Sugar House still rising
The Sugar House renaissance continues. Two projects by the Woodbury Corporation are poised to completely transform Wilmington Ave. in Sugar House. The projects at 1201 Wilmington Ave and 1202 Wilmington Ave are both mixed-use and will make Wilmington Ave one of the most pedestrian friendly corridors in Sugar House.
The 1201 Wilmington, also called Wilmington Gardens, project will fully utilize its location next to Hidden Hollow Park. Residents and visitors will be able to access Hidden Hollow from Wilmington Avenue thanks to a public plaza that will be built in the center of the project. Now that the Sugar House Draw has opened and connects Hidden Hollow to Sugar House Park, the Wilmington Gardens plaza will provide another entry point to Sugar House Park.
The large mixed-use project is replacing what was a long-vacant lot. Apart from the two-story town-homes facing Hidden Hollow park, the project consists of two buildings, one at seven-stories and the other at just two-stories. The buildings will include a combined 212 residential units and will have ground-floor commercial space. The larger building that fronts Wilmington Avenue will also provide office/commercial space at the mezzanine level. The project includes a 171-stall underground parking garage.
The project’s planners assert that the “mix of income-targeted housing for people that work in the area and housing for Westminster College students, faculty and staff will provide the mix of diversity in the area that has the opportunity to transform Sugar House.”
Prices for 1201 Wilmington’s town-homes will start at around $500,000 while the rental units will be 80 percent market rate and 20 percent will be income restricted, or “workforce housing,” Workforce Housing is intended for residents that work in the area and make at least 80 percent the area’s median income.
The ground-floor commercial component will provide space for restaurants, cafes and retail that will be accessible from Hidden Hollow, the project’s open plaza and Wilmington Avenue The mezzanine level will included administrative and academic space for Westminster College.
As the Wilmington Gardens project nears completion, the Woodbury Coroporation is preparing for its second project at 1202 Wilmington Ave-directly across the street. Woodbury Corp. proposes a 10-story mixed-use building for what is currently a parking lot behind a very suburban-style shopping area. Current plans call for a ground-floor retail along Wilmington Avenue with structured parking in the back, floors two through four will be just for parking and floors 5-10 will make up the “residential” component.
The fifth through eighth floors of residential are planned as senior and assisted living, with the ninth and tenth floors designated as independent living for seniors.
1202 Wilmington’s height and that it will replace a surface parking lot make it a welcome addition to a growing urban corridor.
Once completed, the Wilmington Gardens and the 1202 Wilmington project will make Wilmington Ave a vibrant, pedestrian friendly avenue that will further integrate urban and walkable characteristics into Sugar House. Both projects are just over a block away from the S line streetcar and will be even closer once the line is extended to 2100 South. The mixture of senior, student and multifamily housing will also help make heart of Sugar House increasingly diverse.
