Salt Lake City may borrow $7M to help build a 926-stall parking garage in the Granary District
The city can borrow $ 7 million to help build the structure as further development continues in the former warehouse area.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake City’s gritty old warehouse district known as The Granary on the western edge of downtown is booming with construction, but limited on- and off-street parking has become a problem. Wednesday, August 25, 2021.
Salt Lake City is considering plans to borrow $ 7 million that would then help developers build a 926 parking garage in the west-facing Granary District.
In the dilapidated former warehouse, railroad and industrial district on the southwestern edge of the city center, a new coworking location is being built mainly in the country, which is in an iron foundry from the early 20 p. 500 West.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s staff are pursuing the deal – subject to city council approval – to ensure that some of the parking spaces in the already-under-construction $ 28 million building are open to the public.
This $ 7 million taxpayer stake, to be borrowed from a special government-administered fund for transportation projects, would also help fund the garage redesign, making it easier to switch to other uses as driving in the area expected with the advent of a new TRAX extension along 400 west.
The plans for the large multi-storey car park are yet another sign of an ongoing construction boom in this wider and long-depraved district, fueled by the city’s population growth and lucrative federal tax breaks.
“This is just the investment hub that will take place in our city,” Mendenhall said of this part of the granary. “It’s concentrated right here on our 110 square miles.”
Denver-based Q Factor and BCG Holdings in Salt Lake City, the developers behind Industry’s shared offices, are building a small neighborhood with 375 new units, a 68-room hotel, on this block from 400 West to 500 West between 600 South and 700 South , Retail space and extensions to the coworking site.
They are all part of a spate of new projects in several so-called opportunity zones, which are mainly in lower-income areas in Salt Lake City and across the country.
Selected by the government at the time. Gary Herbert in 2017, the federal zones are part of a program that gives real estate investors substantial tax rebates on their capital gains in exchange to fund improvements in the areas and keep their money invested for five to ten years.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake City’s Granary District is booming with construction, but limited on and off-street parking has become a problem. Wednesday, August 25, 2021.
Several other large residential and office projects are also planned nearby, but parking “has started to become a pretty limiting factor in the growth of that space,” said Rachel Otto, Mendenhall’s chief of staff. The city’s proposed $ 7 million contribution would help developers keep the mixed-income homes they envision more affordable.
“This park structure is very enriching,” Otto told the city council this week.
Councilor Dan Dugan, who represents District 6 with the eastern outskirts of the city, asked how the plans for the park structure could be in line with the larger city goals of reducing traffic in the city center.
“We’re trying to get away from an auto-centered city, and we’re building a 926-bay parking garage here,” said Dugan. “I’m worried about adding more parking space in an area where we’re already trying to get rid of cars.”
He and others also wonder how the parking garage will align with an ongoing review of corporate off-street parking rules across the city. There are also questions about the money that is involved.
If approved, the loan would come from the State Infrastructure Bank, which is overseen by the Utah Department of Transportation and provides funding for transportation improvements. City officials plan to repay it over 15 years for now, with the Utah legislature recently allocating cash to Salt Lake City.
In theory, according to deputy director of the city council, Jennifer Bruno, “the city is a pass-through partner and no city dollars would be used to repay the loan.”
This would be the first time the city has used this financial instrument, noted Bruno, and if this government funding ran out, “the city would owe the balance of the loan”. The city is also proposing to pledge part of its sales tax income as a security guarantee.
As a result, Councilor Amy Fowler, whose District 7 spans east neighborhoods south of 1700 South, urged that the parking garage deal bring out as much affordable housing as possible in the west side neighborhood as it moves forward.
“If we get a $ 7 million loan where the city is hooked,” said Fowler, “I want $ 7 million in affordable housing, so let’s not just pay lip service to the idea and get your new two units.”
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