Summit County Council approves purchase of Skullcandy building for $17.5 million

The land for the Dakota Pacific development project sits to the west and south of the Skullcandy building. Photo: Dakota Pacific

PARK CITY, Utah – On Thursday afternoon, in a unanimous 5-0 vote, the county council approved the purchase of the Skullcandy headquarters in Kimball Junction. The decision, which was made during a short meeting announced just 24 hours prior, will become the new home to county offices, which are currently located across the street in the Sheldon Richins Building on Ute Boulevard.

A Dakota Pacific subsidiary sold the Skullcandy property to the county and could become part of the public-private partnership discussed in negotiations with Dakota Pacific. Those negotiations have included talk of a land trade in exchange for allowing the real estate developer to build housing units on property where only tech offices are currently permitted. 

The real estate development company has been deadlocked with the county for four years, trying to get their housing development and tech center project approved. In April, negotiations between the two were moved from the public realm to closed-door sessions. 

The purchase price of $17.5 million will be funded with sales tax bonds, which will be paid back with future revenue from existing sales taxes. 

County manager Shane Scott said additional money would need to be allocated to make the current facility suitable for county needs. He estimated that figure at between $2 million and $10 million over a period of 5-10 years. Scott stressed that the number is a “best guess” and not official. In either case, he said the purchase price and approximated future costs still represented a savings over constructing a new building. 

County officials had also considered constructing a new building near Home Depot but said it was cost-prohibitive. 

The real estate deal also includes an optional easement agreement for a new public road off the roundabout to the south of the Skullcandy property that leads to the Utah Olympic Park. The easement allows a road to be built on the west side of the roundabout that would wrap around to the land Dakota Pacific is hoping to develop. 

Under the purchase agreement, there is a 30-day due diligence period followed by 30 days to close on the deal. 

There is no definitive timeline for when Summit County would move into the space or what services and amenities would be located there.