Kimball Art Center Executive Director Aldy Milliken announced Wednesday the nonprofit has signed a letter of intent to build a new permanent headquarters on a 1.6 acre site adjacent to the Skullcandy building.
The Kimball Art Center has been working with Park City Municipal for years to build a new home near the intersection of Bonanza Drive and Kearns Boulevard. The city was offering the Kimball a nearly 0.8 acre parcel as part of a larger mixed-use redevelopment project in the area.
Milliken said Dakota Pacific Real Estate offered a land donation of 1.1 acres in Kimball Junction along with a reduced-rate sale of an additional 0.5 acres.
“The price for that is under $500,000, so it’s an incredible reduction on market values and a very good deal for the Kimball Art Center,” Milliken said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Wednesday.
In a statement, Park City Municipal Communications Manager Clayton Scrivner said the Kimball Art Center’s announcement “marks a bittersweet moment” for the city.
"While we had always envisioned keeping their headquarters within the heart of Park City, they will remain an essential cultural partner and we look forward to this weekend’s Kimball Arts Festival in celebration of their continued impact," Scrivner said. "Kimball’s decision shifts some of the vision for the Bonanza 5‑acre site, yet it also opens the door to new opportunities — to be explored in alignment with community priorities and council direction — as we move forward with this project.”
Park City purchased 5 acres in Bonanza Park for $19 million in 2017 with the plan to build an arts and culture district that would have the Kimball Art Center and Sundance Institute as core tenants.
However, the concept hit many roadblocks and now both arts organizations have abandoned the project. The finances of the Kimball Art Center’s potential agreement with Park City were never disclosed.
A 2017 letter of intent between the Kimball and Park City shows the nonprofit would have paid nearly $3 million to build a new arts center in the Bonanza district.
The Kimball Art Center has been operating out of a temporary headquarters in a building behind the Boneyard Saloon since 2019. Milliken said it’s unclear when they will leave that space.
Kimball Art Center Board Member Stefani Kimche said a move to Kimball Junction was not a “spur of the moment decision.”
“We have really struggled with trying to be a significant and viable part of this community, and we’re just at the point now where we need to move forward and make the best decisions for the Kimball Art Center,” Milliken said.
Despite leaving Park City limits, Milliken said the nonprofit has no plans to change the location of the annual Kimball Arts Festival on Main Street.
Milliken said they do have concerns about the path forward for Dakota Pacific’s development plans in Kimball Junction, which have moved slowly amid legal challenges and resident opposition.
“We want to make sure that we are empathetic to the community and the tension that this has caused. We understand that there are issues that would need to be resolved. I would also say that… change is hard and no development is perfect, but this one offers us the best opportunity.”
Park City’s initial Bonanza Park project evolved to also include housing, parking and a transit center, but it was put on hold when costs ballooned.
In 2024 Park City hit the reset button. The city collected public input through online surveys and open houses, asking residents about their goals for the area. That feedback was then used to revise the proposal to reflect support for a mixed-use area with retail, housing, art and open space.
In June the Park City Council chose to partner with an Illinois firm to develop the vacant property. Negotiations on the exact site plan remain ongoing.
The Sundance Institute was not involved in the second phase of planning for the five-acre site, as the nonprofit will move its annual marquee film festival to Boulder, Colorado in 2027.
Milliken said the arts organization previously explored a location in Kimball Junction after the nonprofit left its longtime home in Old Town in 2015.
Park City Municipal and the Kimball Art Center are financial supporters of KPCW.
