Francis Mayor Jeremie Forman likely wouldn’t live in Summit County if he hadn’t purchased his home years ago from his in-laws.
Forman, who’s also a lieutenant for the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, said the majority of the force live outside the county because they can’t afford to live in Utah’s most expensive housing market.
That’s also true, he said, for employees of the school districts, fire departments and a lot of the workforce in Park City.
But a new neighborhood in Francis has more affordable home prices and rentals tied to incomes below that of the typical Summit County household.
“Many of my colleagues would now be able to afford to live in the community, which is a really big deal,” Forman said at the opening of Innovation Park.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Two garage doors are open for the grand opening ceremony for Innovation Park at Francis Commons, a housing development with townhomes priced 40% below market rate, in Francis on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025.
The set of 16 rental townhomes — nestled in the larger neighborhood of Francis Commons — is mostly for people making up to 60% or 80% of the area median income in Summit County.
The lower level is the equivalent of about $70,000 for an individual or about $100,000 for a family of four, based on income limits set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Ivory Innovations built the rental units in the neighborhood from Ivory Homes, which includes townhomes for purchase priced below $470,000. And single-family homes Ivory built in the neighborhood were priced in the low $600,000s.
That’s hundreds of thousands less than the median sales prices this year for the Kamas Valley as of the end of June, according to data from the Park City Board of Realtors.
It’s also more than $1 million below the median price in Summit and Wasatch counties, and more than $3 million below the median price, as of June, for single-family homes in Park City.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) People congregate during a tour during the grand opening ceremony for Innovation Park at Francis Commons, a housing development with townhomes priced 40% below market rate, in Francis on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025.
While some of the 64 townhomes are available, Clark Ivory said, all 30 of the single-family homes have sold.
Ivory, the CEO of Ivory Homes, said the company is focused on delivering housing in Summit and Wasatch counties for “permanent residents who want to stay and build the community.”
Francis is growing and was the only city in Summit County to gain population between 2023 and 2024, based on estimates from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
But that isn’t necessarily because the city is more affordable, Forman said, since housing is “almost as expensive or maybe, in some cases, more so.”
Ivory said the land further away from Park City or Heber is more affordable, but the infrastructure can be more expensive.
More rural areas, like the east side of Summit County, are less built out with respect to drinking water, public transportation, flood control and waste management, according to a March 2025 report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
A lack of infrastructure makes it harder to build housing people can afford, research has shown.
So as Francis grows, the mayor said, people can’t afford the housing, so “you end up with people buying second and third homes.”
“And that doesn’t really help to build the community,” Forman said.
In contrast, Ivory said, Francis Commons has people excited and buying primary homes in eastern Summit County.
“They haven’t seen the opportunity to buy a single-family home anywhere near this price in a long time,” Ivory said.
Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.