This Collection of Residences in Southern Utah Brings the Desert Landscape to Your Front Door
Park City isn’t the only area of Utah with soaring demand for high-end homes in master-planned developments. In the southern part of the Beehive State—specifically near Zion National Park—both residential and hospitality developers are eyeing key locales on the outskirts of the park that bring you up close and personal with the raw desert landscape.
Southwest Utah’s Washington County is one of the fastest-growing second-home markets in the country, and some developers see this high demand as an opportunity to create nature-focused residences for individuals craving a bit of solitude. One of the area’s buzziest new developments is Pala Zion, a rugged, 35-acre stretch of desert near Utah’s famed Kolob Canyon at the footsteps of Zion National Park. The residential component is linked to the forthcoming Paréa hotel, set to open in 2027. Both elements are spearheaded by entrepreneurs Reed Lerner and Robert Babbage. The private residences offer spacious patios, swimming pools, and panoramic mountain views, but they’ll also have access to the hotel’s array of amenities and the region’s many options for hiking and other outdoor pursuits.
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“We talk about this idea of disconnecting and getting out to nature, but the way I see it is reconnecting,” Lerner tells Robb Report. “This type of setting lets you enjoy nature but also lets you be more present and connected to the people you’re with. We set out to design a place to foster those experiences.”
Lerner and Babbage tapped four innovative architectural firms to work together to create something exceptional, something akin to a liveable gallery of architecture. Working together are Morq, an architectural firm based in Italy and Australia; the Mexican design firm GOMA; Studio Andrew Trotter, who works on boutique homes around the Mediterranean and beyond; and Taller Héctor Barroso, a Mexico-based architecture studio.
The four firms worked together on the architectural guidelines for each home, and each will deliver a series of residences infused with their own style and that speak to the desert landscape. As a whole, the residences are described as a fusion of Mexican and Mediterranean modernism that lets the materiality do a lot of the speaking.
“The location of the project is incredible—it’s on top of a mesa in the Utah desert,” says Carlos González, principal of GOMA. “The views are dramatic, with intense light and shadow, and the air seems more clear than what we’re used to back in Mexico. The Utah desert is much more extreme, so we approached the house as a modern shelter or shell house. It’s like a balancing rock in the desert. The panoramic house idea came from wanting an uninterrupted view of the horizon, especially towards the southern mountains.”
Starting in the high $2 million range, residences will range from three to five bedrooms and measure from about 3,000 to 5,000 square feet. Introspection and self-renewal were two of many key themes that were taken into consideration when designing the homes, and each residence has a small spa with a sauna and bath, natural light, open-air sunroofs, courtyards, luxury kitchens, swimming pools, and fireplaces. The homes are equipped for year-round use and are purposefully designed and oriented to keep the interiors cool in the summer with strategically placed overhangs but also cozy in the winter.
In addition to locally sourced stone, the single-story homes will feature custom plaster finishes, curated materials that include raw limestone and sandstone that add organic textures to the minimalistic spaces, and walls of glass positioned to frame painterly views of the natural landscape. Monochromatic interiors match the earthy hues of the desert, and internal courtyards allow for quiet moments of reflection, while light wells and geometric sunroofs provide tons of natural light but also purposeful cross ventilation.
Pala Zion is a two-hour drive from Las Vegas, a 6.5-hour drive from Los Angeles, and 45 minutes from the nearest airport. “When people come here, they say ‘this is what I think Mars might feel like’ because of the red rock and the expansive views,” Babbage says. “Of course, there are many opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, or off-roading outside, but it offers an opportunity to be in solitude and see the stars.”
Construction on the site has begun and buyers are selecting and reserving houses. When not in use, the residences are available as short-term rentals. Residents also have access to the hotel’s many perks, which will include restaurants, a wellness center, a spa, hushed reading rooms, and a daily programming of activities.
Click here for more photos of the southwestern Utah development.
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