With the talk of the Sundance Film Festival possibly relocating their festival (“Could Sundance be leaving Park City?,” July 12) and the astronomical costs in your article from July 19, “Park City arts district: From ‘miraculous moment’ to dumbfounding price — to whether it’s even feasible,” perhaps it is time for the city to consider alternatives.
The city should look to districts like Campus 805 (www.campus805.com) in Huntsville, Alabama. From 1951 until 2009 the site of Campus 805 helped to educate thousands of students in Huntsville and the surrounding Madison County. When Butler High School relocated to a new site in 1967, the site sat empty for close to 40 years, until in 2009 a local developer purchased the land and began work to create a unique development that would preserve the legacy of the building and offer a dynamic entertainment venue for the community.
Today, Campus 805 features over 20 local businesses such as Yellowhammer Brewing, X-Golf, a special event/concert venue, Rock n’ Roll Sushi, Straight to Ale Brewery, Offbeat Coffee Studio, Axe Throwing, Earth and Stone, Ale’s Kitchen, and many more.
Park City could recreate Campus 805 on the corner of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza and feature small locally-owned retail and restaurant “pop-up” concepts that could prove their concept and then “graduate” to find a traditional brick-and-mortar location around town.
By pairing this concept with a transit hub it would make this area the focal point of Park City and draw more people to use public transit and support more local businesses.
I would strongly encourage the City Council to take a few days and travel to Huntsville to see Campus 805 in person, asI feel once they do they would instantly see the value of such a concept in Park City.
Sam Rubin
Park City