Salt Lake City has issued $40,200 in fines related to the illegal partial demolition of the historic Fifth Ward Meetinghouse in late March, Building Salt Lake has learned.
The fines, which began accruing daily in response to the demolition on Easter Sunday, will continue to add up despite the property having been sold late last month to a group that says it plans to convert the building into transitional housing.
The city will continue assessing fines against the new nonprofit that bought the structure from TAG SLC on July 29, using financing provided by a subsidiary of TAG.
“As with all changes in property ownership where there are ongoing zoning violations, Civil Enforcement will begin enforcing against the new owner,” said Blake Thomas, director of Community and Neighborhoods. “The prior owner will be responsible for the fines that accrued during their period of ownership. Nothing has changed with respect to the requirement that the building be restored.”
Records show that Jordan Atkin, who owns TAG SLC, signed off on the sale of the building at 740 S. 300 W. to Salt of the Earth, a newly registered nonprofit organization managed by Skyler Baird.
Baird told Fox13 that he intended to restore the building to “its former glory,” and declined to share more details.
But records outlining the incorporation of Baird’s new nonprofit show he’s one of three managers who plan to provide transitional housing. The documents list Skyler Baird as the director of the organization. Ruta Baird and Melodee Paul are also listed as trustees.
“Our nonprofit provides transitional housing and support services for individuals in need,” the group wrote. “We assist in finding permanent housing and offer educational programs to empower better life decisions, fostering stability and security for a brighter future.”
It’s not clear whether that transitional housing would be created within the Fifth Ward, but Salt of the Earth doesn’t own any other property aside from that building, county records show. It’s also not clear whether Baird has experience with real estate or retrofitting buildings into housing.
Representatives from TAG SLC didn’t respond to questions from Building Salt Lake about the sale or the fines, and they haven’t responded to requests for comment since we first reported on the illegal partial demolition on March 31.
Documents showed Atkin ordered the demolition, hired the contractor who carried out the work and intended to raze the building before city workers intervened on the holiday and stopped the work. The building has sat vacant ever since, as it has been for years.
Building Salt Lake requested the records on Aug. 13 after receiving a tip that Atkin had sold the building to a newly registered nonprofit organization.
The city didn’t respond within the five days typically afforded for public records requests made by the media. It provided the records on Tuesday, the last day allowed by Utah’s public records law before the request would have been considered denied.
The records included a spreadsheet showing that $26,100 of the fines have been paid. There’s a balance of $14,100, the spreadsheet shows.
The city has inspected the building as recently as Aug. 7, and has notified Salt of the Earth that it will continue to accrue fines until the building is restored, according to documents provided to Building Salt Lake.
The city demanded that Salt of the Earth apply for a building permit by Sept. 8 to restore the building, and to finish that work within 60 days. No building permit has been requested for the Fifth Ward.
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