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PROVO — Renovations on a chapel built the same year Provo’s first streets were paved have concluded, and the building is open to tenants.
In 2010, Greg Soter saw a “for sale by owner” sign in front of the former LDS 4th Ward Chapel. The building, built in 1915 at 400 North and 100 West, had sat unoccupied for some time after it had been used as a private school and most recently as a wedding reception hall. The building was headed toward a state of decline, with graffiti on its walls, some broken window and other problems, Soter said.
“You could look at it and just tell that if someone or some circumstance doesn’t stop this building from going downhill, it’s going to continue to slide downhill into decline and it’s going to accelerate,” he said. “And it just doesn’t take a lot of common sense to realize that a building like that in a community like this, that just should not happen.”
He also had a vision for the building: To restore its exterior and renovate its interior to become upscale, “drop-dead cool living spaces” that were more like those in big cities than Provo.
Soter, with his vision and passion about the building’s place in Provo’s religious and cultural history, purchased the building shortly after. In the few years since, he has remodeled the building to house 15 single-bedroom units and renamed the building the Old Chapel Apartments. Each unit is unique, fitting within the footprint of the original structure. While the interior is entirely new, Soter did expose the old brick from beneath its nearly 100-year-old plaster covering.
Stuart Johnson/KSL-TV
We discovered that even though all of the interior walls were covered with a layer of plaster, underneath the plaster was some beautiful, beautiful old brick. … That was quite a process to uncover that exposed brick but very much worthwhile,” he said. “This is just some great old space, it’s a cool space.”
The apartments are geared toward a demographic that Soter said in 2012 is underserved in Provo: young, working professionals who want to live in an urban area. He said the building is a perfect fit for the community Provo has become.
“I have been delighted to watch Provo City go what I believe is a really desirable direction. To be a part of the that, particularly right on the edge of that — we’re literally three and a half blocks from the dead center part of town — I'm excited to be a part of that and happy to contribute to it,” Soter said. “I think the city generally, is quite happy that we’ve done with the building what we have. So everybody wins. It’s a vibrant, cool place. Provo city now isn’t anything like it was a couple of decade ago and it’s all for the better.”
About 50 percent of the units are rented, Soter said Wednesday, but units remain open. Rent for the 600-square-foot to 1100-square-foot apartments ranges from $900 to $1600 plus utilities. Visit www.oldchapelapartments.com for rental information.
