Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation pitches amended master plan, asks county to back state designation and tax tools

County planner Laura Kurmeier opened the planning commission work session on Aug. 26 to discuss a proposed amendment to the Utah Olympic Park specially planned area development agreement; the applicant is the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation.

The foundation’s president and CEO, Colin Hilton, told commissioners the amendment is largely a “cleanup” and update of the 2013 master plan. The proposal would replace the previously required final site plan with a new master conceptual plan that reflects as-built locations and proposed relocations, reduce the number of parcels from 14 to seven, adjust maximum parcel heights and floor areas, and move hotels, a new ski lift and a new ski run from conditional-use review into a low-impact/design-review-committee process. Hilton said the foundation also plans to revise how affordable athlete and workforce housing units are calculated.

The foundation framed the changes as part of a larger effort to secure revenue streams to sustain the park’s operations. “We had a fortunate surplus from the ’02 games, and $76,000,000 was put into a legacy foundation fund,” Hilton said during his presentation. He described the Park’s role as both an elite training center and a community recreation facility, and said that maintaining the facilities without continual government subsidy is a primary objective. Hilton said the park drives roughly $131,000,000 in annual economic activity in Utah and that the foundation previously ran operating deficits, at times in the millions per year, which they hope the changes will help address.

Utah Development and Construction representatives laid out proposed building placements and a conceptual hotel design. Chris Conley and Thomas Wadsworth described a scheme that would “stack” two stories of hotel rooms on a portion of the site to keep most of the mass screened from Kimball Junction and from public viewpoints, rather than spreading a lower-profile structure farther forward on the slope. Conley said stacking reduces long corridors and can be more efficient for operations; Wadsworth said the developer had invested about $1 million in preliminary designs and engineering.

Jamie Kimball, general manager of Utah Olympic Park, emphasized public programming and youth development as core uses of the park and described the foundation’s experience operating public activities such as freestyle shows and uphill ski passes. Hilton and Kimball said the Utah Olympic Park Residences — a 72-unit, four‑story building the foundation completed — provides 42 year‑round units (leased for roughly $700–$1,100 per room, utilities included) and 30 short‑term units for visiting teams; they said the year‑round units have a wait list of more than 50 people.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about three topics that ran throughout the session: the proposed state-level designation created by recent legislation (referred to in the meeting as SB 333), traffic and transit connections to Kimball Junction, and how the foundation would ensure affordable housing credit for the units it has built.

On SB 333 and tax increment financing, Hilton and Conley described their understanding of the new state process and the financial tools it could unlock. They said the legislation permits a local jurisdiction to seek a “major sporting event venue” designation that would allow tax increment financing for venues proposed for the 2034 Games. Conley said the foundation’s ask is a 70/30 split so that 70% of the captured increment would be retained to pay for ongoing park operations through the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation rather than only financing new private development; the remaining 30% would go to participating taxing entities. “That $70/30 split with tax entities could result in a million or two back to the park for just our hotel,” Conley said. County staff explained the designation requires the county’s formal participation and approval before the request is forwarded to the state office that administers the program.

On transportation, commissioners pressed the foundation and staff about how additional visitors, employees and service trips would be handled. Hilton and other presenters said the foundation intends to promote continued use of High Valley Transit and to pursue a longer-term Kimball Junction connector (gondola options were discussed as an idea mentioned in earlier planning work). The foundation said its operating strategy includes encouraging public transit, on-site lodging for visiting teams and parents, and event scheduling to limit peak road impacts, but staff said traffic mitigation is an outstanding issue that will need additional study and coordination with Summit County transportation planners and regional partners.

Commissioners also asked about legal and deed restrictions on park land, and whether sale or lease limits exist. County staff said there are deed restrictions and covenants limiting leasing/sale of the property (one restriction cited limits sale/lease of up to 10% of the property). In response to questions about affordable‑housing commitments, Hilton said the foundation executed a housing agreement with the county when it opened its first affordable housing building in 2019 and that deed‑restricted units will be required in the amounts mandated by future approvals.

No formal action was taken at the work session. Commissioners and staff asked for follow‑up information on traffic, parking demand and the precise calculations that would translate proposed square‑footage and height changes into visual and circulation impacts. The foundation said its immediate next step would be to work with staff on a formal amendment application and to seek the county’s involvement on any SB 333 designation process.

Why it matters: the Utah Olympic Park is a high‑profile public asset with statewide visibility. Changes to its development agreement affect parcel sizes, allowed uses, building heights and how and whether private revenue sources will be used to support operations. County officials emphasized that any financial tools tied to state designation would require local approval before proceeds could be captured for park operations.

Where things go next: the foundation said it hopes to start hotel construction as early as next spring if approvals and financing are secured; other newer affordable housing projects were described as a three‑ to seven‑year timeframe and projects tied to broader Games planning could move on a longer timeline toward 2034.