Local non-profit developer Artspace, a pioneer in west Downtown adaptive reuse and affordability, celebrated the re-opening of a refurbished 62-unit building in the Rio Grande district yesterday.
The 25-year-old mixed-use, affordable project at 511 W 200 South, called Norbridge Court, stands on a corner that has seen some of Salt Lake City’s seedier sides over the years.
West 200 South, once known as Greek Town, was over time host to a red-light district, skid row, an illegal drugs market, and a 1000-bed emergency homeless shelter.
The shelter was closed and demolished five years ago, replaced by a multi-family building, and heavy policing has taken a big bite out of the drug market. Homeless services are still provided in the neighborhood, but at a much smaller scale.
In the middle of it all, since 2001, sits Norbridge Court.
Artspace’s story
A 501(c)(3) non-profit, Artspace was founded in 1980 by local artists needing a place to live and work. Their original building, a rental with a lease that expired at 25 years, was a converted rail warehouse along Pierpont Avenue between 300 and 400 West, just north of Pioneer Park.
The original Artspace on Pierpont, in 2006. Photo by Jeffrey Shell via Flickr
“We had $50.00 when we started up,” Artspace founder Stephen Goldsmith told Building Salt Lake. It took two years to get approval from the IRS, after which Goldsmith ran the organization as a volunteer for three years before getting paid, he said.
Goldsmith later served as Planning Director for Mayor Rocky Anderson (2000-2008) and as a professor in the University of Utah’s School of Architecture and Planning. Among other public art works, he is credited with the original Seven Canyons Fountain in Liberty Park.
Goldsmith helmed Artspace for 20 years, after which he hired its current President, Jessica Norie.
Norie told us “We take pride in being the only nonprofit developer in the Salt Lake Valley that provides both affordable residential and commercial space with an emphasis on supporting the arts and strengthening communities.”
Artspace currently owns seven affordable mixed-use projects, all in Salt Lake City, that provide 278 housing units and over 125,000 square feet of commercial space at below-market rents. Those assets are worth $31.5 million, according to their most recent 990 filing with the IRS.
You don’t have to be an artist to live there – they don’t screen tenants that way. However, as Norie told us, “The advantage for artists [to live] at Artspace is being part of the creative community and adjacent to other artists.”
When asked to reflect on Artspace’s trajectory since he left, Goldsmith observed, “I sense that the organization may be embracing more of its role as both a housing development organization and a cultural one.”
Part of the refresh of Norbridge is offering the art community new gallery and event space, including its previously under-utilized courtyard. Craft Lake City, an Artspace commercial tenant, will be offering quarterly exhibitions and receptions through 2027, Norie announced.
The rebuilt courtyard at the Norbridge Court apartment building in Salt Lake City. Photo by Jacob Scholl | Building Salt Lake
Goldsmith reflected, “With Craft Lake City and its vital work as an anchor tenant at the Norbridge project, under the inspired leadership of Angela Brown, I can imagine another creative evolution in Artspace’s story.”
The refreshed tenant mix at Norbridge is encouraging to Norie: “The renovation project gave us the opportunity to handpick engaging commercial tenants for the spaces to bring activity to the area, like when Saturday Cycles hosts events with SLUG Magazine, for example.”
In the past, some of the building’s retail spaces have struggled. The author, while representing this area on the city council from 2008-16, frequently heard complaints from some of the commercial tenants about safety and security issues. Drug usage, passed out inebriates, and human feces in the courtyard were not uncommon reports.
Norie told us, “The neighborhood is definitely better, but as always we would like more active commercial neighbors.”
She enthusiastically stated that “Our new ground floor commercial spaces are 100% leased with active businesses and artists: Reflective Arts Studio, Saturday Cycles, Under the Umbrella Bookstore and Café, Art Access, Empire Ink Tattoos and Akimbo Clothing.”
Norbridge Court project
Consisting of 62 two- and three-bedroom apartments, the building’s comprehensive renovation includes redesigned apartment layouts, all-new kitchens and bathrooms, upgraded building systems, in-unit washers and dryers, a fitness center, computer room, and an outdoor courtyard designed for hosting small community events, says Artspace’s press release.
The building also underwent a complete re-cladding of its exterior, including a large-scale mural across the building’s exterior and interior hallways.
Norbridge Court Artspace, in June 2019. Image Courtesy Google Earth.
The new exterior of the Norbridge Court apartment building in Salt Lake City. Photo by Jacob Scholl | Building Salt Lake
“More than 25 years ago, Artspace developed Norbridge Court to provide affordable housing and commercial space that helped revitalize the surrounding neighborhood. Today, we’ve had the opportunity not only to preserve that affordability, but to thoughtfully renovate the property so it continues to meet the needs of today’s residents and businesses,” said Cindy Franke, Vice President at Artspace.
“We emphasized sustainability by adding 200kW of solar power, and the project is Energy Star and the Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home certified,” Norie added.
Next project?
Norie told Building Salt Lake following the ribbon cutting event Wednesday the organization will begin the planning work to develop a new ground-up project on the surface parking lot just to the west of Norbridge, at 545 W 200 South.
“We work on one project at a time, so will start planning our next one this fall now that Norbridge is almost wrapped up.”
Artspace Norbridge, center-left, with the site of the new-build project outlined in blue, center. Image courtesy Google Earth
She said there’s no specific timeline in place or specifics on how many housing units the building will hold. However, she said that like Artspace’s other buildings, the new project will have ground floor commercial space and affordable housing units.
“Artspace goes into buildings that need to be revitalized, and we hope it gentrifies around us,” Norie stated. Speaking to the organization’s resilience, she added, “Because our buildings stay affordable for the commercial and the residential, we’re not going anywhere.”
“We have a history of using innovative financing strategies to build high-quality projects, allowing us to provide affordable rental rates, weather the ups and downs of the real estate market, and have operating cash flow to invest in future projects,” Norie added.
The Rio Grande area has changed significantly over the years, with a number of new multifamily buildings rising up along 200 South since Norbridge was built 25 years ago. Given Salt Lake City’s plan to rebuild 500 West and further planned projects like the CRA’s Rio Grande District and the new USA Climbing headquarters, the area seems poised like never before for additional growth.
“We’ve been hoping for a long time for neighbors, and we’re hoping for more soon,” Norie said.
Jacob Scholl contributed to this story
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