Community news from KPCW
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Park City Council supports 15,000-square-foot senior center to be built by 2029
By Kristine Weller
(Submitted by Park City Senior Center)
The Park City Council has approved a new 15,000-square-foot senior center in the Mawhinney parking lot across from the Park City Library.
A building design will be chosen this fall and the city hopes to complete construction by the end of 2029.
The current senior center is outgrowing its Woodside Avenue space. Seniors have been asking for a new location for nearly a decade.
The new center’s main floor will feature a commercial kitchen, a 100-person dining room with a stage and a lounge and billiards room. There’s also a small patio. The second floor has an exercise room, two multi-purpose classrooms, a 1,500-square-foot deck and offices.
The council set aside $15 million for the center when it passed the fiscal year 2027 budget in June. Summit County plans to contribute funds as well.
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Park City’s pilot winter shuttle to Bonanza Flat may become permanent
By Kristine Weller
(Submitted by Tanzi Probst)
The success of Park City’s winter shuttle to Bonanza Flat may turn the pilot program into a permanent ride. The transit service drew 4,000 riders last winter.
The 15-week pilot launched in December 2025. In past years shuttles only served the Bonanza Flat recreation area at the top Guardman’s Pass for 10 to 15 days each winter.
Senior Transportation Planner Julia Collins says nearly 4,000 passenger trips were recorded through the 2025-2026 winter. The city deployed 11 passenger vans on a rerouted 9 Purple bus line to create an efficient rider experience.
The city purchased the 1,300-plus-acre Guardsman Pass property in 2017 and conserved it as open space three years later.
A summer shuttle service exploded in 2025 after the city began charging for parking at trailheads. Those fees helped fund the expanded winter service.
Collins said her team will ask the city council to make the programs permanent later this year.
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Land trust conserves 2,800-acre ranch east of Hoytsville
By Connor Thomas
(Submitted by Summit Land Conservancy)
A 2,800-acre ranch east of Hoytsville is now protected from future development. The Summit Land Conservancy has secured a conservation easement on land used for grazing for more than a century.
The East Hoytsville Range Company began talks with Summit Lands 20 years ago. Federal staffing cuts, government shutdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic stalled an agreement.
Company President Kent Pace says shareholders unanimously chose to preserve the property for agriculture rather than divide it for development. The conservation agreement also provides tax benefits and could help pay for water and range improvements.
The nonprofit land trust could soon conserve more land. CEO Cheryl Fox says Summit Lands has signed a letter of intent with the ranchers to put an easement over almost 4,000 additional acres.
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