The RDA maintains 10 established redevelopment project areas throughout Salt Lake City, eight of which are currently collecting tax increment. Three additional areas are currently under review for creation: Northwest Quadrant, State Street, and 9 Line.
This Community Development Area (CDA) includes all of Block 70 in Downtown Salt Lake City with boundaries from Main Street to State Street and from 200 South to 100 South. The RDA collects tax increment generated from properties on Block 70, including the first-class 111 Main office tower that was constructed in conjunction with the RDA-led George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater and Regent Street projects.
In 1992, Salt Lake City condemned Derks Field, a minor-league baseball stadium built in 1946 and located on 1300 South. The City hired an architectural firm to determine the feasibility of renovating the existing structure. It concluded that building a new facility was more cost effective. In 1993, the RDA created a new project area for the sole purpose of building a new baseball stadium and parking facility. The new Smith’s Ballpark, formerly SpringMobile BallPark or Franklin Covey Field, has a 15,500 seat capacity and is the home of the Salt Lake Bees. This project area does not generate tax increment.
The Central Business District Project Area (CBD) includes much of downtown Salt Lake City, the commercial heart of not only the city, but the State of Utah. The guiding plans for the CBD call for strengthening the City’s tax base through economic development and growth. These efforts should provide for new commercial and housing development, as well as rehabilitation of existing downtown buildings. The CBD Project Area Plan also recommends installation of public improvements, including transportation enhancements and cultural facilities. Within the area’s 266 acres, which are bounded by North Temple and 500 South, and by 400 West and 200 East, the RDA generates tax increment from a selected 100 acres. The remaining 166 non-tax increment generating acres are still eligible for RDA programs and funding.
The conversion of a 4-story, 73,000-square-foot commercial building into 380 residential units has given new life to a previously under-utilized, prominently located building at 316 West 200 South. Funded in-part by a $3-million loan from the RDA’s Loan Program, the Paragon Station development is now fully-occupied.
In 1981, the Central City Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan was adopted by the Redevelopment Agency. The purpose of the Central City Project Area is to acquire and rehabilitate property in conformance with the Central Community Master Plan and Salt Lake City Master Plan.
Since the Central City Project Area does not allow for collection of any tax increment, the RDA’s scope in this area has been limited to rehabilitation projects. Funding provided for this area comes primarily from Project Area Housing and City-Wide Housing funds.
To learn more about the different loan and tax reimbursement programs we offer, visit our Programs page.
The Depot District Redevelopment Project Area (DD) is located just west of Downtown, covering the area from North Temple to 400 South Street and 400 West Street to Interstate 15. Historically, the area has been part of the City’s industrial and railroad corridor. With the reconstruction of I-15 off-ramps and the consolidation of rail lines along 700 West Street, the improved accessibility of the area has made investment more desirable. The newest Depot District project is the aptly named Station Center, envisioned to be Salt Lake City’s premier transit-oriented, mixed-use development.
One of the key developments in the Depot District is The Gateway, located between North Temple and 200 South, and 400 West and 500 West. The RDA provided a $16.5 million tax increment reimbursement for the project as an incentive for The Gateway to build a project near downtown that would provide unique shopping, office and housing opportunities.
To learn more about how the RDA’s loan and tax reimbursement programs can be utilized, visit our Programs page.
Artspace Macaroni Flats is the first completed development in the RDA’s transit-oriented multi-block Station Center project, and includes affordable housing and street-level commercial units, and energy-efficient amenities. The RDA preserved historical elements of the 118-year-old structure previously called the Beehive Brick Building, which previously operated as a pasta factory.
The RDA is partnering with Salt Lake City’s Transportation Division and UTA to redesign this corridor to include a paved trail that will provide a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable off-street route for walking and bicycling between downtown Salt Lake City and the Jordan River. The proposed trail will consist primarily of a 12-foot-wide asphalt path with improved at-grade crossings of local and arterial streets, as well as wayfinding signage, signed connections to existing transit networks, benches, and bike racks. Landscaping along both sides of the trail will be irrigated to support establishment of native, low-water vegetation. Daylighting and landscaping of City Creek through a segment of the trail between 800 West and the Jordan River is also proposed.
This 1.4-acre urban farm at 622 West 100 South in the Depot District Project Area was transformed from a 1.5-acre gravel parking lot into a fully functioning garden that employs eight women currently facing homelessness and barriers to traditional employment. To offset operation costs, the RDA leases the land to the Program for just $1 per year. The fresh produce harvested from the inaugural season was sold at a reduced rate to a local non-profit, and the farm’s output of seeds are being sold to the Snake River Seed Cooperative.
The Granary District Project Area (GD) was historically utilized as an industrial and railroad corridor serving Salt Lake City. More recently, additional housing and service-oriented commercial developments have been added to the project area’s mix of land uses. Plans for GD aim to create mixed-use neighborhoods that support commercial businesses and services by improving public infrastructure, addressing deterioration, preserving historic structures, financially supporting adaptive reuse development, and creating open space.
Granary District is the only project area to have a loan program all its own: The Granary District Adaptive Reuse Loan. This unique forgivable loan program has helped bring new local businesses to the Granary neighborhood through providing financial assistance to renovate structurally sound industrial buildings to serve more modern and active uses. The RDA has also provided financial assistance for the reconstruction of 900 South Street, a community-driven Granary Row initiative, and LEED-Certified Gold project tax increment reimbursements.
The RDA provided a $448,929 renovation loan to Atmosphere Studios to update a 66,000-square-foot warehouse and office building located at 326 West 700 South (Wells Fargo also provided a loan for the $1.1-million renovation). In addition to the loan, Atmosphere Studios utilized the RDA’s Granary District Adaptive Reuse Loan in the amount of $75,000 to help offset the costs of bringing the renovated building into compliance with seismic and fire codes. Completed in April 2016, the company employs more than 30 people and specializes in the design and construction of branded environments, including large-scale trade show exhibits.
In February 2017, Fisher Brewing Company opened its brewery and taproom to the public. The transformation of the pair of adjacent auto garages located at 320 West 800 South was facilitated in-part by the RDA’s $75,000 Granary District Adaptive Reuse Loan Program and Housing and Neighborhood Development’s (HAND) Neighborhood Building Improvement Program. The project aligns with the RDA’s strategy to combine the adaptive reuse of contributing structures with new infill development in a manner that supports commercial, residential, and light industrial uses in the Granary District.
The North Temple Project Area (NT) is a major entryway to Salt Lake City. Served by the TRAX airport light rail line, or “Green Line,” the North Temple Corridor connects Downtown to the Salt Lake City International Airport, making the area an opportune site for new transit-oriented development. The RDA is working to attract catalytic and infill development to the area by promoting and utilizing its construction loan programs, environmental assessment grants, and community outreach partnerships. The area’s form-based zoning and significant street improvements are transforming it into a vibrant, walkable, transit-oriented corridor.
Acclaimed as an area with unparalleled economic opportunity, the Northwest Quadrant Project Area (NWQ) offers over thousands of acres of developable land near an international airport, major highway interchange, and national rail crossing. Through the strategic cultivation of growth and prosperity, this area is positioned to become a model of regional economic development that elevates the global competitiveness of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, and the State of Utah. The complexity of developing the NWQ – combined with a changing economic landscape – requires a tactical approach to maximize the opportunities at hand. The RDA has created goals, objectives, and strategies for the utilization of tax increment to advance development objectives in a sustainable, efficient, and collaborative manner.
The RDA Board and the Salt Lake City Council approved the establishment of the Stadler Rail Single-Property Community Reinvestment Area in May 2018. Located just outside the southern boundary of the RDA’s Northwest Quadrant Community Reinvestment Area at Interstate 80 and 5600 West, the 63-acre area is being developed by Stadler US, Inc., the American arm of Sweden-based rail car manufacturer Stadler Rail. The site will be home to an approximately 975,000-square-foot facility including office and manufacturing space, and a test track for rail car production. With an estimated total cost of $174 million, the Stadler Rail Project has entered into a 20-year tax increment reimbursement agreement with the RDA for up to $9,610,722. The first phase of the project is underway and slated to be completed by the end of 2018.
The conversion of a 4-story, 73,000-square-foot commercial building into 380 residential units has given new life to a previously under-utilized, prominently located building at 316 West 200 South. Funded in-part by a $3-million loan from the RDA’s Loan Program, the Paragon Station development is now fully-occupied.
The North Temple Viaduct Community Development Area (CDA) was created in January, 2010 for the purpose of funding a percentage of the costs of rebuilding and shortening the North Temple viaduct, thereby stimulating economic development in the project area.
Located between 300 and 800 North, and between 200 and 400 West, the West Capitol Hill Project Area (WCH) includes portions of Salt Lake City’s historic Marmalade neighborhood, and its many pockets of charming residential and commercial structures. The redevelopment plan for WCH seeks to stabilize the residential neighborhoods, while strengthening the commercial business corridor along 300 West.
Grove Properties Inc. is in the process of constructing 12 market rate, for-sale townhomes just east of the Marmalade Branch of the City Library. Construction is a little more than halfway complete, with all 12 townhomes framed and roofed, and interior construction underway. When completed, the townhomes will overlook the public library plaza and forthcoming Marmalade Park, all conceived as part of the RDA’s comprehensive conceptual plan for the Marmalade Block.
Renovation crews are in the finishing stages of the historic renovation at the RDA-owned 528 Arctic Court residential property, including installation of cabinetry and flooring, final renovation of historic wood windows, landscaping, and construction of a driveway and garage. The front porch of the home was recently re-built during an April 2018 community Preservation at Work Workshop. Renovation is expected to be completed in fall of 2018, with the home being marketed and sold by Preservation Utah shortly thereafter. Per a Resolution adopted by the Board of Directors in December 2015, all proceeds from the sale of the home will be donated to the Michael Mahaffey Legacy Fund, which is a loan fund operated by Preservation Utah (formerly Utah Heritage Foundation) in memory of Michael Mahaffey, who served on both the UHF Board of Directors and the RDA’s Redevelopment Advisory Committee.
Located on the southern periphery of Downtown Salt Lake City, the West Temple Gateway Project Area is a gateway to the City’s business district by way of an attractive, urban residential environment. The area’s rising neighborhood business district on 900 South, aptly branded Central Ninth, is surrounded by an eclectic mix of multi-family developments, single-family homes, a thriving community garden, and a growing number of commercial and office buildings. The centrally-located 900 South TRAX Station, which was built with RDA assistance in 2005, provides area residents and businesses with excellent transit connectivity to other commercial and residential nodes located throughout the Salt Lake Valley. West Temple Gateway is ideal for transit-oriented development.
Jackie Biskupski, Executive Director
Lara Fritts, Chief Executive Officer
Danny Walz, Chief Operating Officer
Amy Fowler, Chair of Board of Directors
Chris Wharton, Vice Chair of Board of Directors
Office Address:
City & County Building
451 South State, Room 418
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
Mailing Address:
PO Box 145518
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-5518
