Demo work starts on affordable housing project near Granary
After several years of being in development, demolition work has begun for the Granary Place Apartments, an affordable housing residential project at the northeast corner of the intersection of 700 South and 300 West in the Central Ninth neighborhood.
The project, by developers JF Capital, will be five stories with 134 residential units and replaces a commercial warehouse and garage just over 1.5 acres. The units will be a mix of 20 studios, 70 one bedroom units and 44 two bedroom units. All units will be reserved for residents earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (currently set at $30,350 for a household of one and $34,680 for a two-person household). According to planning documents, rents will range from $691 a month for the studios to $880 a month for the two-bedroom units.
The project is funded through state and federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and two loans from Salt Lake City through the Housing Trust Fund. The Salt Lake City Council approved two $500,000 loans to JF Capital in 2016, the most recent loan being approved in December.
The Granary Place Apartments is one of several affordable housing projects in development in the city. Construction is underway on the 616 Lofts (at the southwest corner of the intersection of 600 South and State Street) and the 9th East Lofts at Bennion Plaza (on the 400 South block of 900 East). Both projects will add a combined 342 units.
Construction is also underway on another Central Ninth affordable housing project, the 1015 South Apartments. The four-story project, on the 1000 South block of 200 West, will have 54 residential units with 11 units reserved for residents earning at least 50 percent AMI (Area Median Income).
Plans for the Granary Place have been in place since at least 2012, since then the project has changed hands and designs several times before JF Capital took over the project and decided to convert it to an affordable housing development.
According to Adam Paul of JF Capital, the project will have modern amenities, the majority of which will be concentrated on the 5th floor. Amenities include bicycle parking, office space and a coffee lounge, a pet and bike cleaning room and a game room. The fifth floor will house a clubhouse with a kitchen and an outdoor gathering deck with a bbq, fireplace and lounge seating.
City officials are working to close an estimated 7,500 gap in affordable housing units and are encouraging affordable housing projects to be near mass transit. Each affordable housing project currently under construction is within two blocks of a TRAX station.
