Land Aquisition

Purchase of Strategic Downtown Properties

491 Sun Valley Road

In 2007, the KURA purchased two key properties, both adjacent to other land owned by the City of Ketchum.   491 Sun Valley Road, the old Mountain West Bank Building, created a key half-block of municipal ownership in downtown Ketchum.  Two of the four lots were owned by the City of Ketchum and the KURA purchased one additional vacant lot, and the lot that has become the home of the Ketchum/Sun Valley Visitors Center and Starbucks coffee shop.

The building received international architectural kudos in October 2012 when Ketchum architect Susan Desko, who led the process to transform the old vacant bank building into a community gathering place, was awarded the highly prestigious 2012 American Architecture Award for her work on the project.  The Awards are international in scope, and honor new and cutting-edge design.

Public and private funds were raised to create the Town Square in 2009 and 2010.  The July 2010 grand opening marked the beginning of extensive public use of the space such as concerts, special events, food, and dance.

1st Street & Washington Avenue Parking Lot

The parcels at First Street and Washington Avenue, now being used as a municipal parking lot, are owned by the KURA.  While the site is being used for public parking, the future use of the site is undetermined. The KURA will embark on a community process to evaluate options and decide on the future disposition of the site.