New dining option for East Liberty Park
The “9th and 9th” and “15th and 15th” districts are about to get some competition. The Salt Lake Planning Commission has approved variances for a new mix-used building in the East Liberty Park neighborhood. The development is planned for the parcel adjacent to Liberty Fresh, a local specialty foods store, just north of the 1300 South and 1100 East intersection.
The project will replace a vacant lot with overgrown weeds and some surface parking.
The proposed building will be two-stories tall and 8,920 square feet. The main tenant will be a restaurant that will occupy both floors in the east side of the building fronting 1100 East. The west side will be available for retail or office space. The building will have a brick exterior with large bay windows and an urban style exterior staircase connecting to the second floor.
According to the project’s architects, the restaurant will have outdoor dining fronting 1100 East with large, glass garage-door style windows that will allow the restaurant to open to the sidewalk when weather permits. Unique to the project is the inclusion of a rooftop patio space, providing an alternative outdoor dining experience for patrons.
The development is significant because it connects to the McClelland Trail and is adjacent to a city owned property to the north. The developer has agreed to take over landscaping responsibilities to connect the trail to 1100 East.
The original parcel had a triangular design with the largest section fronting the trail instead of 1100 East. To accommodate the project and ensure access to McClelland Trail, the city swapped a section of the city owned property for the section owned by the developer that separated the city owned land from the trail.
The restaurant will join nearby eateries, the Kyoto Japanese Resataurant and Finca, a Spanish tapas-style restaurant, that have an established presence in the neighborhood.
The design of the building is intended to complement nearby establishments as well as the surrounding neighborhood. The pedestrian-friendly amenities, such as the outdoor dining and connection to the McClelland trail, should make the area more walkable and a dining destination for Salt Lake residents.
