The Park City Council wants the city-owned land at the intersection of Bonanza Drive and Kearns Boulevard to include housing, commercial space, public areas, a new home for the Kimball Art Center and underground parking.
The city purchased the five acres in 2017 for nearly $20 million, and originally intended for the space to serve as an arts and culture district, with new headquarters for the Kimball Art Center and the Sundance Institute.
Those plans were eventually abandoned, after costs for the district exceeded $100 million.
Park City began a new planning process for the land earlier this year, gathering public input in online surveys and at community open houses.
The city recently closed a request for statement of qualifications, or RSOQ, which asks developers to show off their previous work similar to what Park City is seeking to build on the five acres.
Park City Manager Matt Dias says the next step will be to issue a request for proposal, or RFP, asking developers for site plans based on the city’s desires for the land.
“I usually like to exceed expectations, but we really hope in the next several weeks, we may have an RFP out on the street where we’re actually putting the call out for specific proposals,” Dias said. “First step is to qualify firms.”
The RSOQ process will allow the city to determine if developers meet the standards for building the mixed use project.
“Second step is to actually put out the call for proposals where development teams from around the country will assess the five-acre site, will assess the existing zoning, will assess the public financial tools, will assess all of the goals and visionary work that we did, and actually come up with our proposal that they feel is responsive to what the community asked for,” Dias said.
During the proposal process, Dias says the city will be focused on maximizing public benefit.
The city council has seen rough financial estimates from consultants for their five-acre site plan. It ranges widely, from a few million to $75 million, and hinges on several variables, including the amount of affordable housing and underground parking spots.
