On Thursday the Park City Council approved a land agreement with Mark Fischer, a longtime private property owner in the Bonanza Park neighborhood. Fischer owns the property that leases out space to the Boneyard Grill and Blind Dog restaurants.
The new agreement ends an easement deal inked with Fischer in 2017 and gives the city a new 15-foot wide easement along the south side of Kearns Boulevard.
The easement will allow the city to build a new and expanded 12-foot wide multi-use path for walkers and bikers, which has been sought for several years to improve safety and connectivity in Bonanza Park. Plans for the new pathway show it will run from the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Park Avenue to the Bonanza Drive crossing.
There is no established timeline for the project’s completion.
Park City Councilmember Jeremy Rubell said the easement is a big step towards revitalizing the neighborhood.
“Anyone who has been down that sidewalk knows how awful it is today,” Rubell said. “This will be just a massive improvement for the community.”
Park City is already working on building a new 12-foot wide sidewalk on Homestake Road, which connects to the south side of Kearns Blvd. That project is expected to be complete next year.
Enhancing the walkway along Kearns Boulevard will be important as the city looks to develop five empty acres of land nearby at the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive.
Fischer sold the five acre property to the city in 2017 for nearly $19 million. Originally intended as an arts and culture district, the city is now seeking bids from developers to build a mixed use district there. The new plan involves housing, commercial space, public gathering areas and a new headquarters for the Kimball Art Center.
