C.W. Urban is planning to buy an assemblage of land in the heart of Downtown with plans to erect a new tower that would include owner-occupied condominiums.
The project would be the first for-sale project Downtown in years, and it would happen if the city agrees to sell its holdings to the developer and put in place restrictions that would ensure ground-floor activity and ownership opportunities in the building.
C.W. Urban would buy some land from the development company Dakota Pacific, which had been piecing together land near 200 S. Regent St. with vague plans to build a future tower. Instead, the company has decided to sell its land to the Centerville-based C.W. Urban.
The Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency is also deciding whether to sell its 0.13 acres to C.W. Urban for $1.13 million, which it says is fair market value and based on a recent appraisal. The RDA parcels sit in the middle of the Dakota Pacific parcels, making it critical for any developer interested in taking advantage of the D-1 zoning to work with the city.
A new memo filed by the RDA spells out what the city would receive in exchange for the potential sale and development.
In exchange for selling its land, C.W. Urban would build a 16-17-story condo tower with ground-floor retail space.
Sale of the city land would come with a restrictive use agreement. Under the agreement, C.W. Urban would agree to the following:
- A majority of the building must be individual condos forever, and no single person can own more than five units at any given time.
- At least 50 percent of the condos must be owner-occupied and can’t be used as short-term rentals.
- C.W. Urban would agree to build over 100 feet, which is the minimum within the D-1 zone, and cannot seek an exemption.
- None of the new tower’s back-of-house activities — like trash collection — could front 200 South or Regent Street.
- The ground floor spaces could include a lobby, but must also include tax-generating retail spaces or other neighborhood-serving uses.
C.W. Urban, which is a Building Salt Lake advertiser, could ask the city to remove the requirement that the units be for sale and at least 50 percent of the units be owner-occupied if it pays the city $3 million. That in-lieu of money would be used for the RDA’s other affordable housing projects in that case.
In a sign that it has changed its approach since fumbling the sale of the Utah Theater, the city said it wouldn’t close on its agreement with C.W. Urban until after the developer secures financing
The RDA agreed to sell the Utah Theater to the development group Hines for $0. In exchange, Hines was required to provide public benefits including a small amount of moderate-income units and a privately owned publicly accessible green space on top of a three-story parking garage, among other things.
Hines was tied up by legal challenges of the arrangement and ultimately missed the window of easy financing and low interest rates. It demolished the historic theater but that project remains stalled with few signs of progress. (The city offered giving the site to the county to move Abravanel Hall to make space for a new sports and entertainment district.)
C.W. is no stranger to developing for-sale housing. It initially specialized in quickly building townhomes, often in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark neighborhood. It later shifted in scale, adding projects in the suburbs and adding a land and single-family home component near Ogden.
The company previously planned to build two condo projects Downtown in projects it named the Olive and the Charli. It sold those projects mid-development to investors who converted the projects to rental apartments.
A 16-story condo tower would push the company’s development to new heights. C.W. Urban developed an six-story apartment building now called the Randi at 200 S. 200 E. The company received permission from the city to build below the 100-foot minimum previously required for corner parcels for that project.
C.W. Urban is expected to close on the Dakota Pacific properties next month. Its option to purchase the RDA land would expire Sept. 10, 2025, giving it just over a year to obtain financing and permits for the project.
The RDA board (City Council) will be briefed on the potential new development at its meeting on Tuesday.
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