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A rendering for new student housing on the site of the abandoned Park Plaza is shown.

Courtesy Provo City

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A rendering for new student housing on the site of the abandoned Park Plaza is shown.

Courtesy Provo City

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The abandoned Park Plaza apartments are pictured Monday, June 16, 2025, in Provo.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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At a busy Provo City Council meeting Tuesday night the council approved a zone change that will allow new student housing to be built at a vacated apartment complex east of BYU’s campus.

The council unanimously voted to rezone the Park Plaza development on 910 N. 900 East to Campus Residential. Cole West plans to build a six-story, 146-unit, 523-bed housing complex on the property.

The decision is a significant development in a multiyear saga that saw the abandoned apartment building become blighted by vandalism and a pair of reckless burning incidents and frequently change ownership.

Prior to approving the zone change, the council spent a significant amount of time Tuesday discussing the development agreement, mainly Cole West’s parking plans for the complex.

The sides agreed upon 0.75 parking spaces per bed, for 390 stalls total, and 247 indoor biking stalls. The developer said it will utilize a car-stacking system in a parking lot under the building to maximize available space and address parking concerns.

A spokesman for Cole West told the council that 130 of the stalls will have the stacker function, with the top storage used for nondaily use, and 260 cars would be parked on the ground. Roommates would share a stall with the stacking function to coordinate getting the stacked car down.

“We have a similar system in a project in downtown Salt Lake City,” the spokesman said. “It’s not a student housing specific project, but 30% of the residents there are students at the University of Utah, and they operate the system. We have not had any problems.”

The development agreement also calls for contracted parking agreements for the students and specifies that non car users cannot be charged for parking. The council asked for a parking study to be completed one year after the building opens.

An opening date is still a ways out. Cole West said it anticipates a 30-month build, opening the complex in time for the 2029 or 2030 school year.

“I do think there’d be wisdom in doing a study again in a year or two (after opening) especially since this is kind of a pilot project,” Councilwoman Katrice MacKay said. “We do want to learn from it. … I’d like to know how the car thing’s working, know how the stack parking’s working.” 

Joaquin townhomes approved

An additional housing project was approved Tuesday in a more contested decision than the Park Plaza vote.

The council voted 4-3 to rezone property at 313 E. 200 North in the Joaquin neighborhood from Residential Conservation to Medium Density Residential to build 10 new townhome units. Each townhome will have a deed restriction prohibiting rentals for five years.

Councilmembers Travis Hoban, Jeff Whitlock, Rachel Whipple and MacKay were in favor of the zone change, while Becky Bogdin, Craig Christensen and Gary Garrett voted against it.

The decision came following a lengthy public comment period and council discussion regarding the best use for the property within the historic neighborhood.

Christensen argued that not every neighborhood should become higher density, and said he valued the character of the neighborhood.

“Now you could say that’s just the way it is,” he said. “It’s home prices. You can make a case for that. I can also make a case for neighborhood character. I can make a case for charm. I can make a case for building a neighborhood, you know, community together.”

MacKay said that when the city previously zoned the property as Residential Conservation, it was meant to be a holding place, with the end goal being owner occupancy.

“We are taking units that would probably never be owner occupied; they’re going to stay rentals, and this gives us an opportunity to put these deed restrictions on that we don’t get without redevelopment,” MacKay said. “We’re never going to get that option without redevelopment, and I think it’s going to be a wonderful asset for the neighborhood. And I’m excited for families to be able to build wealth and live in Joaquin and have that opportunity.”