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Council reviews three concepts for downtown Phase 2: 20–60 housing units and public market or park options under consideration
Summary
Staff presented three design concepts for the Phase 2 acreage west of downtown that range from a public-park anchor with 20–30 housing units to a denser mixed-use option with 40–60 units and a market hall; council asked for financial modeling and further refinement before committing.
Greg (staff planner) presented three conceptual options for downtown Phase 2 on the west side of downtown, each pairing public or semi-public uses with medium-density housing. The 2024 comprehensive plan framed the site for "medium density housing" and a public anchor; staff presented concepts showing roughly 20–30, 30–40, and 40–60 residential units paired with either a park, a community facility, or a market hall.
"The key pieces there were to consider medium density housing . . . and to utilize public or semi-public space," Greg said, describing a public-park-focused option, a community facility and market-hall option, and progressively denser housing configurations that avoid wetlands and low-lying areas by repositioning the buildable acreage.
Tom (staff) and Greg said the city could take a more active early role — preparing a defined plan through Planning Commission and then seeking developers — instead of recruiting developers to create the plan from scratch. Councilors requested more detailed financial analysis. Councilor Sutton asked what mix of concepts would allow the city to recoup the roughly $9 million the city has invested to date on the property; staff replied that higher residential counts increase the potential to recoup costs and that a north-of-Owen-Brown tax-increment finance (TIF) district could help.
Councilor Kowalski and others favored Concept 3 (40–60 units) with more public pocket parks and an indoor market hall and urged clearer detail on the proposed community facility so it does not duplicate existing event venues. Several councilors stressed preserving open space and avoiding a cramped layout; staff noted the 2020 proposal that previously sought 102 units and said Concept 3 would be roughly half that earlier proposal.
Staff listed three actions they wanted from council: confirmation of whether to advance the comprehensive plan work now, high-level feedback on the concept plans, and guidance on whether the city should act as an early-stage developer to define the project before recruiting a private developer.
Council direction: council asked staff to produce financial models showing how each concept would affect the city's costs and potential returns, to refine park and public-space options (including a pocket park and market hall), and to engage Summit County with a target housing intensity to inform county sewer/pump-station design assumptions. No formal votes were taken.
