Copyright Salt Lake Tribune
New student-focused housing is set to rise along Salt Lake City’s busy 400 South corridor, just a mile down the hill from the University of Utah. Fencing now encircles the familiar and now-vacant OfficeMax at 410 S. 900 East in advance of demolition after developers Cole West and CRG won approval of their designs for a six-story, 252-unit complex called Chapter SLC. Backers say the 696-bed residential building, to be located next to the TRAX Red Line that links the U. campus with other new school facilities planned in the downtown area, will help fill a crucial market gap. Housing in Salt Lake County ranks as some of the most expensive in the nation. Darlene Carter, CEO of Utah-based Cole West, said in a statement that with an emphasis on walkability, proximity to transit and creating “a rich mix of social spaces,” Chapter SLC would be “an environment where students feel supported, safe and inspired.” Another spokesperson for Cole West said Friday the building was expected to be completed by fall 2028. Housing aimed at students Developers say the complex will include mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and four-bedroom dwellings. Among other key building features planned are a rooftop pool, several internal courtyards, a ground-floor café and variety of co-working spaces and study lounges, nearly 65 indoor bike parking stalls and an outdoor plaza along 400 South. The student-focused housing also have recreation amenities such as a ski simulator, sauna and a fitness center, along with several public art murals. In June 2024, the U.’s board of trustees approved the purchase of the former City Centre building at 175 E. 400 South — which also sits near the TRAX Red Line — with a view to consolidating several U. presences elsewhere downtown into one site and expanding the school’s urban presence. The roughly two-acre OfficeMax site, according to Walker Wood, vice president of development for Cole West, “is uniquely positioned at the intersection of campus life, downtown energy, and transit access.” A place to ‘live and belong’ With U. experiencing record enrollment growth — up nearly 21% since 2015 to roughly 38,261 total students this fall — the new housing construction could help moderate some of the pressure on the city’s private rental markets. In various capacities, the U. currently operates or has under construction somewhere in the vicinity of 5,000 student housing beds on its Salt Lake City campus — with stated goals for thousands more. Signs of pending demolition of the former OfficeMax building and repurposing its spacious park-and-ride surface lot, meanwhile, have moved quickly following design approval on Oct. 8 by the city’s planning commission. Though fenced, the lot remained open on 900 East as of Friday for parking. The commission’s unanimous OK granted modifications to the building’s length and front-yard setbacks along 400 South, as well as to setbacks and the mix of allowed building materials along its 900 East frontage. Wood said Cole West had worked with neighbors and city officials to design a project “that strengthens the pedestrian experience, integrates art and landscape, and gives students a place to both live and belong.”
