Our office is nestled in the heart of Sugar House. We have had some sunny and warm, full-moon-high-in-the-sky January days that have almost felt like the beginning of spring. But as you can see from how packed the Gold’s Gym parking lot is, New Year’s Resolution season is still going strong.
There is a lot going on in our neighborhood that is scheduled to be completed in 2014. The mixed-use Sugar House Crossing development is nearing completion which has brought us some pretty tasty restaurants and is soon to bring us 210 new neighbors. Right next to it is the Liberty Village complex which will have 136 units—and those are just the closest and largest developments.
The Sugar House Streetcar opened in early December and it connects our little “Downtown Sugar House” to Trax and the rest of the valley. The area is becoming a millennial’s dream—a walkable, bikeable, transit-connected mixed-use urban neighborhood close to work, school, and nightlife.
Yesterday afternoon I dropped my car off for service and rode the Streetcar, also called the S-line, back to work. I saw the former Zellerbach building from the window and began to daydream about what it might be next. Just west of Sugar House’s center, there is over 100,000 SF of space waiting to be redeveloped. I imagine a vibrant apartment community of young urbanites using the S-line and Trax to commute to work, Westminster College, and the University of Utah. Tenants could even walk to Salt Lake Community College South City Campus—it’s just a mile away through tree-lined streets.
The development could have a party room, a pool, a “backyard”, a fitness center or any number of other common spaces so that tenants get to know each other and the building becomes a friendly community.
Directly north of the building is the Salt Lake Culinary Center, where tenants could take cooking classes or attend one of the many events hosted there. One block to the west, on 200 East, is Skinworks—an esthetics school with spa services at student-friendly prices, and AMF Ritz Classic Lanes, a large bowling alley which features a sports bar, billiards, and College Night on Tuesdays.
After couple minutes on the Streetcar, tenants could get off at the 700 East stop to hang out at Café Solstice and do some Zumba at Fitness on 7th. At the next stop, 900 East – Fairmont, tenants can grow food at Sugar House Community Gardens, buy food at Smith’s, get beautiful at Got Beauty, or swim at Fairmont Aquatic Center. One more stop, 1040 East – Sugarmont, and they’re in the center of it all.
I hope someone shares my vision and has the skills required to make the transformation. I know that this would be a great place to live, connected to everything. Please see our Zellerbach brochure or video for more information. Let us know if you’d like to walk through!