A hotel at the McPolin Barn?
Houses in Round Valley?
Those could be part of a real estate portfolio amassed by people playing the Park City edition of Monopoly.
In an ironic twist to the Park City edition of the game, two tracts of beloved City Hall-owned open space are on the board. The strategy of Monopoly is to acquire properties and then develop them with houses and hotels.
The board includes the McPolin Barn and Round Valley. The municipal government acquired the McPolin Barn years ago in an early but important purchase for conservation purposes. The barn is the anchor of an expansive piece of open space. City Hall has amassed significant open space in Round Valley, stretching between the edge of Park Meadows and Quinn’s Junction, through acquisitions over time.
The conservation acquisitions of the McPolin Farm and in Round Valley were designed to block development in the locations, making the inclusion of the two on the Monopoly board ironic.
The Round Valley spot on the board is priced at 280 in Monopoly money. Once someone acquires the spot, houses each cost 150 in Monopoly money while a hotel costs another 150 once there are four houses at the location.
The McPolin Barn board spot costs 60 in Monopoly money. Houses are set at 50 apiece in Monopoly money with a hotel priced at 50 in Monopoly money with four houses there.
City Hall said it was not involved in the creation of the Park City edition of Monopoly, including the spots on the board with locations under municipal ownership. Miners Hospital, also owned by City Hall, is on the board as well and priced at 60 in Monopoly money. It is one of the most prominent historic buildings in Park City.
The McPolin Farm and iconic white barn provide a picturesque entry to Park City. It remains one of the especially notable conservation purchases decades after City Hall acquired the acreage. Cross-country skiers, hikers and bicyclists often are seen on the land, and it has long provided a backdrop for artists and photographers.
Round Valley is a popular recreation area throughout the year, with hikers and bicyclists enjoying the land in the summer and fall and cross-country skiers and snowshoers venturing onto the acreage in the winter.
The City Hall open space program has won widespread support from Parkites since it was launched decades ago. Voters inside Park City have repeatedly authorized ballot measures raising property taxes to fund acquisitions of open space. The level of support is a rarity in a community that is oftentimes fractured. The McPolin Farm and Round Valley are two of the prized tracts of land, alongside places like Bonanza Flat and Treasure.
Top Trumps USA, the firm that holds a license to create different versions of the Monopoly board, released the Park City edition on Thursday during an event at the St. Regis Deer Valley. The board includes a list of well-known Park City-area businesses and not-for-profit organizations.