What’s new on Salt Lake City’s skyline? Check out this 31-story apartment tower.

Salt Lake City’s newest high-rise luxury apartment tower puts a notable landmark on the east end of its skyline.

The new Worthington Residences, 275 S. 200 East, stands 335 feet tall and offers a mix of 359 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom dwellings to further boost a recent spurt in the city’s downtown population.

The glass and earth-toned building is 31 stories, ranking it among the Utah capital’s tallest residential towers while the soon-to-be record holder — the 450-foot luxury Astra Tower, going up at 89 E. 200 South — approaches completion at year’s end.

The Worthington’s units will rent at market rates and have high-end interiors and amenities. Leasing opened in June, and a property manager said about 21% already have tenants. Studios start at about $1,530 a month while a penthouse three-bedroom might go for around $10,000 monthly.

“We want anyone and everyone to live here,” said Jessica Minton, senior vice president for Convexity Properties, the Chicago-based real estate investment firm behind the tower.

By the firm’s own estimate, the Worthington Residences cost about $175 million to construct and the tower is Convexity’s first Utah project — though it has a portfolio of offices, retail spaces, hotels and residential units in at least 18 states.

Convexity is a subsidiary of DRW, an international trading company. It reportedly has a portfolio worth over $2.3 billion nationally.

Minton said the Worthington’s decor and key attractions — pool, spa, fitness room and smartly decorated communal areas — are designed for wide and timeless appeal and “are quite universal. We try to stick to what is tried and true, so we don’t do anything that is New Age or trendy.”

Since the Worthington opened, Minton said, its living spaces have drawn interest from young professionals, empty nesters looking to downsize and college students from the University of Utah.

The tower’s owners also highlight the 104 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom dwellings as suitable for families, a housing type in relatively short supply citywide, officials say, even as thousands of newly built apartments come on line downtown.

Understated luxury features

Thanks to its height, of course, the Worthington’s upper floors provide panoramic views. The building has its own dedicated parking and a 24/7 concierge.

Apartments and shared areas in the Worthington have a simple yet elegant feel, with floor-to-ceiling windows, top-flight appliances and finishes, along with lots of storage. The tower’s attractions are capped by a 12th-floor deck with a heated outdoor pool, spa, sauna, fire pits, grilling stations and assorted gathering spaces, including dedicated stations for those working from home.

The residential complex eventually will have a grab-and-go market, Minton said, and tenants have access to ski and bicycle maintenance and storage facilities, pet-washing stations and a dedicated lobby and locker system catering to package and meal deliveries.

Property managers have yet to fill a 5,800-square-foot commercial space on the ground floor of the Worthington facing 300 South, Minton said, but that is likely to be an eatery of some kind.

Skyward trends downtown

The Worthington Residences also marks another milestone in the growth of luxury living in Salt Lake City reaching skyward, while the city and state wrestle with a shortage of homes and apartments accessible to residents making average incomes for the region.

The city’s first high-rise rental in its history, the 21-story Liberty Sky, 151 S. State St., went up in 2022, built by The Boyer Co. and Cowboy Partners, both based in Utah.

Work began in early 2022 on Astra Tower, which will bring 372 or so high-end apartments spread over 40 stories to a corner 200 South and State Street.

That new tower, being built by Boston-based Kensington Investment Co. on the former site of a Carl’s Jr. fast-food restaurant and adjoining surface parking lot, has already had its top beams placed and reportedly will be completed this summer.

Texas-based developer Hines announced in April that a luxury residential skyscraper it was planning to build at the former Utah Theater site on Main Street remains stalled after losing a key financial backer.

That Main Street project, planned in partnership with the city’s Redevelopment Agency, is one of several put on hold in the aftermath of interest rate hikes and tightening credit in commercial real estate.

Hines, meanwhile, has proceeded with a high-profile conversion of the University Club Tower on South Temple into 217 high-end dwellings with lavish amenities.

A newly released analysis from the Downtown Alliance, an arm of the Salt Lake Chamber representing downtown merchants, estimates that nearly 14,000 people will live in the heart of the city’s central business district within 10 years — a 130% jump over that area’s current population.

As the trend of new residents moving to Utah’s urban core continues at a relatively high pace, the number of apartment units downtown grew by an estimated 103% from 2021 to this year, with a vacancy rates at a historic low of about 2%.

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