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SALT LAKE CITY — North Temple along Salt Lake City's west side has drastically changed over the past few years, as new multiple-use developments continue to emerge along each side of the road.
And a new, massive mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented development near 1500 West is joining the mix following a few years of planning. Salt Lake City leaders joined developers and others Tuesday in breaking ground on the Spark mixed-use development project, a project that seeks to add more housing and businesses right next to the Utah Transit Authority's Power Station.
"This is a big deal," said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. "This whole project actually builds community. It's not only housing."
The Spark project technically began in 2017, when Salt Lake City acquired the worn-down and burdensome Overniter Motel located at 1500 W. North Temple for $4 million. Mendenhall, who was a city council member at the time, remembers that the old motel was blighted and a "detractor" to the Fairpark and Jordan Meadows neighborhoods.
The 2.1-acre plot of land was the city's first purchase using $22 million for affordable housing set aside in 2016. In all, the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City invested about $14.5 million and Salt Lake City's Housing Stability Division added another $1 million toward the project, according to the city.
The $96 million project ultimately ended up in the Brinshore Development about 3½ years ago, as a part of a public-private partnership. The team, along with the KTGY architecture firm, pieced together a plan that creates 200 affordable housing units ranging from 20% to 80% of area median income, said David Brint, a principal for the company.
Salt Lake City officials note that the units will vary from studios to four-bedroom apartments. Half of the new housing will go toward families with incomes listed at 20% to 60% area median incomes, while the other half will go toward people with incomes listed at 70% to 80% of that threshold.
The project also calls for a ground-level retail space and a 5,000 square-foot child care center, as well as a common space and a pair of recreation areas. Its proximity along the TRAX line also is a "great asset," Brint added.
"It's important to make sure that we have created an environment where people who live in the community stay in the community," he said. "They can stay in the community in a place that is safe, beautiful and fun to live in."
Utah also assisted in the project, providing low-income housing tax credits and money from the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund.
Christina Oliver, director of the Utah Division of Housing and Community Development, said projects like this are important, as the state looks to chip away at its deficit of about 40,000 affordable housing units in the state.
Salt Lake City City Councilman Alejandro Puy added he's excited about what it will mean for the city's west side, too.
"The west side deserves these kinds of projects to bring not only housing but affordable housing — most of those units are," he said. "(It's) not only affordable housing but amenities to this district."
The project is currently slated to be completed by the end of 2024.
Spark is not the only major new development set to come to the part of the city in the coming years. It's located across the street from the Rocky Mountain Power headquarters, which will look drastically different in the future, too.
The company is in the process of redeveloping and redesigning its 100 acres of land in the area, starting with a multi-use and business office development at the headquarters. The Salt Lake City Council approved Rocky Mountain Power's first rezoning request last week.
"We are really excited. As you can see, this neighborhood is burgeoning with new development," Brint said. "Maybe even by the time we're done building this, this neighborhood may not look like it is now."
