Deer Valley Resort collected responses earlier this summer from six developers interested in a joint venture to create workforce housing along the Bonanza Drive corridor. The proposal has not been widely publicized because the resort is still pursuing a project at that location.

An executive with Deer Valley owner Alterra Mountain Company described the July solicitation of bids during an event Tuesday to unveil the ski rail concept to be built on the resort’s property at 1555 Lower Iron Horse Loop Road.

Willa Williford, vice president of workforce housing for Alterra Mountain Company, said the deadline for submitting proposals has passed. Alterra Mountain Company is seeking a partner for a joint venture to handle development of the project and financing. She said local, regional and national companies have responded to the request for proposals.

She said Alterra Mountain Company was “very impressed” with the wide range of financing strategies outlined in the responses, including several that suggested financial guarantees. Some responses described the hope of claiming low-income tax credits as part of the strategy, she said.

Williford said a decision on whether Alterra Mountain Company will enter into a partnership or pursue the project alone will be made in September.

The RFP information comes at a time when Deer Valley is just beginning to present the Ski Rail proposal to the public. The upcoming partnership decision will be an important step for Alterra Mountain Company and Deer Valley that will influence the rest of the discussions.

Deer Valley owns the site on Lower Iron Horse Loop Road where the project is planned. The resort operates a laundry facility on the property. The concept for housing the resort’s employees calls for a project with at least 200 beds. That number would be equivalent to a particularly large worker housing complex within the Park City boundaries.

The Ski Rail proposal is linked to Deer Valley’s efforts to build a major construction project outside of Snow Park Lodge. The land on which the massive Snow Park parking lots are located comes with long-standing development rights, but Deer Valley still needs to get another key approval from the Park City City Council before the project can go ahead. Deer Valley has said the plan exceeds the minimum workforce housing requirements required under the Snow Park concept.

Deer Valley is touting the Ski Rail site as a good fit for a work project, noting that there are nearby bus routes leading to the resort and that residents would be in Park City and close to services. The site is close to the Prospector neighborhood, the Iron Horse neighborhood and the Kearns Boulevard corridor.

Tuesday’s event, billed as an open house, drew a medium-sized crowd to the lobby of the Deer Valley Plaza at the entrance to Snow Park. Deer Valley representatives spoke to the group about the proximity to pedestrian, bike and bus routes. They described a project with three stories, with the possibility of four stories. There would be laundry facilities on site and the units would be furnished. The project is expected to be fully occupied in the winter, and high occupancy numbers are expected in the summer, the crowd learned.

Some of those present told Deer Valley officials that storage space within a project would be important to the people living there.

Deer Valley wants to ensure that rents are affordable for employees and stated that the monthly rent amount cannot exceed 30 percent of an employee’s income.

Deer Valley hopes to have the project ready for occupancy before the start of the 2027-28 ski season, but the timeline for construction depends on City Hall’s review of the application.

During the review, there will likely be questions about the traffic a project would generate along the busy Bonanza Drive corridor and the overall design of a project. Traffic concerns can throw an application into disarray during the review process.

An information board on display at the event listed a number of ideas for Ski Rail amenities, including a TV room, free library, games, communal seating, booths, a relaxation area and a coffee bar.

Another board featured ideas for outdoor amenities, such as a picnic table, games, artwork, an electric bike charging station and a shade structure.

A diagram of the Ski Rail layout showed green spaces labeled “Resident Commons” and “Resident Green,” with a green buffer area also planned on the site. Two plazas are also shown on the diagram.

Deer Valley is pursuing an aggressive plan that will involve significant development and terrain expansion. Deer Valley East Village is under construction in Wasatch County, while planning work continues at Snow Park to essentially create a new base area.