Kimball Junction West plans reserve space for possible future gondola

Conceptual site rendering from Dakota Pacific Real Estate’s Kimball Junction West architectural design standards draft (Draft V7, dated Dec. 24, 2025), showing a proposed mixed-use district layout in Kimball Junction. Photo: Summit County

SUMMIT COUNTY, UT — Summit County Manager Shayne Scott approved architectural design standards Monday for the Kimball Junction West mixed-use project, clearing the way for developer Dakota Pacific Real Estate to begin subdividing property for the 59-acre development.

The approved design guidelines establish a “mountain modern” aesthetic for what will eventually become 885 housing units — approximately half of which are designated as workforce housing — along with commercial space, an expanded transit center, and a public plaza in western Kimball Junction.

Community Development Director Peter Barnes said the design standards include illustrations intended to guide the development’s appearance, adding that terms such as “mountain architecture” and “modern” can have different meanings depending on context.

The design documents approved Monday also show how a potential future gondola system could integrate into the development, with conceptual plans depicting aerial transit cabins running east-west above Tech Center Drive. While Summit County’s 2025 development agreement with Dakota Pacific requires the developer to accommodate a gondola alignment, it does not mandate construction of the transit system.

The gondola provision reserves space along Tech Center Drive for a possible future connection, with illustrations showing potential routes across State Route 224 toward the Redstone area. Earlier concepts for the project had envisioned gondola connections extending to Utah Olympic Park and Canyons Village.

The public hearing on Monday also included the Promontory Hawks Pass Phase 2 Subdivision, which proposes 15 residential lots and two open-space parcels totaling 20.5 acres south of the Nicklaus Clubhouse Complex.

The Promontory proposal would draw 23 units from the development’s resort density pool, which restricts properties to short-term occupancy of six months or less per calendar year. The original 2001 Promontory Development Agreement allocated 1,901 total units across the property, with 1,520 units approved to date.

According to a staff report by Senior Planner Amir Caus, the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission recommended approval of the subdivision in October 2025. All building pads have been positioned outside critical lands, and service providers have cleared the proposal.

The subdivision plan incorporates updated Promontory architectural guidelines that limit grading within building pads, encouraging homebuilders to work with existing terrain rather than extensively reshaping the land.

With architectural design standards now approved for Kimball Junction West, Dakota Pacific can proceed with property subdivision to create individual building lots. The first visible change to the area will be the demolition of the Kimball Junction library branch, planned for later this year.

Summit County is preparing to relocate offices and services from the Sheldon Richins Building to the PEAK Center — formerly the Skullcandy building — as the development progresses.