Park City is preparing to seat two advisory groups that are expected to play a role as the municipal government considers the long-term future of City Hall land off the Kearns Boulevard-Bonanza Drive intersection and the nearby Bonanza Park and Snow Creek districts.
The efforts involving the municipal land will be especially noteworthy as leaders revisit the long-held plans to develop an arts and culture district stretching inward from the southwest corner of the Kearns Boulevard-Bonanza Drive intersection.
Officials are calling the one focused on the City Hall land the Feasibility Study Advisory Group and it will delve into the future use of the ground. The municipal government originally acquired the acreage with the intent to develop an arts and culture district anchored by the Kimball Art Center and the Utah headquarters of the Sundance Institute.
In a prepared response to a Park Record inquiry about the Feasibility Study Advisory Group, Jennifer McGrath, the deputy Park City manager for community development, said the purpose of the group “is to gather community input and sentiment about the potential future use of a city-owned property in the center of our city and to evaluate strategies for implementation.”
There was limited progress in the period immediately prior to the pandemic on the vision to develop an arts district. The discussions about the possibilities are restarting, though, and the work by the Feasibility Study Advisory Group is expected to influence any upcoming talks by Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council.
It is not clear what level of detail the group will cover. There were earlier concerns about the cost of an arts district like the one that was envisioned then. Numbers publicized at the time soared into the tens of millions of dollars.
The land off the southwest corner of the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive has long been seen as one of Park City’s top candidates for major redevelopment. An earlier owner encountered broad resistance to an ambitious plan to remake the land with a project involving residential and commercial square footage. The Bonanza Park partnership that owned the land ultimately sold it to the municipal government. City Hall itself later was questioned about the price tag of an arts district, which supporters say will further solidify the community as an arts and culture destination and be a step in diversifying the Park City economy.
The elected officials, meanwhile, are also readying to seat another panel, called the Small Area Plan Advisory Group. It will focus on Bonanza Park and Snow Creek, connected via Kearns Boulevard. The Area Plan Advisory Group “will focus on all elements of the neighborhood, including but not limited to land use, densities, design elements, and transportation networks and connectivity,” McGrath said.
City Hall anticipates the work will stretch for between 10 and 12 months, and the committees are expected to remain intact for the duration. They will be seated shortly after the March 10 application deadline.
The municipal government said people who live inside Park City will be given priority in the appointment process, but applications will also be accepted from people outside of Park City with experience in fields like planning, development, the arts, transportation and financing mechanisms. Membership of each of the committees will range from 15 to 20 and involve Parkites, City Hall staffers and experts in the fields. The members will serve on a volunteer basis.
Applications are available on the municipal website, www.parkcity.org. The direct link is: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdE34PX7Y5_Yew6EjN_r6vkfYe_adHVRSc3m8rKJGg0i2EyVg/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0.
The City Council in March is expected to approve a $389,100 consulting contract with a firm called MKSK for work on the feasibility of an arts district as well as the future of Bonanza Park and Snow Creek.