What's the latest on Heber Valley? (Provo, Park City: for sale, houses, living in)

[ComingToHeber]

I'm coming out in a week to check out some homes for sale in Heber Valley. My husband and I both work from home, so we're not concerned about being near anything in particular for commuting purposes. However, Heber seems to be a good place because it's close to a lot of things...SLC, Park City, Provo, etc. We wanted a multi-acre property and found a few potential ones we're going to look at.

We already live at high elevation -- over 7,100, so we're used to high altitude, even though Heber's only at 5,600 or so. Actually, getting away from that heavy snow load will be a relief!

What's the town like these days? Heber by all things I've seen and read looks like the ideal place. Has plenty of local stores, a hospital, XC skiing isn't far, nor are the other ski areas, we like to ride our ATVs, walk (more like run) our two high energy dogs, etc.

So, is there anything else I should know about? Like some huge development project coming to town, or some other potentially annoying thing that could happen to such a nice area?

[bsgjunkie]

Heber is great. There are two things of controversy in Heber currently. (1) Wal Mart is trying to put a store in, but the community is having a fit. Downtown Heber is made up of small business, infact most of Heber's economy thrives off the small business. Many are worried it will clog up the roads, and kill off many of the locally owned and run businesses. Also, the Wal Mart is to be developed on land that currently houses a trailer park, which adds to the drama as many could lose their homes. (2) Heber is slowing becoming a tourist spot. It is already receiving extra traffic from locals and visitors to Park City, but now Heber is starting to make a name for its self. There are talks for a few upscale resorts and housing communities. One being Victory Ranch ( http://www.victoryranchclub.com/index.html ). While most of these communities and resorts will be miles from downtown Heber, they will still bring extra traffic into the area and eat up much of the land that many considered preserved today.

Personally I like the direction Heber is moving - but I'm not a resident. I could see myself living in the Heber of tomorrow. A community based on small town values and out door activities - yet mingled with accessible amenities of a big town.

[ComingToHeber]

Thank you so much for the info. My realtor didn't tell me about Victory Ranch. From the website, I can't really tell where this is going to be. I'm figuring the plan is to the North/West area from Heber -- closer to the Provo River. Can't even tell if/when they are supposed to build. Anyway, I can certainly understand the Wal Mart situation. In my opinion, I have no problem with their stores, however, I really don't think it "fits in" to the area. Seems like a Wal Mart would be kind of out of place...anyway, when I'm in Heber next week, I'm going to ask my realtor about Victory Ranch, as he never brought this up before.

[bsgjunkie]

He may not of brought it up, because technically most of it sits in the other county. Its going to be just south of the lake. While it may not directly effect Heber, its just an idea of what many feel is the future of Heber.

[ComingToHeber]

I just looked at where this Victory Ranch is going to be -- it's in Kamas area, which is about 15 miles or so north east of Heber. Anyway, I like the rural community of Heber, so I think this will work for us. We won't be in Heber City, but rather on the outer valley areas. Nice and quiet.