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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake Community College’s Meadowbrook campus could become a commercial development that may include affordable housing under a proposed agreement between the college and The Boyer Co.
Representatives of the college and the developer presented their plans to a committee of the Utah State Board of Regents Friday, which voted to forward the proposal to the full board for its consideration.
In what was described on the agenda as a “nontraditional arrangement,” the college would lease 10.2 acres to Boyer Co., which plans to develop an office or commercial campus on the site.
During a recent meeting with SLCC officials, the development team introduced the idea of also developing a housing complex on the site along the TRAX line, which would help address affordable housing needs in South Salt Lake, said Boyer Co. partner Ryan Simmons.
“I think it would be something great for the community college, at President (Deneece) Huftalin’s and Jeffrey’s direction, to help some solve some of that affordable housing crisis. It is in a qualified census tract and there are tax credit buyers out there,” Simmons said.
Simmons referred to Jeffrey West, SLCC’s vice president for finance and administration.
The development company is working on an updated site plan and renderings to reflect the possible addition of a housing complex, he said.
Academic and training programs established at the Meadowbrook campus, 218 W. 3900 South, have largely moved to other sites, including SLCC’s Westpointe Workforce Training and Education Center, which opened in 2018.
However, the Utah Refugee Education and Training Center, created under a partnership among the Utah Department of Workforce Services, SLCC and Utah State University in 2015, remains at the Meadowbrook campus.
Boyer Co. partner Mike Glauser said the refugee center’s presence stirred Boyer Co.’s initial interest in developing the site. Boyer was selected by the college among other developers that submitted proposals.
“We were enthralled by the refugee aspect,” Glauser said.
Boyer Co. founder Roger Boyer is founder of a nonprofit organization called ONErefugee, which mentors, counsels and provides financial assistance to refugee students attending college. More than 140 participants have graduated from college from 20 different countries.
“We do have a big interest in helping the refugees, in keeping them on site, hopefully, during development,” through creative site planning that would enable the center to continue to operate and then moving it to newly developed space before demolishing its former home, Glauser said.
The land was recently appraised at $5.7 million. One option is the land could be sold and the proceeds would revert to the college.
Under the proposed development agreement, the college would lease the land to the developer for at least 40 years. After about 13 years, the lease would generate revenues equivalent to those that would have resulted from sale of the land.
The lease payments would continue for several more years, generating a long-term revenue stream to the college, West wrote in a letter to the board of regents.
Boyer officials said a 40-year ground lease could be problematic in developing affordable housing because parties to such developments prefer much longer terms, perhaps up to 99 years.
A presentation to the committee on unlocking public wealth by Shaleane Gee, Zions Bank’s senior vice president of community and regional development, suggests public real estate assets represent the largest wealth segment in the world and can help provide a revenue stream to governments and other public entities.
Gee said the total market value of publicly owned land in Salt Lake County that is viable for development is roughly $10 billion. The total market value of all publicly owned land in the county is $150 billion, according to recent work to map and value public assets conducted by Salt Lake County.
“The results were pretty shocking to us,” Gee said.
While some committee members expressed support for the concept, others questioned if participating in a development project is an appropriate role for education entities unless there is a clear nexus with the institution, such as the research parks at the University of Utah and Utah State University.
According to West’s letter, the college is ready to discontinue all educational service offerings at Meadowbrook. Huftalin said the college currently offers very limited training programs at the refugee center. Under the proposed agreement, the college would move into a “landlord situation,” Huftalin said.
However, she said one of the roles of community colleges is to create opportunities that benefit the community. Affordable housing is a great need of its students, she said.
According to West’s letter, the development would not be branded with college logos or signage “but the college (as land owner) will have significant say in ensuring the image and environment of the institution is preserved.”
