Wilmington Gardens providing more than just new residents
Hidden Hollow will soon be a little less hidden. The small park that links the Sugar House business district to Sugar House park, via the Sugar House Draw, will now have another entry point off Wilmington Avenue as part of the Wilmington Gardens development. The multi-building project which is nearing completion on Wilmington Avenue just north of Highland Drive is part of Sugar House’s evolution toward increased density and mixed-use projects that are make Sugar House the Salt Lake neighborhood for urban enthusiasts seeking walkable and vibrant spaces.
The Wilmington Gardens development not only contributes density and mixed uses, but public amenities that enhance not just the development but the neighborhood as well. Not only does the Wilmington Garden project provide another entrance to Hidden Hollow, the project will also include a public plaza and development that fronts the street level on Wilmington Avenue and the “trail level” in Hidden Hollow.
The 212 residential unit, mixed-use project includes two-story modern town-homes that face Hidden Hollow and two mixed-use buildings at two-stories and seven-stories respectively.
Like Wilmington Gardens, Sugar House Crossing (the project that replaces the infamous “Sugar Hole”) focuses its energy at the street level and on the pedestrian. The six-story, 200-unit, Sugar House Crossing offers plenty of ground floor retail that on the north side will open to a pedestrian plaza and eventually a streetcar stop.
Not all projects under construction in Sugar House are helping to make the city more walkable and engaging. Liberty Village, a large residential development near 2100 South on McClelland Street, has limited street level engagement. The five-story, 171-uit project closes itself off to 2100 South, Sugar House’s main east-west artery. Instead of providing street level access to the Sugar House business district, the north side of the building serves as a barrier, walling off the development from the activity along 2100 South.
More development is on its way to Sugar House, it will be up to the community if that development looks more like Wilmington Gardens (engaging with and enhancing the neighborhood) or Liberty Village (a closed off residential box that has little interaction with its surroundings.)
