Instead of pursuing a redevelopment, the owner of Park City’s Yarrow DoubleTree hotel may sell the property on Park Avenue.
A day before a scheduled Park City Council discussion on the proposed redevelopment of the Yarrow, an attorney for the owner, Singerman Real Estate, asked for a delay.
Attorney Justin Keys told the city council that Singerman is considering several offers to purchase the hotel and would have more information by the council’s meeting June 5.
“I didn’t want to come in and give a big presentation and start a whole process with the city council if they’re going to sell the property,” Keys said at the council's May 15 meeting.
Singerman had proposed demolishing the decades-old hotel to build a modern mixed-use development. But the planning commission voted against the project due to its 45-foot height, which exceeds the 35-foot height limit in city zoning.
Officials leading the project had argued the commission should allow the height exception because they were offering several benefits, including affordable housing, pedestrian improvements and underground parking.
Under a new state law, SB262, Singerman could bypass the planning commission and come to an agreement with the city council. That can only happen, however, if Singerman exhausts city administrative appeal processes and then files a lawsuit in district court.
But Keys said if Singerman sells the property, a redevelopment will likely not be pursued.
“If it sells, then it’s unlikely that there would be a redevelopment,” he said. “If it does not [sell], and my client, the ownership group, decides to move forward, then we would be looking for a resolution in some way where we could see a development happen.”
The market value of the property is over $40 million, according to Summit County records.
The Yarrow redevelopment project has been seen as a first step to begin revitalizing the Bonanza Park neighborhood.
Keys previously said the commission’s opposition to the project’s height was ironic at a time when the city is developing new land use code for Bonanza Park. There the city is considering allowing developers to build up to 45 feet under certain exceptions, but the code has not been finalized.
The city council previously discussed working with Singerman to build a long-envisioned pedestrian tunnel underneath Kearns Boulevard, connecting the Yarrow site to the Snow Creek Plaza.
Keys said he would discuss the tunnel project with Singerman and any prospective buyer.
"We've always contemplated the tunnel as a part of our plan," he said.
The agenda packet for the June 5 meeting, when Singerman could return for a discussion with the council, is expected to be published May 28.
