City Buys Old Farm Site; SkiLink Could Unite Resorts in Larger Recreation Network

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

The city of Farmington has acquired a foreclosed development site, having received approval for funds from the city’s redevelopment agency as well as two other funding sources. The development, known to locals as Old Farm, was bought from OREO Corp. Mayor Scott Harbertson termed the acquisition “very important” and noted that the site is a gateway to the city and must be taken care of, according to the Standard-Examiner.

The city moved to purchase the site after repeated attempts to get a concrete deal in place with potential developers; according to LoopNet, the land is currently entitled for office, retail and residential structures. There are now a series of possibilities on the table, including affordable housing, open space/active park space or additional storm drain facilities. Funding used for the $1.9 million deal includes $1 million in RDA proceeds, $100,000 from the agency’s fund balance, $600,000 from park impact fees as well as additional funds from the city’s storm drain fund.

Also making headlines is a proposal for rethinking the area’s alpine tourism by uniting the Canyons ski resort with Solitude via gondola. However, the project would necessitate the use of 30 acres of forest that is owned by the U.S. Forest Service.

The project, tentatively called SkiLink, would aid in bringing together 6,000 acres of terrain in order to concentrate the snow sport industry. This would create a recreation network unparalleled by anything the United States currently has to offer when it comes to mountain sports, Deseret News reported. Having a unified gondola system would ensure a better coordination between the area’s mountain resorts, and a comprehensive ticketing system should help with moving as many as 1,000 people each way every hour, eliminating the 45-minute drive tourists are currently subjected to between the two canyons.