Mountainlands Community Housing Trust hired Angelica Espinoza and Megan McKenna in 2022 to help people find housing in the Wasatch Back and to advocate for them.
“We just wrapped up our first year this fall, and I feel like it's been really successful,” Mckenna said. “We've definitely been busy. And I think there's a lot of work to do, so I hope the work can continue.”
Work continuing depends on funding. Mountainlands secured two years of funding to form the HRC, which expires in August 2024.
The first round of funding came from service contracts with Park City Municipal, Summit County and Wasatch County Housing Authority as well as from the Park City Chamber of Commerce, Park City Community Foundations and private donors.
Interim Executive Director Scott Loomis says most of those funding sources are expected to renew.
WEB ONLY: [“We are hopeful that the work we do at the HRC will continue to be funded by growing community partners that value the services we provide,” Mckenna said.]
The HRC says it has turned the funding it has now into results.
In her role as housing navigator, Espinoza, who is bilingual, says she’s been able to help seven Spanish-speaking families purchase homes in Summit County. Those homes were made more affordable through deed restrictions.
And the HRC is optimistic about the coming year, when a new 24-unit multifamily rental building will come online in the Silver Creek Village area.
Mineros, as the development is called, will target families earning less than 50% of Summit County’s median income. Applications may open by the end of January, and Espinoza says the HRC is here to help navigate that process.
“We're happy to serve anyone with questions about, you know, whether it be seasonal housing, you know, long term or ownership opportunities,” she said.
McKenna also says the HRC secured a sustainable tourism grant from the Park City Chamber of Commerce to commission a study on the economic impact affordable housing has on the Wasatch Back.
She says they’ll present the findings at the Wasatch Back Economic Summit in the spring.