Park City Council Advances Bonanza Park Redevelopment Plan in 4-1 Vote

Park City Council members approved preliminary plans for the 5-acre Bonanza Park redevelopment in a 4-1 vote Thursday, sending the project to the Park City Planning Commission for design refinement and additional public vetting. The decision, with Tana Toly dissenting, was not a final project approval but cleared the way for the city and its development partner to begin the formal entitlement process.

The plans include 10 buildings with a coffee shop, restaurant, and 106 residential units — a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments for residents earning between 40% and 80% of the Area Median Income. About two acres of the site, or roughly 70%, will be set aside for open space. Under the current proposal, the Utah Housing Commission would contribute around $60 million to the project.

Brinshore Development LLC's Karly Brinla framed the housing mix as a direct response to Park City's workforce shortage. "We're trying to serve everyone from ski instructors, restaurant workers, up to slightly higher paying jobs like registered nurses and police officers in our AMI mix," she said. At the council's request, the development team also included almost 20 units with market-rate rent.

Park City acquired the Bonanza site in 2017 for $19 million and first planned to develop an arts and culture district on the property, but when designs tipped over the $100 million mark, the city hit the reset button. The original concept envisioned anchors in the Kimball Art Center and the Utah offices of the Sundance Institute; the estimated cost swelled to $100 million, the Sundance deal never got done, and Kimball leaders eventually took a deal at the Dakota-Pacific site near the art center's namesake junction.

Toly was the only "no" vote, saying she wanted to see more arts and culture space, something big enough for concerts, and called for reducing the number of units to allow more room for art. Brinshore cautioned, however, that decreasing the unit count below 100 will make it much harder to get low-income tax credits from the Utah Housing Commission.

Councilmember Bill Ciraco said he does not favor the current design but supports moving forward because the planning commission process includes more public input before the project returns to the council. Councilmember Molly Miller contended the community has reached the crisis point regarding affordable housing and a project could become an anchor for the year-round economy in addition to adding to the housing stock. Councilmember Ed Parigian pushed back on the city's arts-first history, saying, "The arts and culture district in 2017 was never supported by this town, despite what you hear," while also arguing the proposal aligns with Park City's core values of affordable housing, transit, and reducing pollution.

Mayor Ryan Dickey asked whether there is market demand for a project of this kind; the development team pointed to the nearby EngineHouse Apartments, an income-restricted housing project that is renting well, and noted commercial square footage is sought after.

Almost 30 community members provided input after Brinshore's presentation. The majority were not opposed to the plans but wanted more space for arts and culture, with many echoing Kendall Kelley's call for dedicated arts spaces. Other public commenters advocated for the site to be entirely open space.

The project will move into the planning commission review process, expected to begin in April 2026, with at least two more opportunities for public input. If approved, the timeline anticipates construction beginning in December 2027 with a grand opening in winter 2029. The development team hopes to settle on a predevelopment agreement by August and begin the permitting and financing process by December.