Provo Council Approves Student Housing on the Abandoned Park Plaza Site Near BYU

Provo's Municipal Council has approved a plan to turn the abandoned Park Plaza apartments, a deteriorated 1965 building directly across the street from BYU, into new student housing. KUTV reported that the council voted 7-0 on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, to approve a project capped at 523 beds and 146 units, with a parking ratio of 0.75 stalls per bed.

The site at 910 N. 900 East has sat empty for years. Neighbors, city staff and BYU students have all had opinions about it, and the vote ends one chapter of a long run of fires, police calls and stalled sales. It also opens a new question that students and neighbors in the Foothills Neighborhood care about: where the cars go.

What the council approved

According to KUTV's Nov. 4 report, which drew on a city press release, the council approved the redevelopment of the long-vacant site into student housing. The key terms reported:

KUTV quoted Councilor Craig Christensen as saying, "I'm really grateful for the creativity." The city's release, as KUTV summarized it, said the project should improve the site's appearance and safety and make more efficient use of land near public transit and campus amenities.

KUTV's report did not name the developer, the zoning designation, a construction start or completion date, or the cost. We have not found those details in a primary source yet, so this article does not guess at them.

How the numbers changed

The unit count in the final approval is lower than the figure in earlier reports. Provo's own Planning Commission agenda for Sept. 23, 2026 listed two public hearing items from Cole West at the same address: a zone map amendment from the Residential Conservation (RC) zone to the Campus Residential (CR) zone, and concept plan approval, both "to allow for the development of a 157-unit apartment building." The agenda scheduled the Municipal Council to take up the items that require legislative action on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026.

Fox 13 reported that the 157-unit complex would hold roughly 500 students and was about three times the size of the current building. The final numbers reported by KUTV, 146 units and 523 beds, are different from that earlier proposal. We do not know from the available reports whether the redesign came from the Planning Commission, the council or the developer. If you are tracking the project, rely on the council's approved ordinance and the city's minutes rather than on any single news summary.

Why the parking fight mattered

Parking was the sticking point, and the record shows it. Fox 13 reported that the developers asked for a ratio of half a parking space per bedroom, about 240 spaces, and that the Provo Planning Commission voted narrowly to deny the proposal as presented. Commission member Melissa Kendall said the commission should not grant the parking reduction and that the developers "need to solve this problem."

Neighbors raised the same worry. Resident Jennifer England told Fox 13, "Every student has a car now, and it's a problem." A BYU student, identified as Beatty, argued the opposite: that housing within walking distance of campus reduces the driving that clogs the streets in the first place.

The approved version moves the ratio up to 0.75 stalls per bed. At 523 beds, that works out to roughly 392 stalls, a calculation based on the two reported figures rather than a number from the city. The car-stacking system is how the developer plans to fit them without building a parking structure. The shared-vehicle program is meant to let students use a car when needed without owning one. The condition that matters most for neighbors is the parking study in the project's second year, which gives the city data on whether the ratio works.

For anyone who already lives with campus-area parking rules, our guide to parking tickets and towing for Provo students explains how enforcement works on the streets around BYU, and our downtown Provo parking guide covers the other end of town.

The long history of the building

The Park Plaza building was a three-story, 44-unit apartment complex built in 1965, according to KSL. The Daily Herald reported in July 2025 that it sits on about 1.5 acres across from BYU and that the county listed its total market value at more than $5.5 million.

The same Daily Herald report laid out why it became a civic headache:

• The building had been vacant for more than three years.
• The fire department had extinguished two fires started inside the structure, and police had responded to multiple calls related to the property.
• The property was zoned Residential Conservation. Because of that zoning, the building was a nonconforming use, and it lost that status after being abandoned for a year. New apartments would require rezoning to multifamily housing, Provo Director of Development Services Bill Peperone said.
• The city considered the building a nuisance and wanted it demolished as soon as possible, and offered to pay for demolition.

KSL reported in December 2025 that Cole West had announced it acquired the property and planned to convert it to housing for BYU students. In September 2025, KSL said, Provo had issued a request for proposals for the building's demolition, but the city does not own the property, so the contract depended on court approval. City documents quoted by KSL called the building "an eyesore and an attractive nuisance."

KSL quoted Cole West CEO Darlene Carter describing the acquisition as reflecting a disciplined approach to securing high-value opportunities, and Walker Wood, the firm's vice president of development, expressing confidence that the site offers a chance to set a new standard for student housing in Provo. KSL also noted that Cole West had won approval in October 2025 to convert a shuttered OfficeMax in Salt Lake City into off-campus student housing between the University of Utah and downtown.

Why it matters to students and neighbors

Housing near BYU is tight, and the approval adds a large block of beds within walking distance of campus. It joins other campus-area projects, including BYU's own rebuild of married-student housing, covered in our report on the Wymount Terrace rebuild. Together they change who lives where around the university.

For students, the practical points are:

• No move-in date yet. Nothing reported so far sets a timeline. Do not plan a 2027 lease around this building until the developer announces one.
• Car-light by design. With 0.75 stalls per bed and shared vehicles, the building is aimed at students who walk or bike to campus. If you need a car every day, ask about parking terms before signing.
• Contracts and prices. No rents have been reported. Compare options in our guide to the best apartments near BYU.

For neighbors in the Foothills Neighborhood, the parking study in year two is the main accountability point. Our BYU area neighborhood guide describes the streets and rules around campus.

How Provo makes this kind of decision

The path of this project shows how Provo handles land-use changes. A rezone and a concept plan go first to the Planning Commission, which holds a public hearing. Because a zone change is legislative, it then goes to the Municipal Council, which votes in a public meeting. Our explainer on Provo zoning covers what the zones mean, and our guide to following the Provo City Council shows where to find agendas and how to comment before a vote.

The city's public hearing notices appear on Utah's Public Notice Website at utah.gov/pmn, and agendas are posted at agendas.provo.gov. Public comments to the Planning Commission can be sent through provo.gov/publiccomments, the planning notice says.

What to watch next

• The approved ordinance and minutes. They will show the final terms, including the zone, bed cap and parking conditions.
• Demolition. KSL reported the city had been seeking court approval to remove the building. Watch for a demolition date.
• Design and renderings. Cole West said in December 2025 that renderings and timelines would follow city approval.
• The second-year parking study. It will be the first real test of the 0.75 ratio.

What we could not confirm

This report relies on KUTV's account of the council vote because the city's press release and the council's minutes were not available to us when we wrote it. We could not confirm the vote's exact ordinance language, the final zone designation, the developer's schedule or any price. We will update this article when the city posts its minutes or Cole West publishes a timeline.