Redus Park City LLC is the owner of various parcels throughout town that were previously held by United Park City Mines, the company responsible for opening what is now Park City Mountain.
Redus Park City LLC is owned by Wells Fargo and Midtown Acquisitions. It acquired land in Park City through foreclosure proceedings.
Wade Budge, the attorney for Redus, told the Park City Council Thursday the entity is nearly done with business in town.
“We’re now to the last few parcels that are part of what either Redus currently owns, or is able to become the owner of,” Budge said.
Budge said they’re proposing to amend the 2007 Flagstaff Development Agreement, which governs land in upper Deer Valley. In exchange for granting the city over 300 acres of property and water rights, Redus wants to develop seven residential units.
The development would include a three-story building with four units on a 1.5 acre lot adjacent to the Empire Lodge, and three single-family homes on roughly four acres near the Mid Mountain Trailhead.
The land conveyed to the city would include three major trailheads, including Empire Pass, Daly Canyon and Mid Mountain.
During public comment, founder of the Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History nonprofit, Sally Elliott, praised the proposed deal for granting the city ownership of several historic sites.
“You can imagine how thrilled we are at this notion that the city, with whom we work beautifully, is going to be in control of the preservation agreements that we need,” Elliott said. “It’s been very difficult to work with the current owners because they don’t have the same goals as we do.”
Resident Mark Fischer suggested the council use the negotiation to make Twisted Branch Road near the Mid Mountain Trail public. Fischer said the road, which Redus owns, is a safer alternative compared to the existing uphill route on state Route 224.
“Transfer Twisted Branch Road to the city at no cost, from above the Montage roundabout to the Wasatch County line, as intended decades ago,” Fischer said. “Twisted Branch Road was built to [Utah Department of Transportation] standards with the intention of eventually being made public. The current upper section of S.R. 224 that the public is forced to use everyday remains very dangerous and is narrow and has no guardrails with deep drop-offs.”
Former Park City Planning Commissioner John Kenworthy also spoke in support of making the road public.
Budge, the attorney for Redus, said that decision ultimately lies with the Utah Department of Transportation.
“We’re pushing on that other jurisdiction to help look at a resolution there,” Budge said.
In 2022 the planning commission voted to “direct and strongly recommend” the city council to require Redus petition UDOT to take over the road and make it public. At the time, the commission maintained the council had this authority according to the Flagstaff Development Agreement.
The city council voiced unanimous support for the Redus proposal, however councilmembers Tana Toly and Bill Ciraco were excused from Thursday’s meeting.
“I’d remind the public that there’s more than just parcels of land here,” councilmember Ryan Dickey said. “There are water rights and water interests, which potentially have significant value.”
The next step is to finalize a non-binding letter of intent on how to move forward. Redus’ development plans will be contingent on approvals from the Park City Planning Commission. After that, the proposed trade can return to the council for final approval.
Councilmember Jeremy Rubell said they can assess the Twisted Branch Road issue as they learn more and things progress.
“It’s not something where Park City and the other organization here can just come to agreement,” Rubell said. “It’s something we’d have to bring the state organizations in for as well, and we didn’t say no to that. We just said, let’s move forward with what we have in front of us, is the start of the discussions, and take it from here.”
It’s unclear when the city council and Redus will next meet.
