Tony SemeradAnother new residential project proposed to be built adjacent to Salt Lake City’s Trolley Square shopping center would someday be among the tallest structures east of the busy 700 East corridor.
Investors are seeking permission to construct 97 for-sale condominiums in a grand 15-story glass- and metal-clad high-rise tower to be located at 705 E. 500 South, on the well-recognized site of a former historic church demolished there last year.
Backed by real estate executive and entrepreneur Chad Ariss with Aim Real Estate Group in Salt Lake City, the project submitted for zoning approval Thursday would be called Trolley House Residences.
(WATG) Rendering of a proposed condominium high-rise tentatively called Trolley House Residences, to be built adjacent to Salt Lake City's Trolley Square shopping and entertainment center near 700 East and 500 South.
Renderings submitted on the firm’s behalf by California-based architectural group Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo show a red-bricked ground-floor podium and large rounded brick and sandstone arches along the building’s street facade, along with projecting balconies on upper floors to give the structure a modern and jagged profile.
News of the project was first reported by the development news site BuildingSaltLake.com.
Developers are seeking to rezone the property to allow for three floors of additional height and more homes than are currently allowed. They also want the city to update the neighborhood’s master plan to allow more homes per acre.
(WATG) Rendering of a proposed condominium high-rise tentatively called Trolley House Residences, proposed near 700 East and 500 South in Salt Lake City.
The zoning changes will ultimately require approval from the Salt Lake City Council.
Initial application materials lodged with the city’s Planning Department say the building’s architectural features and materials are meant to echo elements of Trolley Square, built between 1908 and 1910 as streetcar barns and converted to a retail mall in the 1970s.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Trolley Square in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Some of the project’s design elements will also serve as a remembrance of the Phillips Congregational Church, a 1907-built Protestant church that occupied the lot, located just south of a neighboring tavern, X-Wife’s Place, until the church was razed in August 2025.
The new tower, if approved, would add to a growing the list of sizable residential projects built or proposed in recent years for that area of Salt Lake City’s Central City neighborhood, surrounding the historic red-bricked shopping mall.
Notably, after years of delay, developers recently launched into a luxury student housing project to be called Trolley North on the corner immediately to the west of the Trolley House Residences site. That’s to have 195 dwellings, spread over two buildings at seven and eight stories tall.
(Salt Lake City Planning Department) Rendering from a southeast perspective of a luxury student housing complex with 195 units to be built at 675 E. 500 South in Salt Lake City.
According to the recent zoning-change application submitted at City Hall, the elegant mixed-use condo building proposed by Aim Real Estate Group on that northeast corner of 700 East and 500 South would have around 48 dwellings to be kept at more affordable purchase prices and suitable for families.
As proposed, the new development would also feature 138 parking space on six levels, four above ground and two below. That’s along with a pool, spa, outdoor gardens and common dining area, as well as a 5,000-square-foot ground floor restaurant.
And at up to 182 feet tall, Trolley House Residences would also push farther eastward a trend of taller towers going up on fringes of Salt Lake City’s downtown area.
(WATG) Rendering of the ground-floor levels of a proposed condominium high-rise tentatively called Trolley House Residences, to be built adjacent to Salt Lake City's Trolley Square.
That vacant half-acre spot along heavily trafficked 700 East is served by mass transit along nearby 400 South. That could allow the prospective developer to seek certain zoning advantages, including the ability to boost the building’s height. Documents indicate it would rise to 166 feet at its rooftop deck, or 182 feet at its tallest point.
If the changes ultimately get a green light, the building as designed would offer a slate of highly prized multi-bedroom dwellings spread over its 15 floors, including 22 one-bedrooms, 54 units with two bedrooms and 21 with three bedrooms.
City leaders are these days putting a premium on new housing for families, in hopes of luring more of them into the city. The project could also give a lift to the city’s broader goals of creating more homes for ownership, as condo proposals have become increasingly rare.
(WATG) Rendering of a ground-floor fixture for a proposed condominium high-rise to be called Trolley House Residences, near Trolley Square in Salt Lake City.
As part of its pitch for a change in the property’s mixed-use zoning, Aim Real Estate Group is offering to keep 5% of its dwellings at a purchase price point accessible to those making about 60% of area median wages.
That, according rough calculations based on U.S. Census numbers, would translate to a family of three making about $66,300 having to pay no more than 25% or 30% of its gross household income on housing payments.
