Hideout is looking for creative ways to develop about 150 acres of the total 350 acres known as Richardson Flat, which sits on the border of Summit County. Consultants to the town say a community reinvestment agency will do the job well.
Plans for creating a community reinvestment agency in Hideout are already underway. Rob Sant, economic development consultant for the town, said there are still a few steps that need to be completed before they receive a certificate of creation from the Lieutenant Governor.
In Utah, a community reinvestment agency (CRA) is an entity that focuses on revitalization in targeted project areas. They’re tools for governments to promote commercial and economic development. Community reinvestment agencies primarily use Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to fund projects in partnership with neighboring entities that would otherwise be too costly.
Hideout, which has no development aside from residential, has been working to organize a community reinvestment agency for months. In March, the Town Council discussed using a CRA to finance the development of the Ross Creek area adjacent to Jordanelle State Park.
“Once we have the agency, what you do as a town council is you will have the authority and the ability to create what are known as community reinvestment areas,” Sant told the Hideout Town Council.
A community reinvestment area is nothing new in Wasatch County. Heber City brokered a deal with Wasatch County in March 2024 to enter into a community reinvestment area agreement. That’s when the city urged the county to put 75% of its tax revenue increase toward the city’s community reinvestment area project.
Heber City’s community reinvestment agency is part of the Envision Central Heber plan to improve designated areas in the city. Both Wasatch County and the Wasatch County School District consult with the Heber City Council on related matters.
The municipal financing tool is a way for Heber City to dedicate funds to projects like C Street — the coined term for the pedestrian-only walkway to be built between 100 West and Main Street.
In Hideout, the town will focus its community reinvestment area on the 350-acre parcel known as Richardson Flat. At a town planning event on Sept. 25, residents said they want to see commercial development in the Richardson Flat area, along with open space and safer roadways.
A community reinvestment agency is a long-term tool, Sant said. To give the Town Council a better understanding of what can be gained, Sant created a high-level budget based on “general assumptions.”
Sant first assumed that only 120 of the 350 acres would be developed, saving the remainder for open space. Then, he assumed that there could be about $3 million of building values per acre.
“So what that would mean for the town is, after some of the residential and other exemptions, you’d have about a little north of $300 million of new taxable value,” Sand said.
That, he said, would produce specifically about $250,000 of property tax and entity revenue.
But in order to have an effective community reinvestment agency or area, Hideout will need to negotiate with neighboring entities. That includes Summit County and the Park City School District.
Spencer Foster of the Mountainlands Association of Governments said those entities have a clear incentive to participate.
“If they participate, then there’s going to be infrastructure built, there’s going to be commercial built, higher density built,” Foster said.
Hideout Town Councilor Chris Baier said it’s a mutually beneficial development that Hideout has been discussing for months, if not years.
“We’re talking about the realities of regional planning,” Baier said. “These are things we’ve talked about for a long time. Wanting to be, you know, a good partner with our neighbors.”
Foster said that, at the beginning, the value of the land is generally not worth so much. But down the road, after the community reinvestment agency is created and the development is finalized, that portion of land goes up in value.
The trick, Sant said, is to ensure that neighboring entities are on board.
“It’s always a good idea, as you’ll be negotiating with the school district and with the county, to make sure that you’re viewed as a team player,” Sant said. “Something you do want to make sure that they’re involved in is that process, and it’s something that would be beneficial for the region.”