrific gathering place.
“I just wanted to say that I am completely in favor, as are many of my board members, of the project that you’ve outlined and all the spaces that you’re creating for community use,” Bingham said. “I think it’ll add a lot of vibrancy.”
Park City acquired the Bonanza Park land in 2017 for nearly $20 million and originally planned to create an arts and culture district with the Kimball Art Center and the Utah offices of the Sundance Institute as its anchors. The project made little progress and eventually fell through.