New development will bring parking to Provo, put Utah County lawsuit to rest
From left, Provo mayor Michelle Kaufusi and Utah County Commissioner speak before the press conference on the deck of the Utah Valley Convention Center on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
Cameron Gunter, the CEO of PEG Development, speaks during the press conference on the deck of the Utah Valley Convention Center on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
Utah County Commissioner Nathan Ivie speaks during the press conference on the deck of the Utah Valley Convention Center on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
The layout of the planned development in the area between Freedom Blvd and 100 W. sit on a stand on the deck of the Utah Valley Convention Center during the press conference on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
The site of the temporary public parking sits just south of Smith's on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
Cameron Gunter, CEO of PEG Development, explains the design of the planned developments on the deck of the Utah Valley Convention Center on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
Ben Davis, senior project manager for PEG Development, walks away from the posters after setting them up before the press conference on the deck of the Utah Valley Convention Center on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
Provo mayor Michelle Kaufusi speaks during the press conference on the deck of the Utah Valley Convention Center on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo. Kaufusi and other speakers addressed the resolution for the parking lawsuit between the city and the county.
Utah County Commissioner Bill Lee speaks during the press conference that discussed a resolution for parking in Provo and new developments planned for the city on the deck of the Utah Valley Convention Center on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
A construction worker walks past the public parking lot located north of 200 N. and south of Smith's grocery store on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
A woman walks through the public parking lot located north of 200 N. and south of Smith's grocery store on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
A man walks through the public parking lot located north of 200 N. and south of Smith's grocery store on Monday, March 19, 2018, in Provo.
A PEG Development rendering shows Freedom Commons, the planned new development in downtown Provo.
Utah County and Provo announced a new downtown development Monday that will also put to rest a multi-million dollar lawsuit between the two entities.
Utah County originally sued Provo in May for allegedly not holding up its end of an agreement to make sure the Utah Valley Convention Center had adequate parking.
The original complaint Utah County filed in court states the lack of parking caused damage to the reputation of the convention center, resulting in monetary losses, and Utah County sought dedicated parking spaces for the Utah Valley Convention Center.
That lawsuit sought for Provo to pay the county the cost of acquiring those parking spaces, at a cost of approximately $4 million.
Nearly one year and one change of leadership later, the parking issue will be resolved, and the lawsuit dropped, with a new multi-use development in downtown Provo including two parking structures, housing and business spaces headed up by PEG Development.
“When I became mayor, people would always ask me, ‘What has been you biggest surprise about being mayor?'” said Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi, who began serving as mayor in December. “And I always say the legal. Provo is tied up in so many lawsuits. Well, today, we put one of those legal messes to bed. In fact, it’s better than that. We have some good news — sort of beauty from ashes.”
In addition to the lawsuit being resolved, eminent domain filed by the county to obtain Provo’s portion of the old RC Willey block will also be dropped, Kaufusi said.
“Starting today, we are going to be spending less time and money on legal battles, and focus instead on this great opportunity to see something beneficial come to life in Provo,” Kaufusi said.
Ivie echoed Kaufusi’s optimism about the agreement, applauding the entities involved for being able to take a step back from the fight and come to a resolution that works for everyone.
“Behind us, you will see an amazing parking structure that will serve the interests of the convention center so that we can host bigger and better conventions so that we can continue to have this convention center be an economic engine for not only Provo, but for Utah County,” Ivie said, while speaking from the third floor of the Utah Valley Convention Center.
Utah County Commissioner Bill Lee said it was a day to celebrate.
“As we come together, we can accomplish and tackle hard things,” Lee said. “Even with differences of opinion.”
PEG Development already has several projects going on in downtown Provo, including apartments across from the Provo City Center Temple, and the Hyatt Place hotel being built on the corner of 100 North and Freedom Boulevard.
Phase one of the three-phase new development would include 120,000 square feet of office space on Freedom Boulevard behind the Hyatt Place and a 670-space parking structure off of 100 West.
Phase two would include more office space and the second parking structure similar in size to the first. Apartments would be built in the third phase.
Three hundred and fifty parking spaces will be dedicated as convention center parking.
“We really want this to be a gathering place for the community,” Gunter said. “We want to create pedestrian friendly courtyards … so we will spend a significant amount of time working with the city and all the other stakeholders that are involved in the downtown to try to make this a community place that people want to come to to help improve the downtown Provo and help increase the tax base to improve some of the other needs in downtown Provo.”
Provo City Councilman Gary Winterton said the city council will still have to sign off on the plans for the development.
The council should review the plans and likely vote on them at its March 27 meeting, Winterton said.
Ivie said the first parking structure is hoped to be completed in 18 months, and the first phase should take about two years.
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