Thoughts on Park City Heights

Over the weekend we took the opportunity to visit the site where Park City Heights is being built near Quinn’s Junction, behind the movie studio. Park City Heights is a master planned community approved by the Park City Planning Commission in 2011. The site will have approximately 240 units with a mix of market rate homes and affordable townhouses/condos.  The price point for the market rate homes was estimated to begin at $600,000.

Some thoughts on Park City Heights:

• The view from the area is quite good.  You look up the canyon with a view of PCMR. It’s nice.
• The road noise isn’t nearly as bad as we would have thought.  We could hear Highway 40 but it didn’t seem oppressive.   It will likely even be less with houses there.
• At roughly the same price point as many homes in Silver Summit and Trailside, we wonder what this will do to those home values?   This will be about 10-15 years newer and is likely a more desirable area.
• Traffic is going to be an absolute disaster — even with a stop light.  If you have driven 248 going to school or skiing and been stuck in traffic that backs up to Highway 40, you have seen the beginning of the issue. Now compound that with 250 more homes. “But don’t worry” you say “there will be a stop light”. Yep, except traffic on 248 basically is at a stand still. There will be no where for the line of traffic coming the PC Heights to go. So, a few cars will get through, while frustrated PC Heights Drivers behind them will go through the red light, blocking traffic both ways trying to get on 248.  If you think road rage is bad now, wait until Winter 2015/2016.  We fully expect to read about a fist fight on 248 in the Park Record sometime in January 2016. We’re just saying… this isn’t going to be pretty.  And no, widening 248 won’t help unless you can buy out a row of homes in Prospector.
• As you drive into town on 248, look forward to your view of the mountains being obscured by traffic direction signs.  They will have to make that middle lane’s direction variable to allow more traffic in during the morning and out during the afternoon.
• Is there a back, back way into town?
• Where is the gas station that will need to support these home owners, the hotel, and movie studio going to go? Wouldn’t that area right across from the stop light that will be installed for PC Heights make a good spot for a Gas-n-Sip?
• How do things get approved in 2011 and not start for 3-4 years? Things can change a lot in a few years.

Well, it should be an interesting few years.