A rumor, apparently started by a social media post claiming the EngineHouse development is three-fourths vacant, has sparked a debate about affordable housing projects in the Park City area. The discussion began with a question on a Nextdoor site — “Would you support Park City using public l and for workforce housing developments, even if it means less open space preservation?” The post went on to say Park City faces severe housing affordability challenges, with young professionals struggling to live near their workplaces. One of the people responding was Main Street businessman John Kenworthy, a former Park City Council candidate, who said there is an excess of affordable housing rentals and the municipal government needs to share information about current vacancies. In a March post, he cited EngineHouse, a housing project, as an example. “Engine House is 75 percent vacant!” Kenworthy wrote. “We were told that (City Hall) had 500 applications. Why are these units vacant?” EngineHouse is a public-private development that sits on a 2-acre parcel at 1875 Homestake Road. It is owned by Park City. J. Fisher Companies, which built the housing project and has a 99-year lease at a rate of $1 a year.  The EngineHouse Apartments is an ambitious housing project just off Kearns Boulevard involving a partnership between the Park City municipal government and the private sector. Leases had been signed for 67 of the 99 income-restricted units by Monday. Eleven of the 24 market-rate units had been leased by then. Credit: Park Record file photo by Jonathan Herrera The post led to online comments and calls from the public to developers and city and county officials to deal with the supposed EngineHouse vacancies.  Rory Murphy, who is part of the development partnership, disputed Kenworthy’s claim and said the statement is based on “zero facts.” “It’s the opposite of what we’re experiencing,” he said. “It’s simply not true. The general reaction to the post was incredulousness.”  Marketing of the 123-unit project started at the end of 2025. There were 600 people on a waiting list when EngineHouse opened, Murphy said. Leasing was ahead of schedule, and by the end of March, soon after Kenworthy posted, 67 of 99 income-restricted units and 11 of 24 market-rate units had been leased, according to Murphy. There are now 70 signed leases for affordable units and seven applications in the qualification process.  “We get everyone from teachers, healthcare workers, restaurant workers, public servants,” Murphy said. “You name it, we’re getting them into that building. And that has been my experience in the past.” When asked about his claim of an oversupply of affordable units, Kenworthy responded in a text, “Aspen has 2300 plus affordable units making up 70 percent of year-round occupancy. Park City has completed its goal of 800 units then quickly increased its subsidized goal to over 1900 affordable units.” He also questioned how many firefighters, police, schoolteachers and City Hall employees are living in the first 800 affordable units. “These were our priorities,” Kenworthy wrote. “Did it work?” Kenworthy also raised questions about what type of zoning and housing will bring support to “a middle class that has disappeared from inside our city” and then listed, among others, patio homes and homes with small yards and at least one-car garages. Park City’s affordable housing program is based on income, not profession. Benefits for the community Mountainlands Community Housing Trust Executive Director Jason Glidden said the nonprofit generally has a 1% to 2% vacancy rate at its properties in Summit and Wasatch counties. A lot of that rate is based on the additional compliance checks for low-income tax credits that make it a little longer for applicants to qualify for the housing, he said. There are times when no one vacates a unit and months when three or four tenants leave, Glidden said. In addition, Mountainlands matches people on the waitlist to the correct unit size depending on the number of residents who will be living there, which can take longer.  Affordable housing offers many benefits to the community, including recruiting and retaining employees, helping provide services needed in a resort community and bringing in sales tax, Glidden said. Traffic is reduced when residents walk, bike or use public transportation instead of driving, he added. “We see a rise in volunteerism when folks live in a community that they work in,” Glidden said. “They become more active in the community.” Mountainlands has created 309 for-sale homes and 349 affordable rentals. Mountain Lands Community Housing Trust front door logo on Sidewinder Drive Park City. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record Among its projects are the 122-unit Holiday Village and Parkside Apartments (HOPA), an older project at 2200 Monitor Drive and 1776 Kearns Blvd. in Park City that is being expanded without displacing the residents; Parkview Place, which is in development at 950 S. Southfield Road in Heber City; Central Village Condos in Silver Creek; Richter Place Apartments in Kimball Junction; Elmbridge Apartments in Heber City; and Community Land Trust Homes in Park City and Francis. Tony Tyler, a Columbus Pacific Development partner, said Slopeside Village, an affordable employee housing project along S.R. 224 near Canyons Village, has seen tremendous demand. The project, which is set up for 1,174 residents, is just over 96% leased, he said. The majority of tenants are seasonal employees who come in for the winter. Then there is a small shoulder season with a new group coming in the summertime, Tyler said. Skyview Residences, which is not exclusively an employee housing project, is also under construction. The development, at 1753 Ozzy Way in Park City, is more of a traditional year-round residence and is intended for the middle piece of the market, he said. Tyler said it’s hard to provide affordable housing in Summit County because the total development cost is much higher than in other places. A higher percentage of employees who work in the area would live there if enough affordable housing were available, he said.  “There just aren’t very many places for them to live, so they’re forced to look for options outside of Summit County,” Tyler said. He also acknowledged the need for the next generation to have a chance to live in the Wasatch Back and stay long-term. “I think that social diversity piece is really important to a community like ours,” he added. Tyler said he and his wife, who have lived in Summit County since 2005, have been fortunate. “We were one of the lucky ones to get in before prices kind of skyrocketed to the point where we probably couldn’t afford to buy the house we’re in today,” he said. According to Gary Crandall, head of Crandall Capital Development, some people who are employed in the Park City area don’t mind commuting. The company is developing Studio Crossing, which will have 208 affordable homes. Crandall said workers love to get a 20% or 30% higher wage working in the Park City area while living in the Salt Lake Valley, where they can rent a home for half of the price they would pay locally. The affordable units are being rented or bought by people who already live in other affordable housing in Summit County rather than by commuters from Salt Lake City, he said. “It’s a 25-minute drive,” he added. “That’s nothing.” Supply, demand and waitlists Park City has made significant progress on workforce housing, but demand continues to quickly outpace supply, according to Sara Wineman, the city’s housing and development coordinator. The municipality’s goal is to house 15% of the local workforce in the 84060 by the end of 2032, she said. “This goal is not based on population, but on workforce, recognizing that in a high-cost, tourism-driven economy, housing availability is directly tied to economic stability, transportation impacts and quality of life,” Wineman said. With 828 deed-restricted units, Park City has reached 44% of its goal, with an additional 344 units under construction. The projected number of workforce housing units needed to achieve the goal by the target date is about 1,864. Affordable housing is defined as housing where a household spends no more than 30% of its income on housing costs, including utilities, and eligibility is based on Area Median Income. Area Median Income is relatively high in Park City because it reflects local wages, Wineman said. Affordable rental units in Park City typically have a 97% to 99% occupancy with long waitlists. Occupancy for market-rate units in the United States is 93% to 95%, she explained. In a typical market, it can take 12 to 15 months for a new rental development to fill up. “However, EngineHouse has significantly outperformed these benchmarks and is on track to lease up in roughly half that time,” Wineman said. “This accelerated pace underscores the depth of unmet demand in the community and highlights how quickly well-located, deed-restricted housing is absorbed by the local workforce.” Affordable and attainable homeownership programs are fully occupied, she said. The affordable program is for households earning up to 80% Area Median Income, and the attainable program is for middle-income households making between 81% and 150% of Area Median Income. More than 300 households are on the city’s waitlist for one of the approximately 10 to 12 resale opportunities each year to buy a home. Employee housing is a key recruitment tool for Park City and other major employers, especially when proximity to the community is important for essential jobs such as transit operators and emergency responders, Wineman said. Long commutes and a lack of community connection contribute to higher turnover, she said. The city is conducting a housing needs survey to understand the evolving needs of the local workforce and align its housing strategy, she said. Wineman posted a document on the Summit County website in March debunking affordable housing myths. She disputed the assertion that affordable housing is not needed by citing a documented housing gap and listed teachers, healthcare workers, law enforcement officers and hospitality and service employees as typical residents, rather than transients, as some fear. “In fact, long-term affordable housing typically experiences less turnover than short-term rentals, which are far more common sources of neighborhood instability,” Wineman said. Research consistently shows neutral or slightly positive effects on nearby property values. There is no evidence that affordable housing increases crime rates and “affordable” refers to cost, not construction quality or design, she explained. Wineman disputes that more affordable housing will cause too much traffic. Long-distance commuting is a bigger source, she said. “When workers cannot afford housing near job centers, they commute from neighboring areas such as Heber, Coalville or Salt Lake County,” Wineman said. Angelica Espinoza, housing navigator at the Mountainlands Housing Resource Center, said if affordable units are not leased, it’s because they’re not really affordable for the workforce. Eighty percent Area Median Income is just a few hundred dollars away from market rate, she said. Angelica Espinoza Housing Navigator at Housing Resource Center Park City Credit: David Jackson/Park Record “The problem is that we don’t have enough subsidized affordable housing,” Espinoza said. “So it’s not truly affordable. It’s more attainable than it is affordable.” Commuting and carpooling long distances are also not realistic options for many people, including parents who have to arrange childcare. Espinoza suggested starting at 25% Area Median Income to make housing truly affordable.  Espinoza has personal experience with affordable housing. When she moved to Park City from her parents’ home in California’s Central Valley more than 20 years ago, she rented a room in an apartment, the only living space she could afford. Then, she saved her money and moved into an $825-a-month studio apartment. After two years on a waitlist, Espinoza eventually moved to Holiday Village. She lived there for five years with her young son until she bought a market-rate condo at Prospector Square. She was working at the People’s Health Clinic as a clinic coordinator and became a realtor about a year before, when she was offered the job of housing navigator at the Mountainlands Housing Resource Center in 2022. Espinoza helps determine what housing works best for community and workforce members based on their income, current situation, household size and other factors.  Getting the position at the center was a godsend, she said. “It landed on my lap for a reason,” Espinoza said. “I feel really passionate about what I do here.” Providing crucial services Junior Vieyra also became a homeowner after living in affordable housing. Growing up in Park City, he bounced around to different affordable apartment projects, including Aspen Villas, Holiday Village and Parkside. Because of the lower rents, he was educated in the Park City School District.  “If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I’d be where I’m at today,” Vieyra said. “Now I work at the Park City Community Foundation, and it gives me a way to give back to my community through my work.” Junior Vieyra, raised in Park City, is a homeowner in the area thanks to affordable housing programs. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record After graduating from Utah State University in 2019 with a degree in global communication, Vieyra moved in with a friend’s family in Park City and lived in the basement while working at Park City High School in community outreach. He was on a waitlist for affordable housing and was picked for a unit, but the cost was a little bit beyond his budget.   He stayed on the list, and in November 2021, he bought a unit in Silver Creek Village, which reduced his commute to work. He is now the nonprofit’s youth access manager and focuses on creating access to sports and extracurricular activities for underrepresented youth in Summit County.  A lot of people living in affordable housing are in the service industry, and their work is crucial, Vieyra said.  “They’re the ones that are making the food,” he said. “They’re the ones giving these experiences to the people who come and visit us. That’s the backbone. I think the people that could benefit the most from affordable housing are truly the ones that are making this town thrive.” Junior Vieyra plays with his 5-year-old frenchie, Amado, in the living room of his home, also known as “Amado’s room.” Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record When Summit County Councilor Megan McKenna began teaching at Park City High School, most of her colleagues were commuting, which made it challenging for them to participate in after-school programs or run into students and their families at the grocery store. “There was a time when working people could afford to live in Summit County in our communities, and that’s just not the case anymore,” McKenna said.  The reason was the cost of housing in Summit County. McKenna didn’t have to make a long trip to and from work because she was living in her sister’s basement in Prospector, but she wanted a place of her own.  But after about five years on a waitlist for an affordable unit, McKenna started considering jobs in the Salt Lake Valley. Then she got an opportunity in 2020 to buy an affordable townhouse in the Park City Heights neighborhood.  “Now I could ride my bike or ride the bus to school,” McKenna said. “I didn’t have to commute and contribute to air pollution.” In 2022, after 11 years as a teacher, McKenna went to work for Mountainlands as a housing advocate. She left that job after taking office in January 2025. Affordable housing is still a top priority for McKenna. “We really need to start thinking more regionally and planning responsibly and putting housing near our places of work and trying to get more cars off the road,” she said.  The post Does Park City have a shortage of affordable housing units or too many? appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less