Three workforce affordable housing units built by Ivory Homes in Draper have sat unsold. The City Council is now looking at widening the pool of eligible buyers.

At its Tuesday, Oct. 20 meeting, council members discussed opening the units to part-time city employees who have passed their probationary period, Canyons School District staff and National Guard members. Charter school employees were also floated as potential buyers.

One unit is priced at roughly $429,000 and two at roughly $459,000, according to the Oct. 20 discussion. Ivory Homes believes the price points are appropriate, but buyers have shown interest and then backed out.

"Well, interest rates are a killer," one council member said during the discussion.

The homes carry a 50-year deed restriction. The current agreement limits buyers to households earning between 80% and 120% of the area median income (AMI). Council members discussed whether raising the AMI cap could help, but that change would require action by the Draper Community Reinvestment Agency (CRA).

The workforce housing program dates to January 2025, when the CRA unanimously approved Resolution #CRA 25-01, a partnership between the city and the Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation. Staff member Kellie Challburg presented the agreement, which aimed to help Draper workers buy homes near their jobs.

Canyons School District teachers had already been notified about the units, council members said at the meeting. A Canyons representative suggested that opening eligibility to part-time employees would bring in bus drivers and lunch workers, too.

The prices sit well below Draper's broader market. The Draper Journal reported in December 2025 that the city's median home price had reached $1 million, citing the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. Separately, a Salt Lake Board of Realtors affordability report covered by the Deseret News in August pegged Draper's median single-family home price at $925,000, requiring a household income of roughly $259,641.

If no buyers step forward, the agreement allows Ivory Homes to take the units back and sell them to anyone. Council members said they would prefer the homes go to employees first. The next step is to start with part-time employees and potentially invite Ivory Homes sales staff to present to city workers over lunch.

No formal vote was taken Tuesday. Any change to the AMI limits would go before the CRA at a future meeting.