The Dakota Pacific project proposed for Kimball Junction is returning to the agenda of the Summit County Council at their meeting Wednesday.
Summit County Manager Tom Fisher says the latest version of the project will include public amenities, but those would be developed by the County on its own land.
The County Council is meeting electronically, and at the anchor location, the Richins Services Building.
At about 1:30, the Council will begin a work session set for two hours on Dakota Pacific, which is applying to revise the Development Agreement given to the Boyer Tech Park in 2008.
Earlier this year, the county formed subcommittees, including Council members and staff, to examine different aspects of the project.
The plan, for a commercial/residential center, includes some 1.3 million square feet and 1100 residential units.
It could also feature public developments such as a revamped
Transit Center, a Civic Center, a Performing Arts space, and County Museum.
Tom Fisher said the subcommitees studied whether land swaps between the county and Dakota would be needed to build the public facilities, and they determined they don’t have to do that.
“Dakota Pacific could move forward with a change to their Development Agreement and do the things that they need to do on their property. And the county could move forward with its property. And that also includes all of the range of different types of transportation improvements that are being pursued around transit, roadway and parking.”
He told KPCW’s Leslie Thatcher that Dakota will contribute to such amenities as a new Transit Center. But Fisher said that’s a regional benefit, and the responsibility for the transit hub doesn’t fall entirely on Dakota.
“I think it’s important the county, within this total concept, understand how it’s property is going to interact with an overall development that’s gonna happen around it, or could happen around it. (Leslie) These were some of the benefits, so-called benefits, that the developer was proposing to kinda sweeten the deal for them. So what benefits are we getting from the developer now? (Fisher) I don’t really think that’s the case that the developer was saying that the overall big-picture transportation improvements that need to happen in the area are the benefits of the Dakota Pacific project. I think that the project probably is going to have a big contribution to those things, from a dollars perspective. But at the end of the day, a lot of these improvements-- whether they be county facilities, an improved library or certain transportation improvements—those really are public responsibilities.”
Fisher noted that the Boyer developers met their affordable-housing obligation over 10 years ago, with the Liberty Peak Apartments.
The Dakota project will provide open space for benefits, and some additional affordable units.
“But there’s other benefits that they’re proposing that they will participate in, including the financing around local share of large transportation projects that you’re gonna hear talked about. And those are the benefits that do come from this look at this Development Agreement.”
Meanwhile, Fisher said that improvements for Kimball Junction will likely be realized in a decade or more. UDOT is studying Highway 224, its connection to I-80 and the local side streets into the highway.
“They’re working through their process, which the next step is to get to locally preferred alternatives that can then go through the environmental process. Those are all very active steps towards getting to projects that can be done. First, you have to figure out what you’re gonna do. Then you have to figure out the financing around that and then we pursue it. And these things are items that are going to be 10 to 15 years in the making.”
Summit County Manager Tom Fisher.
