Developer, Salt Lake City Council clash over proposed tower east of downtown

SALT LAKE CITY — Sparks flew at times as a representative for a proposed residential high-rise east of downtown and Salt Lake City leaders discussed elements of the project and its potential impact on a historic church next door.

Silverado Management is seeking to rezone a large parcel at 265 E. 100 South in the Central City neighborhood from form-based mixed-use 8 (MU-8) to central business district (D-1) for the proposed 421-unit project, which would be overseen by Raven One, LLC, a part of the Cumming family that owns Snowbird.

While the D-1 zone has no building height limits, the city planners proposed a development agreement that would cap the building at 225 feet. This would help create more density and more housing, said Dave Hunter, founder of Silverado, as he presented the project to the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday.

However, members of the City Council voiced concerns about the request, including potential impacts to the historic St. Mark's Cathedral, which neighbors the property.

"While I'm not asking you to please me, I am asking you to approach this as a partner who is responding to very valid concerns in the community with more than just a 'Let's throw some spaghetti at the wall and see if we can solve a problem,'" said Salt Lake City Councilwoman Victoria Petro at one point in the meeting.

If approved, Raven One plans to demolish an existing office building and replace it with a residential tower containing a range of studio to three-bedroom units. Commercial space for a ground-level restaurant and coffee shop would be included.

It received a favorable recommendation from the Salt Lake City Planning Commission in October, but the advisory committee said the City Council could explore adding protection for the cathedral in a development agreement with the developer.

Related:

Proposed high-rise near downtown Salt Lake City sparks worries as it receives commission OK

Developers behind a proposed mixed-use tower east of downtown say they plan to find ways to mitigate impacts to a neighboring historic church as their project received support from Salt Lake City's planning commission.

That came in response to concerns raised by St. Mark's Cathedral about potential seismic impacts on the church during construction. It was built in 1871, with parts rebuilt after a 1930s fire and is a historic landmark in the city.

In addition, church leaders voiced concerns about the project's potential impact to solar panels it installed in 2021. The church is still paying off the system, which supplies over half of its power needs.

Salt Lake City Councilwoman Eva Lopez Chavez, whose district includes Central City and downtown, said she was concerned with the results of an analysis showing the impact the building would have on the system that St. Mark's Cathedral presented her.

Hunter said developers are still trying to determine a solution to the problem, but they want better clarity on the project's height before settling on a solution. They're seeking a D-1 zone to create as much density as they can to 2.2 acres near downtown, adding more housing to tackle the state's housing affordability issues, he explained.

"When you get acreage like that in one assembly, I would assume — (with) the problems that we're facing as a state — that would be something that we'd want to go and figure out how we could make it as dense as we possibly could to solve as many issues as we possibly can," he said.

They plan to work with a team that can offset construction impacts to the church, but they may ultimately pay the church for the costs associated with impacts to its solar panels, he noted.

Although the City Council members said they welcome more housing opportunities, they weren't necessarily thrilled by the plan.

Some said they'd like to address the project's concerns before granting the rezone and working out a development agreement afterward. That could create future challenges, especially if the project fizzles after the rezone is granted and is sold to another developer with less-than-ideal intentions, Petro said.

"What you're communicating to me is that I have to give you carte blanche, possibly violating some real concerns (from) existing constituents, without any assurances that anything good will come of this," she said.

The city recently pushed for more ground-floor businesses in new mixed-use developments, but Lopez Chavez added that recent projects have struggled to land tenants. That's an issue that could factor into the plan for more restaurant space on the bottom floor of the proposed project, which is why she recommended reviewing other options just in case.

"I think all of us want to see this succeed," she said. "I'm just letting you know I'm weary right now, only because I've seen projects (struggle with) significant vacancy because we're building at an unattainable cost, and it gets passed onto the consumer."

The two sides ultimately agreed to continue discussions on the matter, involving St. Mark's Cathedral, as they seek a solution that works for everyone.

A public hearing on the rezone is scheduled for Feb. 3, before that vote takes place sometime afterward.

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