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City Hall plaza, a new gathering spot, expected to debut shortly

Jay Hamburger THE PARK RECORD

The City Hall plaza, an important element of the municipal government’s package of improvements in the Main Street core this year, is expected to debut just before Independence Day.

The plaza is under construction on Swede Alley at the base of the steps to the Marsac Building. The work has stretched since the spring. Officials had said early on they wanted the plaza to be completed by midsummer.

Craig Sanchez, a City Hall staffer heavily involved in the work along Main Street, said the plaza is scheduled to open by July 3, the Friday of what will be a three-day holiday weekend for many people.

A plaza on Swede Alley has been discussed in some fashion for years as a place that could serve as a gathering spot and as a venue for special events. The designs for the plaza that were eventually approved were scaled back from some of the more ambitious ones.

The project includes extending the sidewalk on the east side of Swede Alley between the state liquor store and 5th Street. It also involves landscaping, decorative pavers, benches and decorative concrete towers that will reach to a height of approximately 12 feet.

The plaza itself is designed to hold upward of 300 people for special events. It is also seen as better linking the Marsac Building steps and Swede Alley.

Sanchez said parking spots that have been unavailable as a result of the plaza construction are also expected to return to circulation on July 3. Some of the spots have been within the fenced construction zone while others that will be made available were built as part of the overall project.

Sanchez this week provided a report to Mayor Jack Thomas and the Park City Council outlining the progress on numerous projects across the city, including the plaza.

The report included an update about the work along Main Street, where streetscape improvements are underway alongside a series of private-sector projects. Some of the details include work on the west side of Main Street at 4th Street and 5th Street, which is anticipated from July 6 until July 30 and other work on the west side of the street until July 3.

In an interview, Sanchez said work on the City Hall projects along Main Street will be halted for Independence Day. The work will stop at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 3 and not restart until July 6, the Monday after the holiday weekend.

The report, meanwhile, says the crews will also halt work between July 31 and Aug. 9, a busy stretch in Park City encompassing the Park City Kimball Arts Festival and then the Tour of Utah bicycle race.

Sanchez in the report also provides an update on the progress of several private-sector projects. It says completion of The Parkite on Main Street is expected in August. The remaining work includes painting and installing landscaping on the Park Avenue side of the project, the report says. It also addresses crane shifts planned this week along Main Street, including the need for road closures on the upper reaches of Main Street this week.

Park City


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