# Trading height for open space

*Park City Planning Commission assesses development proposal for 1500 Kearns Boulevard*

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2025-12-19

park-city, planning, development, approvals, entitlements, old-town, utah, real-estate, kensington

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Yesterday, [we spoke about](https://brandondonnelly.com/a-10-storey-single-stair-apartment-building-on-640-square-feet) a slender single-stair apartment building on a small 60-square-meter site in Tokyo. Today, let's talk about a different kind of proposal. Earlier this month, the Park City Planning Commission [heard a redevelopment proposal](https://parkcityut.portal.civicclerk.com/event/2353/media) from the Kensington Investment Company for a site near Old Town at [1500 Kearns Boulevard](https://www.google.com/maps/place/1500+Kearns+Blvd,+Park+City,+UT+84060/@40.6641785,-111.5006073,180m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x87526d679291b6d9:0xbdf73ee9c1e47c0d!8m2!3d40.6641785!4d-111.4999636!16s%2Fg%2F11b8v75pgm?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTIwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D). The site is 2.71 acres, and the existing building houses 48,000 sf of office and retail space.

The proposal is for a new mixed-use development including:

*   117 residential apartments (97 market-rate and 20 affordable)
    
*   Over 9,400 sf of commercial/retail space
    
*   Over 20,000 sf of amenity space (including a rooftop terrace and patios)
    
*   210 underground parking spaces
    

Some of the key development approvals being asked for include:

*   Master Planned Development approval & Conditional Use Permit
    
*   A reduction of the north setback from 25 feet to 10 feet
    
*   A building height exception to 49.5 feet (from the 35 feet currently allowed)
    

A formal vote has yet to take place, though apparently, the project is somewhat controversial. The developer is asking to increase the maximum height from three storeys to four. Ordinarily, the Planning Commission would want to see an increased setback accompany this ask, as opposed to a reduction.

But here we have a classic development trade-off. The developer could, in theory, build more density under the existing permissions, but the ground plane and the overall development wouldn't be as pleasant. So, the request is to build incrementally higher, but then open up the site more.

Here's a comparison between the developer's proposal and what is permissible by-right:

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/243c79bbb68b43599f3b063085b39d8e2337a784836e9cf507307234bf72a281.png)

It'll be very interesting to see how Park City votes on this one.

_Images via_ [_Building Salt Lake_](https://buildingsaltlake.com/kensington-investment-co-pitches-mixed-use-project-in-park-city/)

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/trading-height-for-open-space)*