A Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity committee unanimously approved Summit County’s application for an HTRZ, or housing and transit reinvestment zone, March 23.
Community Development Director Peter Barnes said an HTRZ is a financing tool that will help make the county’s public-private partnership with Dakota Pacific Real Estate feasible.
“That's actually a significant funding source for the county, which will help us move forward,” he told Snyderville Basin planning commissioners on March 24.
County manager Shayne Scott estimated the HTRZ could generate between $8 million and $12 million dollars after 25 years.
That’s because Summit County and other organizations like the Park City fire and school districts won’t be getting most of the new tax revenue generated by the project during that time.
Instead of filling county coffers, up to 80% of the taxes will flow back into the project. A consultant’s report specifies the HTRZ can fund underground parking, an expanded Kimball Junction Transit Center, a pedestrian bridge across state Route 224, a park and an amphitheater.
The county’s presentation to the state indicates Dakota Pacific is not asking for HTRZ money to finance developer-owned housing.
The overall project area will also include 885 units of housing, about half of that affordable and half market rate.
Summit County has been drawing on numerous funding sources besides an HTRZ to cover its side of the public-private partnership. It now estimates the total bill will be $55 million.
That includes federal funding and a new sales tax in unincorporated areas to pay off $99 million in bonds.
The county’s presentation shows that more bonds could be coming, tied specifically to the construction of county-owned affordable housing and the parking garage.
Scott said the county has also applied for federal low-income housing tax credits to finance the housing. High Valley Transit is separately pursuing federal funding for the expanded transit center.
Utah originally created the HTRZ to concentrate housing around FrontRunner train stations between the Ogden and Provo areas.
Summit County lobbied for access to it with Kimball Junction in mind; it will soon be the northern terminus of High Valley Transit’s bus rapid transit route.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
