The former site of a meetinghouse for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could become a high-end beauty school in the near future.
The old Richards Ward meetinghouse, located at 855 E. Garfield Ave. in Sugar House, could become the latest Aveda Institute location, a chain of beauty schools that are found across the country, according to a conditional use permit request filed with Salt Lake City last week.
The now-shuttered meetinghouse could be the state’s second Aveda location, as the first is located on University Avenue in Provo. The Provo location offers courses on cosmetology, esthiology and massage therapy, according to its website.
The building and parking lots total 1.14 acres, and the area is zoned as Single Family Residential (R-1-5000). A conditional use permit would be needed for Aveda to operate as a business. The former meetinghouse is located just off 900 East and less than a half mile from 2100 South. The building is also down the street from Salon Zazou, a beauty salon on the corner of Downington Avenue and 900 East that filings to the city say would benefit from the Aveda location.
Plans indicate the beauty school would make minimal changes to the exterior of the building, as they would aim to keep the building’s historic character, the project description submitted to the city says.
Aveda would have business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, according to the filings made to the city. The beauty school would not need additional utilities or parking, as the existing surface lots would suffice.
“All signage and lighting will be designed to avoid any negative impact on the surrounding area, and we are committed to maintaining a respectful relationship with our neighbors,” the project description submitted to the city says. “Our goal is to protect the historical integrity of the building’s exterior; its architectural features will remain unchanged. As a point of reference, the existing Aveda Institute in Provo — located in a similar neighborhood setting — has operated without complaints from nearby residents.”
The property was listed for sale by CBRE earlier this year for just under $3 million, according to CBRE’s website. The listing says the interior of the former meetinghouse is 15,788 square feet, and it was built in 1967.
County property records still show the LDS Church owns the Richards Ward meetinghouse, though it’s not immediately clear if the Church intends on selling the building or leasing the property to Aveda.
A CBRE representative is listed as the property owner in the conditional use application. Messages to the CBRE representative were not returned as of Tuesday evening. A LDS Church spokesperson had also not returned a request for comment as of Tuesday evening.
Please please don’t paint it white!