Land development loans from Hard Money Loans of Park City provide capital for the earliest and most capital-intensive phases of the real estate development cycle: acquiring raw land, navigating the entitlement process, completing engineering and environmental studies, installing horizontal infrastructure, and preparing sites for vertical construction throughout Summit and Wasatch Counties. This is not a generic land lending product applied to a resort market. It is an underwriting process built on genuine familiarity with Summit County's planning and zoning environment, the Real Estate Transfer Tax dynamics that affect land transaction costs, the water rights framework that governs development feasibility, and the competitive dynamics of a market where developable land is among the scarcest and most valuable in the Intermountain West.
Park City's geographic constraints are real: mountainous terrain, extensive National Forest boundary, watershed protection requirements, private gated community perimeters, and decades of growth management policy have collectively compressed the supply of developable land within what should be a more expansive growth zone. What results is a land market where entitled lots in Promontory, Deer Valley, or Glenwild command prices of $1 million to $5 million before a single construction cost is incurred, where unentitled acreage in the Heber Valley or Kamas area represents a patient-capital opportunity for investors who understand the entitlement process and can carry a position through a multi-year approval timeline, and where infill redevelopment in the City of Park City's built neighborhoods creates value by assembling or repositioning lots that support higher-density or higher-quality replacement development.
We lend on entitled lots, partially entitled parcels, raw land in the early entitlement phase, agricultural land with development potential, commercial development sites, and infill redevelopment opportunities. Loan amounts range from $150,000 for a single infill lot to $10 million for larger development assemblages. Terms run 12 to 36 months with interest-only payments and interest reserves covering the carrying costs during phases when no revenue is generated.
How We Help
Raw land acquisition for entitlement is the foundational use case for development lending. A developer who identifies a 15-acre parcel adjacent to an approved subdivision in the Snyderville Basin needs acquisition capital that closes quickly enough to beat a competing cash offer, and they need a lending partner who understands that the loan will carry for 18 to 24 months while the entitlement process runs its course. We provide that capital at loan-to-values of 50% to 60% depending on the entitlement probability assessment, with terms and interest reserves sized for the realistic approval timeline.
Entitled lot financing at the construction-ready end of the spectrum represents the cleanest collateral in the land lending space. A finished lot in Promontory's North Forty development, a Deer Valley ski-access parcel in the upper Empire Pass zone, or a completed residential lot in an approved Hideout subdivision carries a clear value based on comparable lot sales and requires no further approvals before construction begins. We advance up to 65% to 70% on entitled, build-ready lots in established communities, with terms matched to the expected construction start timing.
Infrastructure installation financing covers the horizontal development phase — road construction, utility trenching, sewer and water connections, drainage systems, and common area preparation — that transforms an entitled paper subdivision into finished lots ready for home construction. These projects disburse against verified engineering milestones rather than calendar schedules, ensuring that capital availability matches actual construction progress.
The Olympic 2034 development cycle creates a specific land banking opportunity for investors who understand the infrastructure and demand pattern that hosting generates. Parcels near the Utah Olympic Park in Jeremy Ranch, adjacent to existing Olympic venue infrastructure, and along the SR-224 transit corridor that will serve Games transportation needs are positioned for medium-term appreciation as the 2026 to 2034 planning period builds. We lend on these positions with land banking structures that provide patient capital for investors with a long view on this specific demand driver.
Common Challenges
Water rights are the single most misunderstood variable in Summit County land development. Utah's prior appropriation doctrine means that water rights are separate from surface ownership and must be specifically identified, verified, and allocated to support a development's domestic water needs. A parcel that appears entitled based on zoning may not support the proposed development density without the water rights to serve it. We require water rights analysis as part of due diligence on all raw land and development site loans, and we do not underwrite development value for parcels whose water rights position has not been clearly established.
Entitlement timelines in Summit County routinely exceed developer projections. The City of Park City's General Plan review process, the Snyderville Basin Special Service District's development requirements, the Wasatch County General Plan and infrastructure capacity assessments, and the required public comment and appeal periods all add time to the approval timeline. A project that looks like an 18-month entitlement on day one may require 30 months to achieve final approvals. We budget our interest reserves conservatively and structure extension options in our loan documents from the start, because extensions on land loans are a normal feature of the development process, not an exception.
Wildfire risk assessment has become a meaningful underwriting variable for development sites in exposed Summit County locations. The 2021 Parley's Canyon Fire and subsequent California-style fire seasons across the Wasatch Range have elevated the focus on WUI (wildland-urban interface) building code requirements, vegetation management restrictions, and insurance availability for properties in high-risk fire zones. Development sites in areas with elevated wildfire risk may face additional construction cost requirements or reduced insurance carrier availability that affects the economics of the proposed development. We conduct or require environmental assessments that include fire risk evaluation for sites in exposed positions.
Our Approach
Land development underwriting starts with the fundamentals of the specific parcel: title examination, survey confirmation, zoning verification, environmental Phase I assessment, water rights analysis, infrastructure availability review, and topographic analysis. We do not approve land loans based on the borrower's optimistic projections about what they expect the parcel to support. We verify it independently through qualified local professionals — land use attorneys with Summit County planning experience, civil engineers familiar with Wasatch Back development conditions, and environmental consultants who know the specific regulatory landscape.
Valuation methodology for development land uses residual land value analysis alongside comparable land sales. Residual analysis asks: given realistic construction costs, market absorption rates, and developer profit margins, what is this land worth to a developer executing the proposed program? That number, adjusted for entitlement risk and timeline, is our underwriting anchor. We do not use discounted income models or replacement cost approaches that are appropriate for improved properties but misapply to raw land.
Disbursement structures for development loans match capital availability to verified progress milestones: entitlement approvals, infrastructure completion phases, and lot delivery counts in subdivision projects. We do not front-load development capital or disburse against projected future milestones that have not yet been achieved.
Serving Our Community
Our land development lending covers development opportunities throughout Summit and Wasatch Counties: entitled lots in Promontory, Glenwild, Tuhaye, Red Ledges, and Victory Ranch; development parcels in Snyderville Basin, Hideout, and Silver Creek; agricultural land with development potential in the Heber Valley including Heber City, Midway, Charleston, and Francis; raw land investments in Kamas, Oakley, and Woodland; commercial development sites along Kimball Junction and Heber City commercial corridors; and infill redevelopment opportunities within City of Park City boundaries.