A new kind of condominium project is set to open soon at Canyons Village, one that features small units offset by shared amenity spaces and slopeside access, a unique entry in the ski-condo market that, according to a spokesperson, has attracted buyers from near and far.
Yotelpad Park City sits across from Westgate Park City at the entrance of the Canyons Village base area of Park City Mountain Resort. Its black metal and wood-accented exterior rises four floors above a two-story parking garage, housing 144 units that range in size from studios to three-bedroom condos.
The least expensive of the remaining units costs $319,000, according to company documents, with around $4,500 annually in homeowners association fees and utilities on top of that.
Some owners see the small pads — the smallest is 330 square feet — as an affordable investment property, while others are excited to have their own self-contained ski studio, said Diana Carey, director of sales and marketing for Benchmark Property Management. Benchmark has been hired to operate the facility and manage the nightly rental program.
All but 33 units have been sold, she said, adding that initial demand was so high in 2018 that buyers had to enter a lottery to secure a unit.
Contractors remained hard at work inside and outside the hotel on a tour of the facility earlier this month, but Carey reported that some owners would be closing on their units in November with the possibility of moving in for Thanksgiving.
The project is the first Yotelpad in the world, Carey said, with others planned for Miami and Dubai. The Yotel brand has hotels around the world.
The studio pads are small and neat and resemble a hotel room, with a queen-size Murphy bed that folds up and out of the way and two smaller bunks. An “efficiency wall” is chock-full of cabinets and shelves, and the kitchens feature full-size refrigerators, dishwashers, sinks and garbage disposals.
Each condo has its own hot water heater and they’re designed as self-contained homes.
While it may feel a bit cramped for more than a couple of people, Carey reported that a family from New York City was planning to live in a unit this winter, while other buyers have been so taken with the project they’ve purchased units sight unseen.
The Yotelpad concept is to reduce unit sizes to lower purchase cost while providing communal amenities in shared common spaces.
The small units incentivize guests to socialize and relax in common areas, and renderings of the lobby show it will feature low-slung benches around a mid-century modern fireplace.
Owners are treated like hotel guests when they’re using their condo, Carey said, with features like a ski valet and daily maid service.
Carey anticipates owners will purchase a condominium unit and then turn it over to the nightly rental pool when they’re not using it, allowing owners to generate income from the property. She said the units would not be listed on AirBnB, but rather on online travel agencies and sites like Expedia.
She said that a peak Christmas week nightly rental might run to $725, while a mid-week reservation in the summer might cost around $150.
Yotelpad Park City doesn’t have a bar or a restaurant but will feature grab-and-go offerings like breakfast burritos. It has many amenities common at larger hotels, including a game room, fitness center, sauna and outdoor pool and hot tub.
The base area of the Red Pine Gondola that also features the popular Umbrella Bar apres-ski spot is about a five- to 10-minute walk uphill from the hotel. At the end of the day, guests will be able to ski down to the property using a path normally only traveled by ski patrollers, Carey said.
This newest project is part of a flurry of development in the base area. Projects expected to come online in upcoming years include the large-scale Pendry Park City hotel and mixed-use project, and an affordable housing development that includes 1,107 beds across 169 units aimed at Canyons Village employees.
While Summit County retains a year-over-year housing shortage, Jeff Jones, the county’s economic development and housing director, said that micro-unit, high-amenity projects like Yotelpad provide an interesting addition to the county’s housing stock.
“I think it provides our community with another housing choice,” Jones said. “More than 50% of U.S. households are now led by someone who is 50 or older. Over the next decade, aging boomers will add 8.4 million households that are single persons or married couples without children at home — which creates a nice market opportunity for projects like the Yotelpad.”
Carey said that in addition to customers from New York City, Los Angeles and the Caribbean, several new owners are from the Salt Lake Valley and Park City area.