Could downtown shift east? Developers seek new heights in Salt Lake City neighborhood

With a mix of new apartment complexes, historic homes and everything imaginable in between, Central City unofficially serves as a bridge between Salt Lake City’s downtown density and many of its residential neighborhoods.
“It’s very diverse, especially in terms of ethnicities and incomes — we’ve just got a wide range of all kinds of folks living in the neighborhood,” said Rhianna Riggs, chairwoman of the Central City Neighborhood Council.
It’s also at the forefront of Salt Lake City’s growth, which doesn’t surprise Riggs because of its location and what it offers.
J. Fisher Companies broke ground on a new apartment complex called The Edison on Nov. 19, which aims to bring 201 new apartments/penthouses, various amenities and an “art-infused walkway” near 250 S. 200 East. The forthcoming complex, on the western border of Central City’s footprint, will be located across the street from The Worthington, a 355-foot residential tower that became the tallest building east of the city’s central downtown district when it opened earlier this year.
The latter towers over many of the new multistory apartment complexes either under construction or completed over the past few years. While others are on the horizon, two new projects being proposed could drastically change Central City’s height further.
The Wade family filed a request to rezone a plot of land it owns at 256 E. 300 South from residential/mixed-use district (R-MU) to central business district (D-1) so it can move forward with a 185-foot hotel, called The Wade Building, at the site of a commercial parking lot.
Not to be outdone, Raven One LLC filed a similar rezoning request to the city for land about two blocks north on Monday. Documents submitted to the city show the company — with ties to Silverado Development and Cumming Capital Management, the owner of Snowbird — plans to replace an old office building with a high-rise complex called The 265, which could add up to 500 new apartment units at 265 E. 100 South.
However, the two newest proposals could face an uphill battle. The Salt Lake City Planning Commission voted on Nov. 13 to send a negative recommendation to Wade’s proposal following a spirited discussion about its place in the neighborhood and a recommendation from Salt Lake City planners.
While the project wouldn’t tear down any existing building, it would be tucked between apartments and commercial buildings that are only a few stories in height. That’s because Salt Lake City’s R-MU zone caps buildings at 75 feet, 25 feet below the D-1 minimum. The D-1 zone also has no maximum height, so Salt Lake City senior planner Aaron Barlow said it could conflict with Central City’s “surrounding character.”
He added that such projects would have other negative impacts, including utility issues because the current system wouldn’t be able to support the type of growth.
Emily Nelson, architectural designer for Fourier Architects, countered that the building, at 185 feet, could be a “good transition” between the Worthington Tower and a 125-foot apartment complex approved east of the proposed site.
She explained that the owners of the property have long tried to figure out what to do with the land. A 48-unit apartment complex stood there before it was destroyed by arson over three decades ago. The Wades struggled to get any sort of new apartments or condominiums because of issues either in city code or market demands after that.
The final proposal, Nelson said, came from what the city’s planning department had recommended when the two sides met. She said amenities like a small grocery store and a rentable rooftop event space were included in the plans to add spaces for residents to use, while the proposed 262 parking spaces could also be used by the neighborhood.
Residents chimed in, saying it could lead to new noise concerns and exacerbate existing parking issues; a representative of the property owner said he would be open to including concerns in future building plans. However, planning commissioners couldn’t seem to shake off the new zoning.
Some said they wished there was another zone that could handle the proposal, but the board voted 5-2 against it largely because of concerns that it could open the door for a project with unlimited height in the future, even if that’s not what the developer is seeking to do now.
“You have to look at what could happen,” said Commissioner Amy Barry.
The rezone will ultimately be decided by the Salt Lake City Council. It’s unclear what the body’s feeling about the project means for The 265, but that proposal will likely go before the Planning Commission before ending up in the City Council, too.
Raven One officials noted in documents to the city that the current zoning would likely cap the project at 250 units, half of what it is proposing. Its project calls for a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units in a complex that would include a mix of public and private amenities. Its height wasn’t immediately clear, but it would tower over the existing maximum height of 75 feet.
As a representative of the neighborhood, Riggs said opinions on what’s under construction and what’s being proposed have been a “mixed bag,” as one would suspect with the pros and cons of change. Some are thrilled about new housing opportunities and community amenities, while others struggle with the impacts unprecedented growth can have on a community.
In essence, feelings about growth are as diverse as the neighborhood.
At this point, she says it feels like Central City is getting the “brunt” of Salt Lake City’s growth with a seemingly endless supply of construction projects. However, every project sparks new debates that could be beneficial for the neighborhood’s future, which is a plus.
For example, The 265 — and its multi-bedroom plan — could play into the neighborhood council’s call for more family-sized housing, which community leaders say Central City lacks even with all the housing types it has.
“I think it’s an exciting time to see what Central City needs and what it’s missing,” Riggs said. “(We can) work with the city and the developers to find that sweet spot of projects we can all benefit from.”