Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[Atlas]

Skyline on March 5th



Source

The northwest side of downtown seems really underdeveloped from this angle.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Blah_Amazing

The thing is, it isn't their house though and they knew that going in. Any renter that has tried made a rental house 'their own' are lying to themselves. These renters are demanding the right to essentially live in someone else's house forever at whatever low rent they have determined to be appropriate. Personally, I find that point of view outrageous and I suspect it will only make the situation worse for future renters in Utah.

It saddens me that you're more outraged over someone being outraged about the prospects of being homeless because it's becoming increasingly difficult to find affordable housing in Salt Lake than actually being outraged over the continued leveling of affordable options that are being replaced with condos and rental units that price out over half the city from the start.

That mindset is just so inhuman - especially during the worst pandemic (that is on going) in 100 years.

But you do you. I just hope you never find yourself in the position of losing everything and if you are: someone will have at least a tiny bit more humanity than you apparently have for people who are likely going to be homeless soon.

Then, I'm sure, you'll find a way to rant and bemoan the dirty homeless people crowding our beautiful streets without a hint of irony.

Good luck with that, man. I've said my peace on this argument. It's clear anything beyond this is irrelevant.

[Blah_Amazing]

Originally Posted by Comrade

It saddens me that you're more outraged over someone being outraged about the prospects of being homeless because it's becoming increasingly difficult to find affordable housing in Salt Lake than actually being outraged over the continued leveling of affordable options that are being replaced with condos and rental units that price out over half the city from the start.

That mindset is just so inhuman - especially during the worst pandemic (that is on going) in 100 years.

But you do you. I just hope you never find yourself in the position of losing everything and if you are: someone will have at least a tiny bit more humanity than you apparently have for people who are likely going to be homeless soon.

Then, I'm sure, you'll find a way to rant and bemoan the dirty homeless people crowding our beautiful streets without a hint of irony.

Good luck with that, man. I've said my peace on this argument. It's clear anything beyond this is irrelevant.

First, my statement still stands. When you are a RENTER, you are not the OWNER of a property. Acting and behaving as if you are is folly.

Second, the part you so conveniently left out of the quote was when I went on to say this:

Originally Posted by Blah_Amazing

I abhor renting as a means of housing (especially for longer periods of time) to begin with. I personally think it is often a drain on our society and the least fortunate. That's why I posted that video a week ago describing how Singapore has dealt with their housing, resulting in over 90% of households owning their own property.

There is a rapidly growing long-term class divide between renters (who have little power, aren't able to build wealth through real estate, and whose rents continue to rise uncontrollably) and property owners, whose houses continue to gain or at least retain value, allowing them to build wealth which can then be leveraged.

The publicly funded housing solution in Singapore has had remarkable success, especially because they learned from the failures and potential pitfalls of public housing here in the United States. By making public housing geared towards home ownership rather than renting, Singapore helped lift millions of their citizens out of poverty. There was also some great suggestions made on the reddit post related to this that I thought may also act as a good model for projects replacing affordable housing going forwards.

My stance has always been that the model for housing people in the United States has clearly failed the moment we are living in. Additional actions are clearly necessary in order to provide more equitable housing. However, with things as they are, my final quote from that post still stands:

Originally Posted by Blah_Amazing

All that said, preventing a development that would provide housing for hundreds of people for 7 households in utterly insane. We are in a genuine housing shortage crisis and this only makes the situation worse. So yes, I do think this is a good example for how anti-development sentiments are getting out of hand.

Housing isn't going to get cheaper because they kill the Kozo House project, it will only get worse, that much IS clear.

It has become obvious in the four years I have been posting here that your natural state, Comrade, is to be angry about something or other. That's fine. "You do you." But taking my comments without the full context is honestly lazy and beneath you. Unless you have legitimate solutions to offer, rather than simply attacking me for trying to offer one, I respectfully suggest you leave the rest of us out of it.

[Blah_Amazing]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Nice to see more dense infill. Although, the facade facing 4th is kind of deadly. The city shouldn't allow that much blank facade facing the principal street. That's just bad design.

An option for buildings that have less actual windows facing the street is those cool light box things they have on the exterior of the Nordstrom downtown. Something like that could look really cool on the exterior of buildings like this, especially when there is so much blank wall (likely due to floor plan reasons).



Especially since I think it can look pretty nice even in the daytime. I really wish more buildings downtown would use this element, making it a 'Salt Lake' thing.

[Blah_Amazing]

Originally Posted by Atlas

Such a shame about the fate of the Kelly Houses.

On a positive note, here's a new picture of Dixon Place from u/wow-how-original on the subreddit:

https://www.liveatdixon.com/?fbclid=IwAR2NoLs2Zie6VpF96vk8AoFpa_QpU19BSuYBM2EAfsYDxjtQPtPc65qsq0w

According to its leasing site, its slated to open Spring 2021 and it looks like it is going to meet that. The design and materials is really nice for what would otherwise be considered a 'small' project. I'm sure unit prices will reflect that tbh.

[Blah_Amazing]

https://citizenportal.slcgov.com/Citizen...50&agencyCode=SLCREF&IsToShowInspection=

A new project in the North Temple/ Euclid Neighborhood has filed Subdivision and Condominium Consolidation documents with the city.

The project will be located at 27 North and 800 West, stand 7 floors tall, and include 115 residential units.



I looked up the company listed on that document, Galloway, and they seem to have designed,engineered, and/or built quite a few large multifamily projects. However, I couldn't find anything related to the project on their site.

https://gallowayus.com/

Thanks to the application filing, though, I was able to look up the person listed as the contact and found this website for the investment group, Highrise Group. They appear to be the leading organization behind the project, and included the details quoted below:
https://www.highrise.group/

27 N 800 W, SALT LAKE CITY UTAH
115 Units | Class A | New Development | 506(c) Syndication & Joint Venture OPEN | Purchased 15 Dec 2020

Directly west of the central business district of downtown Salt Lake with attractive TSA "right to build" zoning, these 3 parcels totaling 0.42 acre will be redeveloped from the existing 2 warehouses and 1 small empty lot into a market-rate mid rise modern apartment building. The property is purchased, city development review team is complete, demolition permits in progress, and final design has begun with Design West Architects. Major equity share from a joint venture partner to close the construction loan is currently open, as well as a limited partner tranche.

They also included images for the project, shown below:


Project Rendering


Surrounding Conditions


Site


Site Plan


Floor Plan


Existing Conditions


Existing Conditions


Existing Conditions

[Blah_Amazing]

Originally Posted by millhouse

It was my understanding they were going to put apartments for low income housing in that location. I believe the developers are also different.

Correct, that was the plan. That’s why this consolidation with The Village came as a complete surprise to me. Now I have no idea.

[i-215]

Originally Posted by Comrade

It saddens me that you're more outraged over someone being outraged about the prospects of being homeless because it's becoming increasingly difficult to find affordable housing in Salt Lake than actually being outraged over the continued leveling of affordable options that are being replaced with condos and rental units that price out over half the city from the start.

Building adds supply. Not building creates San Francisco.

Ideally, if 7 units are bulldozed at $1/sq.ft., the developer should be required to provide ~7 units at the same price within the new development — with the displaced resident given first option to rent.

Combine that with phased construction (so you can juggle the tenants around), and it could be a win-win.

[DJ Mentat]

Originally Posted by Blah_Amazing

https://ksltv.com/456978/dozens-rally-against-kozo-house-apartments-in-slc/



Is anti-development sentiments getting out of hand in Salt Lake?

Yes and no.

As many others have said and are aware, there is a severe housing shortage and a severe affordable housing crisis in SLC and across the country right now. There are many possible solutions to this, with the most obvious being to build more housing. The law of supply and demand should dictate that with more housing stock, prices will eventually fall. In that sense, opposing projects like the Kozo House is counterproductive, as that development will result in a net gain of ~305 units (assuming that one house = one unit).

However, the opposition is not without merit. I was recently made aware of the fact that the City Council has absolutely no means through which to enforce affordable housing claims made by a developer. This seems incredibly short-sighted, especially since the promise of affordable housing can get you so far: i.e. earning points for a design in a TSA zone, promising affordable housing as a means to pass a Planned Development (affordable housing is listed as one of the main objective in that portion of the city's zoning code), etc. etc.

So one possible solution beyond simply building more housing would be to ensure that the city has the means to actually enforce the claims that a developer makes during the review process.

Another possible solution could come with re-writing portions of the zoning code. I recently watched the following video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCOdQsZa15o) about the missing middle. Turns out, the SLC zoning code, as with many other cities, does not allow anything other than single-family housing in most single-family residential zones (basically everything that is some shade of yellow on this map). Re-write the code to allow duplexes and triplexes to be built by-right in at least some of those zones, and you could allow for additional increases in housing stock.

[Utah_Dave]

Just to add my 2 cents onto what DJ just posted about cities adjusting their Zoning a little bit. There are large areas of Eastern Salt lake county, all along the East bench of empty nesters that are occupying large single family homes because they really don’t have good alternative housing in their immediate neighborhood that suits what they want. therefore you get retirement age people living in large single family homes for much longer then they need. It would be smart to add some small developments that cater to that crowd in a much more dense footprint which would require some changes in the city and maybe even cities working with developers on a smaller scale to make it happen. Perhaps some small 55+ Developments. The old Cottonwood mall site comes to mind. These current home owners really like there neighborhoods but there are very few options that would interest them. What’s being put up now around the valley won’t attract the empty nesters and I think that’s were the cities can maybe help guide developers to make a variety or housing opportunities and free up some existing single family homes and give the retirement age group a real viable option for housing. There won’t be one easy solution to the housing problem but I think some small changes here and there could make significant differences. I don’t think many people would protest some dense housing for a 55+ crowd. They aren’t a rowdy bunch and they tend to care for their houses and would keep property values up.... just a thought

[Blah_Amazing]

• Video Link

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news...getting-kicked-out-for-apartment-complex

Full Fox 13 Article:

By: Lexie Johnson
Posted at 5:54 PM, Mar 10, 2021

SALT LAKE CITY — Residents in the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City are upset over the development of a new apartment complex.

The development of the Kozo Apartments, which will be be built at 175 North and 600 West, will call for the demolition of seven single-family homes.

Renters of those homes feel like they're being kicked out and they just want help.

“It just feels so wrong, it feels like we have no renters rights at all,” said Tina Holt-Balderrama, a renter in the neighborhood.

Holt-Balderrama has lived in a house in the area for six years.

“They’re just trying to evict us and kick us out on the streets and make us feel like we were homeless,” said Holt-Balderrama.

Tina says she and her neighbors received a letter from Davidson Realty, who oversees the property, telling them they needed to be out by March 31. In the letter, Davidson Realty said that the owner of the properties had waived the rent for tenants for the month of March, and would also be returning all security deposits.

“I think it’s all just a big game, and I think they’re playing the wrong game,” said Holt-Balderrama.

The letter didn't state why the tenants needed to leave, but Holt-Balderrama learned the property had been sold to build the Kozo Apartments, a 275-unit complex consisting of studios and two-bedroom units that will be rented for up to $2,000 a month.

“They think they’re just going to move in a higher class of people into this neighborhood and that they’re just going to know how to live," said Holt-Balderrama. "They might be able to change the building, but you can’t change the whole neighborhood.”

“That is just outrageous. You have to make at least $50,000 a year, we’ve studied it, to be able to handle living in these apartments.”

The city says it invests millions to support displaced residents to help them with rental assistance and finding affordable housing. While affordable housing is hard to find in Salt Lake City, Utah Community Action says they do have connections and sources that can help.

“If they can identify a unit that will take them, and they can, of course, make sure that they have the funds for ongoing rent, we can definitely help them with deposits, assistance and first month’s rent,” said Sahil Oberoi, the director of housing and case management at Utah Community Action.

-----------------------------------------------------------

FOX 13 spoke to a developer working on the Kozo apartment complex to get details about the project. The developer wished to remain anonymous.

FOX 13: Is Modal Living involved in the Kozo Project?

Modal Living, Inc. (Modal) is an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) company and is not involved in the Kozo Project.

FOX 13: Are Modal employees involved in the Kozo Project?

David Clayton, an employee of Modal, is the architect on the project. Neither David nor Modal have any ownership of or control over the project. Dallin Jolley, one of the co-founders of Modal, is the Kozo development coordinator. Dallin is not currently employed by Modal.

FOX 13: What will be the make up of the project? How many units, square feet, etc.?

Kozo Apartments consists of 275 units and 218 parking stalls (192 on the property and 26 new stalls on the street at the expense of the project). This unit count and parking ratio are improvements from previous designs based on community feedback. It is important to us to listen to the community's needs and work to build what is best for the area long-term. The apartment is comprised of primarily studio and one-bedroom units and a handful of two-bedroom units. The square footages of the units range from 378 square feet to 1,188 square feet; the majority of the units are on the smaller end of that range.

FOX 13: What is the price range for the cost to live in these apartments?

The expected rental rates for these units range from $1,050 to $2,100, again with the majority of the units being smaller and rented on the lower end of that range. These are not considered luxury apartments - they are market rate. Kozo's average rental rates are projected at 70% of AMI (Area Median Income) - about as close as you can get to an affordable rate without government subsidies, which was one of our goals on the project.

FOX 13: There are people in the neighborhood saying the developer is trying to kick current renters off the property so they can build this new apartment complex on the property, any comment?

Locally and nationally we are experiencing an affordable housing crisis. Our goal as developers is to improve the use of space in the cities we invest in. The Kozo project replaces seven single-family homes with 275 new units. The majority of the existing homes are currently vacant and have been plagued by drugs and crime for the past several years. All remaining tenants are currently on month to month leases and the property owner chose to not renew those leases when several of the tenants stopped paying rent earlier this year. The property owner / property manager are working with each of the tenants to provide flexibility on rent / deposits as they transition out of the existing homes.

FOX 13: What is the goal of developers?

As a developer, we are looking at the big picture and asking how we can address the housing needs in our City and State. In Salt Lake City, one of the answers is by adding significant density to our downtown core neighborhoods. Single-family homes in the downtown core is not a sustainable way for Salt Lake City to grow. A change in the neighborhood landscape is inevitable and healthy as our City grows. The Kozo project also brings much needed retail space to the neighborhood. This particular neighborhood is already a high-density neighborhood and an apartment building fits naturally into the existing surroundings. There are nearly 2,000 apartment units within 2-3 blocks of Kozo, so this development is not out of character for the neighborhood.

FOX 13: Anything else you want people to know about this project?

The property is zoned for this type of high-density development and fits right into the City's master plan. As developers we are simply fulfilling the vision that the City of Salt Lake has created for this specific property.

[Blah_Amazing]

• Video Link

Full Fox 13 Article: https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news...st-in-slc-could-harm-spiritual-practices

By: Todd Tanner Posted at 9:51 PM, Mar 10, 2021

SALT LAKE CITY — In recent years, a number of large apartment buildings have been constructed in or near downtown Salt Lake City.

Now, a developer behind some of those projects would like to build a six or seven story apartment building in an area that’s never had a residential unit of that scale, along 900 South near 700 West.

High Boys Ventures calls the project “The West End”.

The owner of High Boy Ventures, Maximilian Coreth, is excited for the potential of the new project.

“I am most excited about our plan to reactivate the two existing barrel-roof buildings by creating a public plaza in between that will also serve as the gateway/ entrance to the eventual multi-family development," he wrote in an email to FOX 13. "My goal is to not only make this a destination for the local neighborhood by bringing businesses to these commercial buildings but also draw people from other areas of SLC to discover the Jordan River trail and some of the other gems on the Westside."

In addition to the proposed apartment building, two existing brick buildings at the site are already being refurbished, with plans to turn them into retail spaces.

But before an apartment building rises, the Salt Lake City Council will need to approve a zoning change which has been requested by the developer.


The owners of the adjoining property at 707 Genesee Avenue are less than enthusiastic.

“When we found out, we were very concerned,” said Su Menu, President of Summum, a religion headquartered on a small campus which includes a greenhouse, a rectory, offices, and a 27 foot tall pyramid where services and meditations take place.

“This is consecrated ground,” said Ron Temu, a longtime member.

Summum was started in the 1970’s by a man named Corky Ra who believed, among other things, that human and animal mummifications provide spiritual benefits.

As he gained more followers, Ra envisioned building a pyramid in an east side neighborhood, where churches of other denominations blend into the suburban landscape. But due to a need to produce Summum’s own sacramental wine, Ra looked for properties where Utah law would allow it, settling on Genesee Avenue.

For decades, Summum’s members have maintained the lot with care, turning it into a verdant oasis amidst an area of industrial decay.

But now, Salt Lake’s building boom is expanding into that area.

A zoning change which would allow for a 75 foot tall apartment building could be approved as soon as next week.

Summum fears such a building could box their property in on both the south and west sides, blocking sunlight from their property which, they say, would interfere with meditations and the growing of vegetables and herbs shared with members

“These are what we call our ‘spiritual plants’,” said Bernie Aua, a Summum Officer as he showed Fox 13 a greenhouse the greenhouse.

“It’s sort of like in the Jewish tradition. Foods being Kosher. They’re blessed,” Aua said.

Coreth believes that they'll be able to come to a happy medium during the design process.

“In discussions with Sumum, we have committed to remaining engaged with our neighbors during the design process to address their concerns,” he wrote in the email.

Menu says she met with High Boy Ventures once, long after their planning was underway, and it didn’t assuage her concerns.

For High Boy Ventures, choosing another property is difficult, because each project is designed with the community in mind.

“All our projects are very site-specific and referencing another property as a comparable would not be appropriate," Coreth responded in an email. "Given the unique conditions of the existing barrel-roof buildings to the west and the freeway to the east of the property, we will come up with a design that is most suitable for these unique site conditions while respecting community needs."

If Summum’s “spiritual plants” wont grow in the shadow of a large building, they say they’ll consider legal action, but for now, they’re hoping the developer, their city councilman, and the mayor might take them up on a tour of their property to better understand their concerns.

“No one has even bothered to take a tour here, and it might be helpful,” said Menu.

[Atlas]

I found an apartment project that was new to me: "The Citizen Apartments." The developer website only says this:

The Citizen is a 264 unit apartment community located in downtown Salt Lake City, UT. As such, the amenities support an urban lifestyle featuring a large central courtyard, pool, hot tub, roof top deck, yoga studio, fitness center, pet wash, bike storage, high tech co-working space, fire pits, smart home technology, and more.

And another website says this:

264 unit apartment project within walking distance of Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and many other Salt Lake City retail and services.

But there's no specific location listed. Based on the second quote, it sounds like it's somewhere around 400 S and 700 E.



Also, here's a cool rendering from late 2017 of the Hardware Station office building that is presumably in limbo.

[allh]

https://imgur.com/a/uvkGp6z

The architect for the "Asher Adams" Hotel has released another render. Looks like they might start up the project soon.

[bob rulz]

Originally Posted by allh

https://imgur.com/a/uvkGp6z

The architect for the "Asher Adams" Hotel has released another render. Looks like they might start up the project soon.

Too bad. I was hoping this one was dead.

[bob rulz]

https://www.buildingsaltlake.com/new-adu...ke-city-show-improvement-coming-in-2021/

Time to make ADUs allowed by-right throughout the city. Every single ADU request ever put up has been approved as far as I can tell, and the lengthy process required is likely suppressing demand for them to be built. ADUs will never be a housing solution at these numbers.

[i-215]

I'd say make ADUs a right. No inspection. No permit. No approval.

Make it an enforcement issue when somebody complains (e.g., fire safety issues).

[freeshavocado]

Not sure if this was already mentioned, but the CCH (Hyatt Regency) was added to the Salt Lake City diagram: https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=90

[nushiof]

Originally Posted by freeshavocado

Not sure if this was already mentioned, but the CCH (Hyatt Regency) was added to the Salt Lake City diagram: https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=90

Nice. Liberty Sky should be added too.

They also have "slots" for where the Kensington Tower and Main St. Apartment Tower will go if you check the "proposed" and "all buildings" boxes. Pretty cool we'll have 11 buildings over 100 meters soon. Now it's time to break that 150 meter ceiling!

[Atlas]

Someone has been working diligently to get those added to the database Still waiting for my Worthington Tower request to go through.

Getting drawings made is more difficult. I've put out requests for those but it's up to the artists to decide to take the time and make them.