The abandoned Park Plaza apartments just east of BYU finally have a clear path to redevelopment. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, the Provo Municipal Council voted unanimously to rezone 910 N. 900 East from Residential Conservation to Campus Residential, clearing the way for Cole West's six-story student housing building (via Daily Herald).
The approved plan calls for 146 units and 523 beds. That's a different mix than the 157 units and 491 bedrooms the Provo Planning Commission reviewed on Sept. 23, according to the commission's report of action.
The existing building is a three-story, 44-unit complex built in 1965, KSL reported when Cole West bought the property in December 2025. City documents at the time called it an "eyesore and an attractive nuisance," and Provo had put out a request for proposals that September to demolish it. Over the years the site changed hands several times and was hit by vandalism and two reckless burning incidents, the Herald reported.
Parking nearly sank the deal earlier this fall. Provo's code would have required 530 stalls under the earlier design, one per bedroom plus a quarter stall per unit for visitors, while the developer was offering 238 on-site and 57 off-site spaces, per the planning commission report. FOX 13 reported Cole West had been seeking roughly half a stall per bedroom.
Commissioners recommended 0.80 stalls per bedroom, but a motion to recommend the rezone failed 3-4, sending it to the council with a negative recommendation. They did approve the concept plan 7-0, on the condition that the council sign off on the rezone and a development agreement and that parking get sorted out. "I think we need to not give the parking reduction, and they need to solve this problem," commissioner Melissa Kendall told FOX 13 after that meeting.
The council originally had the rezone on its Oct. 20 agenda, but the item was marked continued.
Where the two sides landed: 0.75 stalls per bed, or 390 spaces, plus 247 indoor bike stalls. Cole West will put a car-stacking system in parking beneath the building. Of the 390 spaces, 130 are stacker stalls with the upper level meant for cars that don't move daily, and 260 cars will park at ground level. Roommates will share stacker stalls and coordinate who pulls out when.
A Cole West spokesman told the council the company runs a similar setup in a downtown Salt Lake City project where about 30% of residents are University of Utah students. "We have not had any problems," he said.
The development agreement requires contracted parking agreements for students and bars charging tenants who don't have cars for parking. The council also wants a parking study one year after the building opens. Councilwoman Katrice MacKay suggested another look a year or two out, calling it "kind of a pilot project" and saying she wants to see how the stackers actually perform.
Cole West expects about 30 months of construction and is aiming to open for the 2029 or 2030 school year.
The same night, the council voted 4-3 to rezone 313 E. 200 North in the historic Joaquin neighborhood from Residential Conservation to Medium Density Residential for 10 new townhomes. Each unit carries a deed restriction barring rentals for five years.
Travis Hoban, Jeff Whitlock, Rachel Whipple and MacKay voted yes; Becky Bogdin, Craig Christensen and Gary Garrett voted no. Christensen argued not every neighborhood needs more density. "I can also make a case for neighborhood character," he said. MacKay countered that the deed restrictions are something the city wouldn't get without redevelopment and said the project is "going to be a wonderful asset for the neighborhood."
Why it matters for Contractors
The Park Plaza job is a big-builder project, a six-story building with mechanical stacker parking, and the general contractor work won't go to a small shop. But a 30-month build means a long run of sub packages: site work, concrete, framing, drywall, finish carpentry, flooring, and fixture installs across 146 units. If you sub in Utah County, keep an eye on Cole West and on Provo's building permit filings for this address as the project moves into permitting.
The Joaquin townhomes are closer to small-builder scale. Ten units on a single infill lot is the kind of job a local builder or framing crew can realistically chase. And both votes show where Provo is heading near campus: more density, but with strings attached on parking, rentals and follow-up studies. Builders pitching infill in Provo should expect to negotiate those terms rather than assume code minimums will fly.