Mercy Housing and the YMCA of Northern Utah have proposed an affordable housing complex in Trailside designed specifically for Park City School District teachers and staff, as well as educational and childcare amenities for Summit County residents. Rich West, CEO of the YMCA branch and a longtim e resident of the Park City area, said his organization partnered with Mercy Housing on a project in the Salt Lake Valley. As the two companies worked together, he realized they could potentially address a portion of the housing affordability issue in Summit County through a specialized development focusing on educators. “The YMCA has always been about nurturing the potential of all kids, promoting healthy living and fostering a sense of social responsibility,” West said. “We’re not just the gym and fitness center that most people think of.” Mercy Housing is a national nonprofit dedicated to the creation of affordable housing. Its headquarters are in Denver, Colorado, and it has developed 25,000 affordable housing units across 342 properties since its inception in 1981. “We like to work closely with the community and identify housing needs,” said Kuhl Brown, Mercy Housing’s regional vice president of real estate development. “We raise those funds. We build very high quality sustainable housing, and we’ve got housing with services for the particular residents we are housing, so if it’s senior, we do senior living housing. If it’s family focused, we do financial literacy and educational attainment.” Brown said Mercy Housing typically offers rental units priced at least $300 to $500 below market rate. He pointed to an educator housing complex the nonprofit developed in Palo Alto, California, that provided units at a price between the 60% and 120% area median income marks. The tentative proposal to the school board on Tuesday suggested building 100 to 200 apartment units and townhomes on the district’s 55-acre Trailside property, with one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom options. Brown emphasized that the leases for rental units run for 12 months, meaning the complex could not be used for nightly rentals or short-term leases. Brown also said there is an opportunity for Mercy Housing to include options for homeownership through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, although there are no formal agreements between the two nonprofits at this point. Summit County residents, not just teachers, could apply to live in the complex, too, but a number of units would likely be reserved for Park City School District employees. Mercy Housing would also include an early childhood learning center on the first floor of the complex, which would provide childcare and educational services to families with young children. Mercy Housing would be responsible for maintenance, upkeep and renovations of the building. “What we’re asking for is the school district’s land, but we’re not asking for the school district to help pay for the capital or the operations of this,” West said. West and the YMCA would be involved in the development through the creation of a regional YMCA hub, which would be built on the same property. The facility would offer all-ages programming, as well as summer camps and indoor practice fields for various sports. However, West acknowledged that the Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District is working toward similar indoor sporting facilities on the Cline Dahle parcel in Jeremy Ranch and its Silver Creek Village property. He said it would be important for the YMCA to keep tabs on Basin Recreation’s plans to ensure the two organizations aren’t duplicating any services. “It’s owned and operated by the YMCA, but the whole point of the YMCA is partnering with everyone in the community,” West said. If the school district is interested in the project, West said the nonprofits would need to conduct a formal community-needs assessment, market research study and feasibility study before acquiring approval on a site plan and starting construction. He estimated it would take a year to complete the three studies and that the project would not be completed for another three to five years. The school board seemed curious about the proposal, with President Meredith Reed expressing excitement about the idea of ownership opportunities for Park City educators in particular. However, the school board did not make an official decision regarding its interest level and instead agreed to further discussions with Mercy Housing and the YMCA in the future. The post Mercy Housing, YMCA propose affordable housing complex for Park City educators appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less