U. to assume ownership of historic Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah is poised to assume ownership of a historic train station toward the western edge of downtown Salt Lake City, although it remains unclear what it plans to do with it.

The Rio Grande Depot, 300 S. Rio Grande Street, was to be transferred over to the university along with operations and maintenance costs, according to legislative documents tied to HB2, a state appropriations bill that passed the 2026 legislative session last week.

It shows that over $1.2 million in ongoing state appropriations and income tax funds will be transferred to the university toward those operations and maintenance costs, according to the document. The Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management has started the process for transferring state property, which can take months to complete, said Jeff Hymas, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Government Operations, in a statement to KSL.

The plan is to have the university use it for "educational purposes" in the future, he added.

The University of Utah acquired parcels of land about a block west of the depot within Salt Lake City's fledgling Rio Grande District, as it has expanded to more parts of Salt Lake City in recent years.

University officials were recently approached by state leaders about the opportunity to receive the historic building as part of maintaining state control of it, but they have yet to formulate a plan for the space.

"We're excited to have another location downtown to create connections for our students and faculty to Salt Lake City," said Rebecca Walsh, a spokeswoman for the University of Utah, in a statement to KSL.

Utah acquired the 116-year-old building for $1 in 1977, two years after the Rio Grande Railroad had the building added to the National Register of Historic Places. It's remained attached to the Utah State Historical Society since then, even housing its vast historical collection for decades.

However, it's been closed since March 2020, when a 5.7-magnitude earthquake caused significant damage to it. That launched a multiyear seismic retrofit project, which pushed the history agency out to other state properties. Its collection is slowly moving into the new Museum of Utah at the Utah Capitol this year.

The depot is a designated local landmark, which gives it additional protection beyond its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management teams are still working to make "the necessary repairs" to the building, Hymas said.

"As part of this process, (the division) is working to ensure the restoration of the building's structural integrity and to protect against future seismic activity. The building is currently closed to the public," he added.

Salt Lake City leaders, who are currently in the process of exploring a rezone of the Rio Grande District to fit its new long-term vision for the area, told KSL that they weren't aware of the transfer. The City Council led a public hearing on the rezoning proposal on Tuesday, which garnered several comments from a group proposing a plan to tunnel the railroad lines in the area and restore the depot as a transit hub.

The Rio Grande Plan has gained the endorsements from city and county leaders but has yet to receive much state or federal support that would likely be needed to carry out the ambitious concept. It's unclear how the Rio Grande Depot's new ownership will affect those plans.

The new zoning, including on the land the University of Utah previously acquired, would mirror the new district surrounding the Delta Center that city leaders approved in 2024, allowing for new buildings of up to 600 feet in height west of the depot.

City leaders are expected to vote on it later this month.

It's not the only school planning to add a presence in the area. Western Governors University announced on Thursday that it plans to build its new national headquarters on land located within five blocks of the depot.

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