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Park City housing draws tremendous interest, outstripping availability by nearly thirtyfold

The first phase of Woodside Park, a City Hall workforce or otherwise affordable project, is nearly completed in Old Town. The municipal government received lots of interest in the units as officials prepare to select buyers. More than 200 people submitted paperwork for a unit or a separate unit in Silver Star.
Jay Hamburger/Park Record

City Hall received paperwork from 225 people interested in acquiring a unit in a municipal workforce or otherwise affordable housing project in Old Town or a separate unit in Silver Star, a total that outstrips availability by nearly thirtyfold.

The first phase of Woodside Park is nearly completed on the 1300 blocks of Park Avenue and Woodside Avenue. It is an ambitious City Hall project that is seen as important to officials’ aggressive housing goals, which are designed to add 800 units of workforce or otherwise affordable housing by 2026 through municipal projects, public-private partnerships and private-sector housing obligations.

The 225 people submitted pre-applications for a unit in the first phase of Woodside Park or the Silver Star unit. The Woodside Park project entails eight units. City Hall intends to retain one of the units, leaving seven available in the selection process. There are nearly 30 people interested for each unit available.



“It tells me there’s definitely interest in ownership. Two hundred twenty-five people for eight units,” Scott Loomis, the executive director of Mountainlands Community Housing Trust, said.

“It tells me there’s definitely interest in ownership. Two hundred twenty-five people for eight units,” Scott Loomis, executive director of Mountainlands Community Housing Trust

There are three houses and four townhouses available in the selection process. The three houses are priced at between $205,000 for a 671-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom and $565,000 for a 1,612-square-foot three-bedroom, 2 1/2–bathroom. The townhouses are priced at $359,000 for two-bedroom, three-bathroom units that are approximately 1,400 square feet.



The prices are well below the market in surrounding Old Town, where houses and multifamily units regularly soar into the millions of dollars. It had been expected there would be widespread interest in the first phase of Woodside Park since it offers a rare ownership opportunity in Old Town for the rank-and-file workforce. It was not clear, though, until the recent deadline how many people would submit the paperwork.

The people who submitted the pre-applications must still be verified as eligible to acquire a unit. Sales are restricted to people who qualify through their incomes. City Hall said it hoped a third-party firm tapped by the municipal government to assist verified the pre-applications by the end of the most recent workweek.

There are two classifications of units available, depending on the income of the buyers. Units that are designated as attainable will be sold to people who qualify at a higher income than those that are classified as affordable. There are also net-worth restrictions for the potential buyers. A weighted selection process will be used for the Woodside Park units, meaning that some of the people vying to acquire a place will have better odds of being picked as a buyer. Full-time emergency responders have additional chances as well as people considered to be community builders. Additional weight will also be given to people working within the Park City limits or who have been employed in the area for longer than five years.

People who submitted the pre-applications and are not selected to acquire one of the units currently available will be put on a waiting list for future City Hall housing, including the second phase of Woodside Park. The second phase is expected to be considerably larger than the first phase, but a timeline for the development of the second phase has not been finalized.

Loomis said he is excited with the 225 submittals, explaining that the number shows the Woodside Park availability received significant publicity. He also noted there are several housing projects that are planned in coming years that will put additional workforce or otherwise affordable units into the pool.

He mentioned a Mountainlands Community Housing Trust project in Silver Creek, totaling 64 units, and the second phase of Woodside Park by City Hall. Loomis said he anticipates there will be units available to those who want to buy one in Park City and surrounding Summit County in the next two years.

Jason Glidden, the housing development manager at City Hall, also said he is pleased with the 225 pre-applications.

“There’s a shortage of options for housing in the Park City area. We know that,” he said.

Mountainlands Community Housing Trust did not release details about the people who submitted pre-applications. The organization and City Hall hosted a set of gatherings as the deadline approached designed to explain the housing programs and opportunities. The events drew dozens of people interested in the housing, but it was not clear how many of them would submit applications. Someone needed to attend one of the sessions, though, to be eligible to acquire a City Hall-developed unit.

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