A cluster of new high-rises that has been going up next to the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City is about to get bigger and a little friendlier to pedestrians.
Developers recently won initial approval of designs for a new 16-story residential complex with 321 dwellings to be added to what is being called The West Quarter, well underway on the city’s Block 67, at roughly 260 W. 200 South.
The new tower and supporting midblock street construction, dubbed West Quarter Block C, represents a second phase of the larger mixed-use project going up at a choice spot between the city’s urban heart and its rapidly growing warehouse district to the west, according to The Ritchie Group and Garn Development Co.
(Dwell Design Studio, via Salt Lake City) Rendering of The West Quarter Block C, an apartment tower and pedestrian corridor proposed at 260 W. 200 South on Salt Lake City's Block 67, adjacent to the Salt Palace Convention Center.
The new apartment complex will be added on a 2.34 acre midblock lot next to The Charles, an 11-story tower of 240 luxury rentals, and another 11-story building with 272 guest rooms that has been shaped into two hotels, Le Meridien and Element Salt Lake City Marriott — all of which are nearing completion.
Half the floors of The Charles, which features an interior plaza and lavish rooftop amenities, are now open to leasing, with the other half expected to open before year’s end. Both The Charles and the hotel are to feature restaurants on the ground floor.
The development also forced a fresh look at Salt Lake City’s Japantown and ways to bolster the vestiges left along an adjacent stretch of 100 South of what was once a vibrant ethnic neighborhood spanning several blocks in each direction.
(GSBS Architects) Rendering of draft street designs and light fixtures proposed for Japantown in Salt Lake City. The one-block cultural hub is envisioned along downtown Salt Lake City’s 100 South between 200 and 300 West next to the Salt Palace, in honor of what was once a thriving neighborhood for Utah’s Japanese American residents.
After extensive talks between developers and community members, the city’s Redevelopment Agency released a carefully crafted vision in early 2021 for Japantown Street, an Asian-themed festival street to run along 100 South between 200 West and 300 West.
Plans for the new tower on Block 67 call for 85 studios and 161 one-bedroom, 68 two-bedroom and nine three-bedroom apartments along with 25,000-plus square feet of ground floor space devoted for retail outlets, a lobby, leasing office and a pet care area, the developers say.
The tower is also designed with an interior parking deck with 342 stalls and amenities such as a clubhouse, exercise facilities, covered outdoor terraces and a pool and courtyard on its ninth floor.
(Rendering courtesy of The Ritchie Group/Architectural Nexus, via Salt Lake City) An early rendering of The Ritchie Group's proposed Block 67 development in Salt Lake City, known as The West Quarter, as though looking north along 300 West. Supporters of Japantown along 100 South fear the project could overwhelm the historic cultural enclave.
The existing Royal Wood Office Plaza building and adjoining surface parking on Block 67 will be torn out as part of this new phase, according to the designs.
Subsequent phases envisioned for Block 67 include two more towers, one with offices and the other combining a hotel with luxury condominiums.
Stitching SLC together for pedestrians
In addition to new housing, a key element of this latest phase is what it may offer downtown pedestrians.
This second phase involves completing a partially built midblock street by extending it from 200 South through the block’s southwest corner to 300 West, also known as John Stockton Drive, essentially creating a shortcut for those walking to and from The Gateway and Vivint Arena and the downtown core using 200 South.
To be called Quarter Row, the street will be publicly accessible via an easement. Lots of attention is being paid, the developers say, to making it an active and engaging city street, with shops and potentially, new eateries.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Construction crews gather for a group photo as they wait for the crane to lift the final beam, "topping out" the first phase he West Quarter project, near Vivint Arena, on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021.
Ryan Ritchie, owner of The Ritchie Group, said Block 67 is seen as “critical” for the east-west pedestrian flows it will foster from the central business district to a rapidly developing neighborhoods and entertainment district west of the Salt Palace.
Those pedestrian flows are likely to amp up, too, with the recent opening of the 26-story Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City hotel, with its 700 hotel rooms and meeting spaces aimed at drawing large conventions.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Ryan Ritchie Co-Founder and Managing Partner of The Ritchie Group, talks to the crowd before the crane to lifts the final beam, "topping out" the first phase he West Quarter project, near Vivint Arena, on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021.
“The West Quarter fits as we try to stitch our city back together,” Ritchie said, referring to the way the Salt Palace’s footprint has bifurcated the downtown area “for 65-plus years.”
“We’re continuing that vision,” Ritchie told city planners. “Block C is the next part of that ... The whole intent of Quarter Row is to be an active pedestrian walkway.”
The strategy, he added, is to populate the corridor with appealing shops and restaurants spread across most of new building’s ground floor.
City approves additional building height
City zoning rules for that part of downtown usually would limit building heights to 75 feet, but developers successfully sought to lift that to just over 185 feet — and secured approval in mid-December from the city’s planning commission.
The city is allowing the new building to be taller, in part, because the newly constructed midblock street will have a public easement.
(Salt Lake City Planning Department) A map of Salt Lake City's Block 67, including The West Quarter Block C, a new apartment building and pedestrian corridor proposed at 260 W. 200 South.
Planners also say the added height is in keeping with what is already on nearby properties. The impacts on Block 67 also will be offset by the building’s design.
Ashvini Dinoy, an associate principal with Dwell Design Studio in Salt Lake City and project manager of this phase, said ground-level materials for the new building will be primarily beige brick, matching the color palate of prior Block 67 construction. Upper floors of the facade will be metal panels with glazing.
Parking levels between floors two and eight will be wrapped with a flexible mesh facade with a customizable exterior, Dinoy said, although exact details on its design are to be determined.
