Committee in Park City prepares vote on height of hotel project

A plan to build a new hotel at a prominent intersection in Park City could move forward on Wednesday, although a final decision will not be made until later.

Chicago-based developer Singerman Real Estate wants to demolish the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Park City – The Yarrow and rebuild it on the site at the intersection of Park Avenue and Kearns Boulevard.

The company is seeking an exemption from City Hall’s building height regulations. The proposal calls for a height of just under 45 feet at the corner of Park Avenue and Kearns Boulevard, an increase from the 35 feet that would also be part of the design at the corner. The designs call for certain other locations along Kearns Boulevard to reach a height of 43 feet.

City Hall’s zoning ordinance for the site limits building heights to 35 feet. City Hall is processing the application as a master plan. Under the rules for this type of application, a developer is permitted to request an exception to the height limits. This decision would be based on a site-specific analysis.

The Planning Commission could vote on Wednesday on the developer’s desired building height. A public hearing is scheduled and is expected to last until a meeting on Sept. 11. But a vote on building height is crucial because the concept in its current form depends on that decision.

The proposal includes:

• 174 condominium hotel units
• 60 units of affordable housing with limited liability
• 5,935 square meters for restaurants or bars
• 2,543 square metres of retail space
• 6,500 square meters of office space

The 60 units intended as affordable housing represent a large block of this housing category.

Efforts to redevelop the site of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Park City – The Yarrow have attracted attention due to the significance of the corner. Numerous drivers pass through this intersection daily and it is the first major intersection within the Park City city limits accessed from Park Avenue.

The Bonanza Park district, which largely surrounds the site, is ripe for significant development. Some see the project before the Planning Commission as one that could set the tone for more extensive redevelopment later. There is privately owned land in the area that could be redeveloped, and City Hall itself owns key property at the nearby intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive that was acquired for development purposes.

The Singerman Real Estate site recently held an open house and used the event to describe various aspects of the proposal. The exception to height restrictions requested by the developer seemed to be of interest to some of those in attendance.

The Planning Commission meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Marsac Building. It will also be streamed online on the city website, www.parkcity.org. The Planning Commission will also visit the 1800 Park Ave. site on Wednesday beginning at 4 p.m.