A 16-acre parcel owned by the Colmena Group and Breen Homes went on the market Sept. 5. It’s listed for $4.9 million.
ColBreen is looking to develop affordable housing or senior housing on that parcel and a neighboring parcel owned by the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.
The original proposal, 410 units on 41 acres, got a negative recommendation from the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission and was met with skepticism from the Summit County Council too.
Realtor Jamie Kearns, who listed the property, said the developer isn’t giving up just yet.
“The Colmena-Breen group is continuing to progress with their current applications but are exploring other options,” she told KPCW.
One of those options seems to be selling its portion of the 41-acre site. The listing says the land is “buildable with no wetlands, no major slope and no geo-technological issues.”
Planning commissioners and county councilmembers have raised concerns about the number of units and the development’s density.
They’ve also said the site is far from services. It is two miles from Kimball Junction and from Silver Summit, where developer and Park City Planning Commissioner Henry Sigg plans to build a grocery store.
The other roadblock has been traffic. Highland Drive is one lane each way, and the closest access points to Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 40 are at Kimball Junction and Silver Summit.
Responding to this feedback, the developers have changed the proposal multiple times since 2021. Originally, 35% of the 410 units were going to be affordable, that’s now 80%. It also switched its focus to building senior housing.
Most recently, ColBreen said it could build in phases to mitigate traffic and not overload the area.
The county council still sent the group negative signals at the most recent discussion in July, but Adam Breen of Breen Homes reiterated that he and his partners can be patient and want to create the best project for the area.
Council Chair Roger Armstrong has told KPCW ColBreen got a “good deal” on its land in Highland Estates, which may give the developer extra time to come up with a project.
The council has not announced a date when it will revisit the Highland Flats proposal.
