Affordable and senior housing, civic spaces and commercial buildings, retail businesses and underground parking, a transit center, public library and community gathering places — all elements of a new mixed-use area master plan in the Kimball Junction neighborhood.Dakota Pacific Real Estate and members of the Summit County Council serving on the subcommittee dedicated to exploring a public-private partnership between the developer and the County Courthouse presented the proposal on Wednesday after 12 weeks of discussions, signaling the return of open talks during the regular council meetings each week.“This is not a site plan submittal, this is a master plan,” said Steve Borup, Dakota Pacific’s director of commercial development. “As we’ve listened in the subcommittee, these are the things that are desirable, this is what we’re trying to achieve, how does it fit onto a plan, this is how everything will relate to each other … those are the things we’re trying to highlight in this master plan, and then we can start to conceptualize the whole business plan and figure out how we both build it.”A mixed-use area master plan for western Kimball Junction includes affordable housing, a new transit center and more as part of a public-private partnership between Summit County and Dakota Pacific Real Estate. Credit: Summit CountyThe subcommittee was formed in April to determine whether Summit County and Dakota Pacific could work together to devise a project all parties can live with. There were no deals or formal agreements made, but rather a determination of what could reasonably exist.County officials have asked for workforce housing, a new transit facility and improved pedestrian connections, in return the developer may be able to build 600 units as part of its project near the Park City Tech Center.County Councilors Canice Harte and Chris Robinson, who serve on the subcommittee, broke down the details of the plan. They emphasized people-centric vs car-centric places.Major elements of the plan included swapping Dakota Pacific-owned land to create retail, commercial and housing opportunities on a parking podium. There would be between 1,000 and 1,200 parking spots, some underground, for a capture lot for residential and retail use near the existing Richins Building.The transit center would be shifted down to double the capacity and create more access for buses merging on S.R. 224. The top of Ute Boulevard would have a solid media, preventing left turn lanes, and keeping traffic flowing. Around 165 units of county-owned, low-income housing would be built in the area. There would also be a central plaza and pedestrian-friendly corridors that both the county and developer co-invest in.The idea is to create a more walkable town center with gathering spaces. There would be a decorative pedestrian bridge between 15 and 20 feet wide with a potential gondola connection terminating at one end. The county councilors emphasized the need to mobilize the space through restaurants or shops.“This would become an active space with a lot of light of vibrancy and life,” Robinson said. New elements of the proposal address the western side of the mixed-use area, near Skullcandy.The big picture idea is to create a space where people can “flow out into” after visiting bars, restaurants and shops. However, an estimated 90- to 100-unit assisted living facility and affordable housing would also exist in the area.Harte explained the goal is to move civic services such as the Division of Motor Vehicles into the existing building, potentially create a new library with meeting places and install a common green or amphitheater for events and to create an “Olympic view community space.” “The combination of this west area and the east area create a real great community space. It’s easy access,” Robinson said. “This part of these two halves that are on either side of Landmark really create a nice sort of center of the neighborhood.”The subcommittee determined everything in the public-private partnership is financially feasible.The county’s portion for the hypothetical public-private partnership is estimated to cost $39 million. Podium parking is estimated to cost $20 million, a transit center would be around $11 million, and a pedestrian bridge could be $4 million.Summit County and Dakota Pacific would split the cost of certain elements of the proposal. The county’s share is estimated to cost $39 million.Funding sources would include the Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zones, federal grants and other contributions. Dakota Pacific and Summit County hope the public-private partnership will encourage the Utah Department of Transportation to give priority funding to the S.R. 224 improvement project.A preliminary schedule was based on the assumption that the County Council approves the public-private partnership and development agreement with Dakota Pacific by the end of the year. Then, UDOT would decide which Kimball Junction improvement project to do.Construction on the Bus Rapid Transit project would begin sometime in 2026 with the S.R. 224 project starting the following year. Elements of the joint county-Dakota Pacific development would happen in tandem between 2025 and 2030.The County Council will resume meeting with Dakota Pacific weekly to negotiate the details of the residential areas and finalize the terms of the public-private partnership. Community members will have an opportunity to provide feedback at a later date. It will be the first chance to do so since the discussions moved partially behind closed doors.The post Kimball Junction’s new mixed-use master plan could cost Summit County $39 million appeared first on Park Record.