In 2023, Park City officials approved Mountainlands Community Housing Trust’s plans to demolish and rebuild the decades-old affordable housing complex located along Kearns Boulevard and Holiday Ranch Loop Road.
Known as “HOPA,” the project includes the Holiday Village and Parkside apartments near Park City High School.
Jason Glidden, Mountainlands’ executive director, expressed disappointment that the nonprofit wasn’t awarded low-income housing tax credits in its most recent application.
“At the same time, we see it as an opportunity,” Glidden said. “One of the ultimate driving forces that really didn’t allow for the application to get funded is cost, and that’s something we’re always going to face here in Park City. We have higher costs than a lot of different areas in Utah. So for us, it’s an opportunity to go back and say, ‘okay, how can we address that?’ Is that through design and looking at the design of the project to help reduce cost. We’re also looking at different options as far as funding.”
Low-income housing tax credits are distributed to states by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development based on population. The Utah Housing Corporation then uses a scoring rubric to allocate the funding to specific projects. The most recent application cycle was Mountainlands' third attempt to get tax credits.
Glidden said they may explore reducing parking for the project.
“It’s designed currently with underground parking that is extremely expensive,” he said. “So can we look at other options that don’t have as much underground parking to help reduce those costs?”
The project was initially approved with a 20% parking reduction, and further cuts would require permission from Park City planners.
The project approved by the Park City Planning Commission involves 317 affordable apartments across seven buildings. The approval expires in May 2026, so Glidden said they are submitting an application to extend that timeline.
Mountainlands plans to rent to people making around 50% of Summit County’s area median income, or AMI.
Fifty percent of Summit County’s AMI equates to around a $59,000 salary for one person.
Construction on HOPA would be completed in phases so existing residents could continue living there.
