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Peace House successfully raises $11.64 million for new campus

The quest to build a new multi-million-dollar campus for Peace House reached a milestone last week when the organization announced it had secured all of the money to fund the construction.

The nonprofit organization kicked off a two-year capital campaign in 2016 to raise $11.64 million for a new facility that will feature Peace House’s first transitional housing units. Peace House has been dedicated to providing shelter and educational programs to victims of domestic abuse and their families in Summit and Wasatch counties while they recover from abusive relationships since the early 1990s.

Construction on the new campus, situated between the Summit County Health Department and Park City Hospital on Round Valley Drive at Quinn’s Junction, commenced in September. It is expected to be complete in the spring of 2019. The current shelter provides minimal housing at an undisclosed location in Park City. It has served the community for more than 20 years.



Kendra Wyckoff, executive director of Peace House, attributed the success of the capital campaign to the support of both public and private donors. She added, “It truly is almost a 50/50 split of where the funding has come in to support the project.”

“I think that really speaks to what the community values in terms of what the facility can do to support survivors and families in our community here,” she said.



Peace House’s leadership decided to create a publicly accessible and more visible space in the community about six years ago. The organization forged a partnership with the developers of the Tanger Outlets to leverage the affordable housing requirement of the commercial development with Summit County to provide the initial $960,000 to start the process of building a new facility.

Peace House secured the property in Quinn’s Junction from Park City Municipal in 2015 under a deal for a 50-year lease that required just $1 a year. The organization hosted a groundstaking ceremony in June 2017.

The two-story, 42,000-square-foot facility will include an indoor recreation and child care center, office space, a courtyard, community and counseling rooms and secure, enclosed parking. It will have 22 housing units, with eight units used as emergency shelters, 12 units for traditional housing and two affordable units for employees.

Liza Springmeyer, capital campaign manager for Peace House, said the campaign gained significant momentum last fall when the Park City Community Foundation awarded the organization a $30,000 grant.

“That created this sense of approval from the women of our community as if they were saying, ‘This is important and we care about this,’” she said. “It created this ripple effect.”

A federal grant of $750,000, along with a one-time $900,000 appropriation from the Utah Legislature, put the capital campaign goal within reach, Springmeyer said. Park City Municipal purchased the current shelter at market value, providing an additional $816,000.

“We recently received a couple of new grants that put us over the top,” she said. “It has been amazing to see it come together and, without a better word for it, I’d say it’s been magic. All of these opportunities come about and you pursue them and hope they will come to fruition and that is what makes it amazing.”

The new facility will allow Peace House to expand its services and support to reach more victims, Wyckoff said. Last year, the organization had more than 250 unmet requests for services.

“With this, we will be able to serve so many more people who are impacted by these issues and is in need of safe shelter,” she said. “We just want the community to know how grateful we are of the incredible support because without it this project wouldn’t be a possibility. It will make a significant difference in the lives of survivors.”

Anyone who is interested in donating their time or money to the Peace House, visit http://www.peacehouse.org or contact Sally Tauber, director of development and marketing, at 435-901-1105.

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