Scott Loomis was hired as Executive Director of Mountainlands Community Housing Trust in 2001. 20 years later, he’s retired. His staff hosted a small retirement party in his honor Friday at Silver Creek Village, where they unveiled the sign for one of the development’s completed parks: Loomis Park.
The first residents of the 1,300 unit Silver Creek Village located just southeast of the U.S. 40 and Interstate 80 interchange are moved in. More than 300 of the units being built there are considered affordable. Mountainlands Community Housing has already finished 32 condos of the Central Village project with another 32 under construction as well as an additional 40 apartments.
Mountainlands also purchased land from the master developer on which 18 single family homes will be built as part of the nonprofit’s Self Help program in which owners’ sweat equity acts as the down payment.
The Chairman of the Mountainlands Board of Directors Bob Richer credited Loomis with creating more than 600 affordable units in a challenging development environment. Loomis, he said is a doer – he builds affordable units.
“No individual has done more than Scott Loomis to help ease our community’s affordable housing shortage” Richer said. “He has been a true champion of Mountainlands’ mission and his work has impacted the lives of thousands of people.”
Loomis is being succeeded as Ex. Director by Pat Matheson who Loomis hired right out of college. At the time Mountainlands, Matheson said, was a small and scrappy organization, but significant.
“We do good things in the community,” Matheson said. “To work under Scott and to be mentored and trained by him was one of the greatest privileges of my lifetime and I really mean that.”
He added that Mountainlands, and specifically Loomis, have helped change lives.
“I don’t know if Scott would tell you this, but as he’s run around town over the years – 20 years as our executive director - people come up to him, ‘Scott Loomis you’ve change my life – you put me in a house and your organization changed the trajectory of my life forever’ and I know that’s happened many, many times,” Matheson said.
The new park, now designated as Loomis Park, will serve as a lasting tribute honoring Loomis’ untiring efforts. Loomis said he was honored – and surprised - by the gesture.
“It was not anything I expected - I knew they were going to have a retirement party and that was about it, and I was glad to see the people here, but having a park is something beyond my expectations,” Loomis said.
Loomis and his wife Carol will split their time between Park City and Tucson. He will remain as a senior consultant to the organization until the end of 2022.
