Could Cline Dahle be a community event space?

Summit County bought recently bought over 20 acres of land between Jeremy Ranch Elementary School and the Burt Brothers. They plan to put affordable housing, a park and ride, and retail on the space.

We have a number of concerns. We recently posted an article asking where the water will come from for these 2,000 additional residents. There are number of additional questions that we haven’t asked yet, like will property tax revenue from this development pay for the additional sheriff’s presence required and the expansion of schools required from the addition of hundreds of children.

Yet, Summit County has bought it. What should they do with it?

So, how about an event space?

Having just lived through a miserable experience at the Park City 4th of July Parade, how about an alternative? What if the space could house a 4th of July beer garden, a stage for live music, and bouncy-houses for kids? It would be a win for both Summit County and Park City. A number of Jeremy Ranch, Pinebrook, and Silver Creek residents would be diverted from the Park City chaos. A number of people from SLC would stop at the event, instead of heading into Park City. People are just looking for something to do.

We realize that one day a year isn’t a successful way to plan for the future. However, if designed right, the space could be used in a variety of ways. It could be part park where kids could play. It could be a place where food trucks gathered. It could be another location on the weekends for a “silly market.” In the winter it could be a Christmas Market. It could be for rent and available during Sundance as a “pop-up” location. Every week there could be concerts. There are a plethora of ideas that would be better than slapping apartments on the location.

We also understand Summit County’s dedication to solving traffic issues. Could it be built with a transit first mentality. Could there be parking that would intercept drivers into Park City but also be used for other purposes during the shoulder season? Could we have a space for our Summit County October-Fest?

As we understand it, Summit County’s Economic Development leader, Jeff Jones, is leading the charge on this property. Everything we’ve seen come out of the county is focused on affordable housing and transportation. However, we think there are better ways to support current residents, make the property economically viable, and make it more interesting.

Anyone can put up an apartment complex.

We think we could build something far more interesting and useful to residents.

We hope the county will consider breaking out of the ox and do something unique and useful.