A Park City man who once held ambitious plans to remake a swath of the Bonanza Park district on Thursday outlined his support for another project in the vicinity of the land his partnership once controlled.
Mark J. Fischer appeared at a Park City Council meeting, speaking about the proposed redevelopment of the land where the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Park City – The Yarrow is located. Mayor Nann Worel and the City Council were not scheduled to address the project, but Fischer’s comments were noteworthy nonetheless with more discussions about the redevelopment approaching.
Fischer has a long history in development in the area of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive, and the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Park City – The Yarrow is just west of the ground a partnership that involved Fischer previously held.
Fischer did not speak at length, but he told the elected officials it is, in his estimation, “absolutely critical that you all find a way to get that project approved.” If the redevelopment does not proceed, he described, there could be wider repercussions.
“If this gets turned down, I think it’s going to be a major setback for the development and the potential of Bonanza Park because developers are going to say, ‘This is too difficult to work with, all these rules and regulations.’”
He said he has no financial interest in the redevelopment project.
“I just think it’s vitally important that you find a way to get that approved. Just my point of view,” he said.
Fischer was one side of the Bonanza Park partnership that spent years pursuing a major redevelopment of the district. The vision ultimately was scrapped amid concerns about a range of issues that arose during the planning-related discussions at City Hall, such as building heights and the traffic a development would have generated.
The partnership eventually sold the key parcel, which stretches inward from the southwest corner of the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive, to City Hall in a nearly $20 million deal. The municipal government acquired the land with the intention of developing an arts district with the Kimball Art Center and the Utah offices of the Sundance Institute as the anchors. The discussions about the future of the land are continuing.
The land in Bonanza Park and elsewhere along the Park Avenue and Kearns Boulevard corridors has been seen for years as ripe for redevelopment. The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Park City – The Yarrow occupies a highly visible location just off the intersection of Park Avenue and Kearns Boulevard. Some see a redevelopment at that key corner as potentially being a catalyst for broader work in that area of Park City.
The proposed redevelopment of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Park City – The Yarrow location involves a condominium hotel, restricted workforce or otherwise affordable housing and a restaurant on the rooftop. There would be retailers and restaurants on the ground floor. The developers see the project as something that would reimagine the intersection.
An open house hosted by the developer, Chicago-based Singerman Real Estate, is scheduled Tuesday, Aug. 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the hotel, 1800 Park Ave.