Developers pitch college student housing complex at OfficeMax site along 400 South

by Jacob Scholl | May 20, 2025

Developers want to cater a massive redevelopment in Salt Lake City’s East Central neighborhood to college students, hoping that market will occupy an apartment complex consisting of nearly two acres of land along 400 South. In total, the complex could hold 696 beds if all units are leased out.

The project — located at 410 South 900 East and dubbed Chapter SLC in plans submitted to Salt Lake City — includes 252 units of housing along one of the city’s busiest streets. Submitted plans call for a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments. The development’s total density would be around 129 units per acre.

In addition to being roughly a mile away from the edge of the University of Utah campus, the development would also be just feet from the 900 East stop along the TRAX Red Line, which has multiple stops around the U. The site currently includes a shuttered OfficeMax and a large surface parking lot.

The six-story building would include a rooftop pool, two internal courtyards, residential walk-up units and public space on the ground floor, including a pedestrian plaza space and space for a cafe, according to plans submitted to the city. The plans also show space for murals on the building’s south side.

Plans call for 170 spaces for parking — translating to 0.67 vehicles per unit — which would be on the building’s ground floor, and garage access would be from 900 East. The site is within a Transit State Area zone, which requires limited parking.

This isn’t the first time developers have pitched an apartment complex at the OfficeMax site on 400 South, but the previous efforts have stalled out.

Chapter SLC would be the latest development oriented toward college students. Those types of apartment buildings can be found throughout the city, but a large number of student housing complexes are found along in the 400 South or 100 South corridors — both of which have public transit routes that go to campus.

The U’s undergraduate population has steadily increased over the past five years, as the university’s 2024 fall freshman class was 34% larger than that of the 2020 freshman class, according to the university. However, the university’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute predicts that Utah’s college-age population could begin to decrease within the next decade.

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