A home in an historic Salt Lake City neighborhood could be torn down to make way for new mixed-use development, according to a proposal submitted to the city.
The 1912 building is located on the border of the business district near the historic entry to the University Of Utah. Sitting at 1259 E. 200 South, it is currently a single family home and has also has been used as a multi-unit property. It falls within the city’s East Central neighborhood and the University Local Historic District, the latter of which is why demolishing the building would need special permission from the city’s historic preservation division. The building is currently zoned as Single and Two Family Residential (R-2).
If the request is granted, the developers say the demolition would lead to redevelopment on the site, which is less than a block from the University of Utah campus and just steps away from notable businesses like University Pharmacy and The Pie Pizzeria Underground. The home is also less than a block north of restaurants like Osteria Amore and B&D Burger.
“This development would include the corner property to the east, leading to a revitalization of the corner of 200 South and 1300 East with a likely mixed-use project,” according to a project description submitted to Salt Lake City by the developer, Wright Development Group. “A project of this type is only possible given an approval of this request.”
The materials submitted to the city do not say what exactly could be built on the site.
Wright Development Group wrote that the current home has seen enough renovations over the years that the “original architectural features, materials, and design, (have) been diminished,” according to a project description submitted to Salt Lake City.
The developers wrote that, “Due to the high concentration of the historically contributing building in the district, it is unlikely removal of this property will create a material adverse effect on the concentration of historically significant structures. The property is relatively culturally insignificant and is not seen as a landmark or a particularly unique example of historically contributing properties. Changes to exterior materials reduce this historic link as well.”
Immediately east of the home is an unused building that used to be a gas station. Both the former gas station and existing home are both owned by Wright Development Group, and it’s likely that both lots would be redeveloped if the demolition request is granted. Together, the parcels add up to .41 acres total.
This block — between 100 and 200 South and 1200 and 1300 East — is home to a handful of multifamily buildings, including the Wasatch Towers building at 1235 E. 200 South and the University Heights apartments at 130 S. 1300 East. Both buildings are zoned as RMF-35.
The developers said that given the fact that multifamily buildings already exist on the block and the streetscape has changed from its historic past, the demolition would not diminish the existing area. Developers wrote, “This proposal is consistent with this pattern and is not expected to further diminish the historic context along 200 South, making it compatible and beneficial to the development of the area.”
Developers also said the building no longer has historic value. A document submitted to Salt Lake City says the home’s original brick exterior has been covered by stucco, and renovations over the years have made the building feel less like it was built in 1912 and, “more similar to other buildings constructed in the 1990s.” A search of the Salt Lake City Archives Department yielded no historic photographs of the property, according to the developers.
Salt Lake City planners will review the demolition application, hold a public hearing, and present it to the Historic Landmarks Commission for a vote.
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