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Show MJf-rM- ,11- JL . ifm,tMmwMimuwmMmrmemmmmu Council to Explore Use of Air Rights on Main Street Tonight diversified economic enterprises. enter-prises. He thought that office space for year round businesses should be encouraged en-couraged as well as perhaps a full service hotel. Mr. Chong said he did not feel that a condominium project or even a condominium hotel would be particularly attractive. attrac-tive. Mr. Chong continued that, the parking spaces proposed as a trade for the "air rights" did not particularly represent a sound trade off because so many parking spaces are eventually needed for the area, that the few the city would get in exchange would be a "drop in the bucket". Councihvoman Tina Lewis has expressed some interest in exploring the feasibility of a skating rink on the six lots but has received1 limited support from her fellow Council men. " Meanwhile, Mr. Chong explained that the Council or Redevelopment Agency had some of the following options regarding the property: Do nothing or postpose a decision deci-sion on the property; build a multi-level parking ' facility itself; erect a new city hall or other public building on the v site; invite private enterprise, enter-prise, through incentives, to accomplish a necessary public pub-lic goals; or simply, sell the property valued conservatively conserva-tively at $500,000 and use the money for some other public project. In all fairness to the two developers who have presented pre-sented proposals for the property, Mr. Chong recommended recom-mended that the council make one of the above decisions as soon as possible. pos-sible. . Councilmen recognize that the lost represent public property, and not their, own and will attempt to make a decision which will be in the best interest of all Park City. If the citizens who ultimately own the lots have any particular par-ticular suggested uses for the property, their comments are invited by. the city council at this week's meeting . r The mysterious subject of "a:r rights" will again be breached by City Council-men Council-men this Thursday when they convene as the Board of Ditectors of the Park City Redevelopment Agency. At the meeting, some decision is expected to be mace regarding the possible lease, sale or trade of the "air rights", above six municipally owned lots on Main Street's upper east side. Currently the lots are used for parking, a vital but not necessarily the best and highest use for the property. Realizing this. City Council-men Council-men expressed an interest last spring in hearing proposals propo-sals from private enterprise for the development of the "air rights" above the Main Street lots. In June two massive proposals were presented individually by Peter Cole and Crystal Development. Both groups own property contingent to that of the city and presented proposals essentially similar. Both projects call for the developers devel-opers to construct two levels of covered public parking on the surface of the lots in exchange for the right to build four levels of condominium condo-minium and commercial space in the "air space" above. The Cole proposal called for the development of twelve lots, three of his own, six owned by the city and the remaining three controlled by Crystal. The Crystal plans excluded Cole's lots and showed a massive building broken up with facades of different architectural architec-tural periods to give the building the look of several smaller structures. Cole's plans also showed' the building broken up with a variety of facades. Both proposals called for essentially essen-tially a condominium development devel-opment with a relatively small amount of commercial space. Although the proposals were submitted separately, the city would like to see the two groups work together. Since their six lots are essential to either project, Park City could insist on a joint venture. At any rate, both groups have invested time, effort, and money into the proposals . and are understandably anxious anx-ious for a decision from the city. Councilmen are aware i of the fact and feel the urgency to advise both Peter Cole and Crystal Development Develop-ment ot their plans for the property this week. At the regular meeting of the City Council last week, architect Richard Chong. one of the authors of the Redevelopment Master Plan appeared to expalin further the powers and responsibilities responsibili-ties of the Redevelopment Agency and to shed some light on the subject of "air rights." Mr. Chong told Council-men Council-men that as the Board of the Redevelopment Agency they could: condemn land for non-public or private uses, generate revenues through increment tax funding or from buying and selling real estate or "air rights", and incur long term debt to finance improvement projects. pro-jects. Chong advised Councilmen Coun-cilmen that the goal of a redevelopment agency is to "guide the private sector to accomplish public goals". This is done, he explained, by using the above mentioned men-tioned powers to create incentives for private enterprise enter-prise to accomplish work seen as beneficial to a community. He cited an example of a redevelopment agency acquiring property and selling it to a developer very reasonably; providing the developer uses the property to build housing for the elderly. Since the city's six lots represent one of the last large parcels of Main Street real estate, Mr. Chong felt they could be used as a powerful incentive to entice private enterprise to accomplish accomp-lish a beneficial public goal. He thought the city should use the property or the overlying "air rights" to encourage developments which would foster Main Street and Park City's year round economy. He said that it was his opinion that Main Street would be completely developed in time with facilities largely catering to seasonal tourists and that to use the lots to encourage additional seasonal enterprises enter-prises would defeat the purpose of the Redevelopment Redevelop-ment Agency. Mr. Chong added that in addition to trying to encourage a year round economy on Main Street, the Council should consider providing incentives incen-tives to encourage more |