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Show A-4 The Park Record Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, December 30, 2017-January 2, 2018 Continued from A-3 PERRY • STEWART REAL ESTATE TEAM MARKET CONDITIONS AND ALL THINGS REAL ESTATE Year was a stunner CONTACT US AT NO OBLIGATION FOR: Current Value of Your Property Free Consultation and Staging Advice Neighborhood Market Conditions Whether you are buying or selling property, we would be happy to provide informative, detailed information at no obligation to help in the decision making process. www.P S R E A L E STAT E T E A M .com JUDY PERRY SUSAN STEWART associate broker associate broker Judy@PSRealEstateTeam.com (435) 655-5767 Susan@PSRealEstateTeam.com (435) 901-4545 LOCAL LOCAL PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL LOCAL KNOWLEDGEABLE KNOWLEDGEABLE PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY INTEGRITY KNOWLEDGEABLE RESOURCEFUL RESOURCEFUL INTEGRITY ORGANIZED ORGANIZED RESOURCEFUL ORGANIZED SUZY SUZYHANNEY HANNEY essentialtotohave have aa local, local, knowledgeable It’sIt’sessential knowledgeable SUZY HANNEY professional resource to to help professional asasaaresource help you youwith with yourbuying buyingororselling selling needs. needs. Please your Pleasegive give It’sme essential to have a local, knowledgeable call, I’d be happy to help guide you me a acall, I’d be happy to help guide you professional asprocess. a resource– toSuzy help you with through the through the process. – Suzy your buying or selling needs. Please give EMAIL: SUZY@BHHSUTAH.COM | VOICE: (435) 640-5383 me a|call, I’d be happy to 640-5383 help guide you EMAIL: SUZY@BHHSUTAH.COM VOICE: (435) WEB: MOVINGTOPARKCITY.COM through the process. – Suzy WEB: MOVINGTOPARKCITY.COM © 2017 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity. © 2017 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity. EMAIL: SUZY@BHHSUTAH.COM | VOICE: (435) 640-5383 WEB: MOVINGTOPARKCITY.COM © 2017 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity. Begin your own tradition. You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely take care of it for the next generation. ® Twenty ˜ 4 Ref. 4910/11R threat today is more insidious than it was during Jim Crow.” 4. A rough ride Even amid the busiest ski season in Utah’s history, All Resort Group, Inc., a large Park City transportation company, was on a road toward financial disaster. All Resort Group, Inc., the parent organization of dozens of taxi and shuttle firms, shocked the community in late April as it filed for bankruptcy protection with the hopes of reorganizing. The firm at the time had estimated assets of between $10,000,001 and $50 million, the same range listed in the estimated liabilities column of the bankruptcy filing. An All Resort Group, Inc. executive, Gordon Cummins, said at the time business was strong, noting the first three months of the year were the best quarter in approximately four years. But the bankruptcy petition hung over the company through the summer and into the fall. All Resort Group, Inc. succumbed to the financial issues in mid-September after an investment group withdrew its intent for an acquisition. It was the most stunning business collapse in Park City since the recession wreaked havoc on the lodging industry. Several hundred All Resort Group, Inc. employees were impacted, and the company suggested they file for unemployment benefits. The emotional toll was evident as the breadth of the bankruptcy and shutdown became widely known. Mayor Jack Thomas, during a Park City Council meeting in September, assured an emotional former ranking All Resort Group, Inc. staffer that leaders were “hurting with you” since they understood what the closure meant. “It’s my integrity and my promise to the community ... is part of why I was doing so well in the business. And I feel as though I’ve made promises and I’ve let people down, due to, of course, no direct choice of my own,” Alicia Petersen Vernon, who had been the director of business development, told the elected officials. All Resort Group, Inc. was effectively dismantled in October during an auction authorized by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge assigned to the case. The auction, held in All Resort Group, Inc.’s former offices along Kearns Boulevard, drew interest from the transportation industry. An Arizona firm called The Driver Provider spent $100,000 at the auction to acquire various segments of All Resort Group, Inc. “It’s unprecedented in my experience. The sheer scope of their operation was astonishing. We saw the auction as a way to acquire a ready-made transportation business that would accelerate our assimilation into the market exponentially,” Jason Kaplan, the owner of The Driver Provider, said. “All Resort’s demise left an enormous void in a key local industry. We were fortunate to be able to acquire what we did without having to go through the organic process.” 3. Treasured topic The Treasure developers in the 1980s likely would never have predicted then that they would have such an impact on Park City years later. Treasure won an overall approval for a project on a hillside overlooking Old Town along the route of the Town Lift that decade. It has been more than 10 years since discussions launched at City Hall about the Treasure proposal itself, which represents the bulk of the development rights secured in the 1980s. But 2017 was an especially tense year in the talks about what is the most controversial development proposal in Park City since the 1990s-era discussions about the project ultimately built as Empire Pass. The Planning Commission spent meeting after meeting debating Treasure issues like traffic and the size of the building as frustration built on the developer’s side. The Treasure partner- PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Park City led the efforts to acquire Bonanza Flat, a 1,350-acre tract of high-altitude land in Wasatch County, a deal that was finalized in 2017 after voters in Park City the year before authorized $25 million of the eventual $38 million needed for the purchase. The remaining $13 million was brought in during a broad fundraising campaign. ship saw itself as having provided much of the material needed for the Planning Commission to render a decision, but the panel seemed to say otherwise. In March, the Treasure side, in dramatic fashion, indicated it would invoke a state law that allows a developer to force a planning commission to cast a vote. Treasure never did so, but the statement seemed to increase the tension nonetheless. “That’s just a merry-go-round. If we want to move on, we have to request a vote,” Pat Sweeney, a Treasure representative, said in March, adding, “I don’t think they’ll ever be ready for a vote. ... We’re ready for a vote.” As the discussions continued in grinding fashion, Park City leaders suddenly and surprisingly reached an agreement that could eventually prove to be a breakthrough. City Hall and the Treasure side behind closed doors negotiated a deal that calls for the municipal government to acquire 50 percent of the development rights attached to the Treasure land for $30 million. The rest of the project would be reworked under the agreement. The deal, though, hinges on a $24 million ballot measure expected to be put to voters in November of 2018, ensuring that Treasure will continue to be a critical item for Park City over the next year. 2. A new Mr. Mayor The Park City election in 2017 was anticipated to be a tense one as the year started, even before the candidates announced their intentions, since the mayor’s office was on the ballot. It was not until the spring, though, that the political season started in earnest. Jack Thomas, the first-term incumbent mayor, in May announced he would not seek re-election, creating an opening in Park City’s highest office. The mayoral field formed quickly. Roger Armstrong, a member of the Summit County Council, started his campaign even before Thomas publicized his intention to retire from public office. Park City Councilor Andy Beerman, who lost the mayoral contest to Thomas four years earlier, and former three-term Mayor Dana Williams also joined what was seen as an impressive mayoral field. Williams trounced the other two in a primary, advancing to the Election Day in November against second-place finisher Beerman. The fall campaign stressed well-worn Park City issues such as growth, traffic and work force or otherwise affordable housing. Williams largely relied on support from rank-and-file Parkites while Beerman amassed a group of powerful backers, particularly from government ranks. Voters opted for Beerman, agreeing with him that Park City needs a new leader instead of a former one. Beerman pledged to continue City Hall’s progress on issues like transportation, housing and environmentalism. The municipal government in the early months of Beerman’s term is also expected to stress the ideal of social equity as leaders craft a strategy meant to ensure City Hall serves the entire populace of Park City. “It’s exciting more than anything. I felt relief and gratitude,” Beerman said after the results were announced. Voters on Election Day also chose two members of the Park City Council. Incumbent Tim Henney won a second term while Steve Joyce, a member of the Park City Planning Commission, ascended to the City Council with his close second-place finish. The three are scheduled to take the oaths of office in early January. The election was seen as an endorsement of City Hall’s work plan. An incumbent City Councilor – Beerman – was put into the mayor’s office while another incumbent City Councilor, Henney, was the top vote-getter in that campaign. As a Planning Commissioner, meanwhile, Joyce also has strong ties to the municipal government. 1. A Flat-out success Bonanza Flat, a high-altitude tract of land in Wasatch County downhill from Guardsman Pass, had for years been sought-after acreage by developers and conservationists alike. Developers saw the 1,350 acres as prime land for a golf-and-ski project, while advocates for open space envisioned Bonanza Flat perhaps someday preserved for recreation, wildlife and its scenic value. There was little movement on Bonanza Flat for years, until a foreclosure case was brought against the landowner, the Talisker corporate family. The lenders took control of Bonanza Flat, perhaps creating an opportunity after so many years of community concern about the prospects of major development on the land. Park City leaders saw a possibility as early as 2016, putting a $25 million ballot measure to voters in November that could be used to finance a deal for the land should it become available. By early in 2017, two months after the ballot measure passed, City Hall negotiated a $38 million deal for Bonanza Flat. Supporters saw the deal as a way to block development in a sensitive location as well as a means to protect habitat for moose, elk, deer and other species. It was also seen as an important step in protecting the watershed. Deal backers quickly mobilized an unprecedented fundraising campaign to secure the remaining $13 million needed to finalize the acquisition. It was an extraordinary effort as government bodies, not-for-profit organizations, businesses and private individuals assisted. The gap was closed, and the acquisition, the grandest of City Hall’s conservation deals, was finalized in June. Park City’s work, though, continues as the end of the year arrives. Officials must craft a plan for the future of Bonanza Flat, taking into consideration a range of desires for the land. Park City must craft what is known as a conservation easement that will outline the restrictions on Bonanza Flat. Those discussions could eventually dwell on controversial topics like snowmobiling and hunting. A nonscientific City Hall survey taken after the acquisition showed people see hiking and trail running as appropriate on Bonanza Flat but riding motorized vehicles as inappropriate. “I have never seen so many different community partners come together to raise such a significant amount of money in such a short amount of time,” Wendy Fisher, the executive director of the not-for-profit Utah Open Lands, said about the regional efforts to finalize the deal, describing Bonanza Flat as the “heart of the Wasatch.” Local News Every Wednesday and Saturday |