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SALT LAKE CITY — Former Utah congressman Ben McAdams paints a rosy future of the vacant Northwest Pipeline Building just east of downtown Salt Lake City.
McAdams, now the founder and CEO of a public-private real estate organization called the Common Ground Institute, envisions the building functioning as part of the Grove development. The historic building will anchor the three-building mixed-use development with affordable family housing and retail space.
"We imagine a place where residents, neighbors and visitors from further afar will enjoy serenity in the heart of our city — a place where opportunities and prosperity thrive," he said, standing in front of the building's shuttered entry Tuesday afternoon. "(It's) a place that is sustainable and in harmony with our community."
The Common Ground Institute is part of a three-organization team now tasked with getting the property there. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and other city leaders on Tuesday announced the selection of Housing Assistance Management Enterprise, Xylem Projects and Common Ground Institute to oversee an ambitious project to convert the 66-year-old building into multifamily housing.
The group bested nearly a dozen other development teams in receiving the project.
"We are overjoyed to accept this challenge," said Daniel Nackerman, president of the Housing Assistance Management Enterprise and director of the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City. "We feel like our plan is really well-vetted (and) open to change going forward."
Mendenhall first announced last year the historic building would be renovated and converted into housing units. The building opened in 1958 as an office space for the Pacific Northwestern Pipeline Corporation before the city acquired it in the 1980s. It eventually became the Salt Lake City Public Safety Building until a new facility opened in 2013.
Under the winning plan, the historic building will keep its name, while two new buildings — the Hawthorne and the Lupine — will be constructed adjacently. The estimated $150- to $165-million project will offer 244 mixed-income units available for rent or ownership, more than half of which will be "sized to accommodate families."
It primarily targets annual household incomes of $40,000 to $81,000 but also as low as $25,000.
About a quarter of the Northwest Pipeline Building units will be set aside for ownership. Based on "very preliminary" estimates, Nackerman expects it will cost between $205,000 and $285,000 to purchase a unit, depending on the affordable units' sizes.
The average rent will range between $1,000 and $2,400 per month, depending on family size, but some rates will be as low as $650 per month.
"We designed this project to be reactive to the shortage of people latching onto the American dream," he said.
The project is also expected to include child care services and possibly a health clinic as a part of the retail space. Nnenna Lynch, founder and CEO of Xylem Projects, said the team also had conversations with the health food restaurant Crisp and Green over a possible location in the complex.
All three buildings will be all-electric with "low-carbon energy sources." Located at the corner of 200 South and 300 East, the Grove will be next to the busy bus corridor; however, the project will also utilize "progressive parking strategies," according to the city.
But don't expect the new units to be available right away.
Nackerman expects financing for the project to be assembled by next year. That's also when he believes renovations will begin on the Northwest Pipeline Building as it is converted into housing. Construction on the other two buildings is likely to start in 2026.
While it's too early to know when all the units will be available, he said leasing will begin as early as 2025.
This is a bit of a dream come true.
–Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall
Lynch said the team will work with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office to ensure the building is preserved correctly since the anchor property is on the National Register of Historic Places. That type of planning will take place once a development agreement is finalized with the city.
Despite the property's age and vacancy for over a decade, she said the Northwest Pipeline Building is surprisingly well-suited for this type of project.
"It's actually in quite good shape and lays out really, really well for it to be adapted to residences," she said.
City leaders say they're eager to see the final product — the vision that McAdams provided. Salt Lake City Councilwoman Eva López Chávez, whose district includes the forthcoming project, said she believes it will transform a "dead space" and turn it into a "hub that enhances" the area once the project is complete.
Both she and Mendenhall also see it as something that can bring families back to Salt Lake City's growing downtown core. That's been difficult for families because of rising housing and rent prices mixed with newer projects that have generally focused on adding studios or one- or two-bedroom units.
"This is a bit of a dream come true," Mendenhall said. "Salt Lake City has been sitting on this building for a long time. ... Today we celebrate that this is happening."
