County considers underground parking in new Kimball Junction transit center as negotiations continue with Dakota Pacific

A rendering of the potential future Kimball Junction Transit Center's underground parking. The county and Dakota Pacific continue to negotiate and balance the developer's desired development with the needs of Summit County. Photo: Dakota Pacific Real Estate

PARK CITY, Utah – It has been several weeks since a public update has been provided as Summit County and Dakota Pacific Real Estate continue their closed-door discussions, which involve negotiating needed county services for housing and business development in Kimball Junction.

Litigation in the Dakota Pacific project has been paused to reach an agreement about the future of the western side of Kimball Junction, where Dakota Pacific owns close to 50 acres and the county will own about 13 acres.

The presentation made before the county council last week shows early plans to put parking underground by taking advantage of the terrain’s natural slope.  Parking would be built into the hill, mostly underground, and above that, a plaza. The council took inspiration from how Millcreek Common was constructed in the Salt Lake valley.

The project would be a public-private partnership between Summit County and Dakota Pacific Real Estate. That partnership has included discussions about swapping land parcels so the county can build a bigger and better transit center to accomodate growing needs in Kimball Junction. Earlier this year, the county purchased the Skullcandy building so they could relocate key county offices and services – that deal also included a valuable right of way and future public roadway which would come off the current roundabout at the bottom of the UOP and access land Dakota Pacific wants to build a housing development on.

The group doesn’t know yet if the underground parking can be financed, or if it will need to be on the surface.

In addition to the transit center’s future, the county and Dakota Pacific also need to agree on the future of the rest of the property to the west.