Bonanza Area Plan and Feasibility Study

In Park City’s prominent Bonanza District, the city controlled a critical but underutilized five-acre property with the potential to advance several long-standing community goals. A previous development proposal for an arts and culture hub had stalled due to escalating cost concerns, creating the need for a more grounded understanding of what was financially feasible and how the site could best serve the community.

Working as part of a broader planning team with MKSK, Development Strategies helped translate the community’s vision into market, economic, and feasibility terms. Our work provided market research, economic strategy, and detailed feasibility modeling for the city-owned site, helping decision-makers understand the real trade-offs among different development options.

The approach centered on equipping decision-makers with a transparent framework that mapped the financial implications of various programming options. We analyzed how different mixes of market-rate development, public spaces, and affordable artist housing would affect the project’s bottom line. By visualizing these trade-offs across low-, medium-, and high-gap scenarios, we demonstrated both the potential for market-rate investment and the reality that achieving the city’s ambitious community benefits would require targeted public gap financing and a broader district-wide strategy.

After completing the initial planning and development strategy, Park City retained Development Strategies to help prepare and issue a developer RFP for the site. The city subsequently selected a preferred developer and advanced a preferred development plan supported by a structured public-private partnership. Under the emerging partnership framework, the developer would deliver the vertical development, while the city would contribute public resources to support affordability, high-quality public space, structured parking, and other elements necessary to make the project feasible.