Deer Valley East Village will need roughly 6,000 workers when fully operational, and developer Extell is planning up to 600 housing units to help put roofs over their heads.

At the Military Installation Development Authority board meeting Thursday, Aug. 20, Extell Executive Vice President Kurt Krieg said the company is still studying what Marina West, the workforce housing development near the resort, should include beyond housing units.

"Before we turn in our site plan to MIDA, we want to make sure we have the proper programming and workforce housing uses, as well as the associated community amenities such as restaurants and grocery stores and a gas station," Krieg told the board, according to KPCW.

Extell plans to submit a site plan to MIDA in early 2027. The housing is targeted to open for the 2028-29 ski season.

A county-sized workforce

MIDA board member Erik Rowland put the staffing challenge in stark terms: "Just the number of people needed to sustain the facility will match the entire county's population when the project was initially proposed 20 years ago," he said. "So, that's a staggering statistic, and I think just really highlights the need for a workforce housing solution."

Wasatch County had about 15,000 residents in the 2000 Census and has since grown to an estimated 38,514 as of July 2025. Rowland pegged the county's earlier population lower, at around 8,000, though Census records show that figure is closer to the county's 1980 population.

Some workforce housing already exists in the project area. Several dozen condo units in the Pioche development are set aside for workers, according to MIDA.

Construction humming

The Marina West planning comes as East Village construction accelerates. Krieg said about 350 workers are on-site daily, split between ski-area improvements on the mountain and civil infrastructure work below.

The 180-room Canopy by Hilton Deer Valley, the first Canopy hotel in Utah, opened in mid-August. The Four Seasons, the Waldorf Astoria and Deer Valley's new base lodge remain under construction. The Waldorf Astoria, featuring 132 hotel keys and 105 branded residences, is expected to open in 2028.

Across the highway at SkyRidge, developer Tyler Aldous told the board a 67-unit lodge is in the works, with a golf clubhouse set to open in late September.

What's next

Residents and workers watching the project won't see a formal Marina West site plan until early 2027, when it goes before MIDA for review. No specific hearing date has been announced.