A major real estate firm will turn South Temple Tower into housing
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Photo courtesy of Hines.
International real estate firm Hines announced Friday it acquired the 217,000-square-foot South Temple Tower in downtown Salt Lake City.
- The firm plans to convert the 24-story office building into housing.
Details: Hines' proposal features turning the South Temple Tower, built in 1966, into a 255-unit "luxury multifamily tower," according to a news release announcing the project.
- Construction is slated to begin in early 2023.
- The tower will include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.
- It will also feature "high-quality" interior finishes and "expansive" amenities.
Driving the news: Salt Lake County is in the midst of an unprecedented apartment boom, according to a University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute research brief released in March.
- In 2021, a record-breaking 6,672 apartment units received building permits.
- The pandemic has permanently changed the traditional white-collar work week as more companies ditch their office spaces for remote work.
What they're saying: "Aligning with the company's core values, Hines is stepping in to fill a need amongst the city’s residents, by delivering a sustainable high-rise product that will be new and highly attractive for this growing market," Dusty Harris, a local resident and senior managing director of Hines, said in a statement.
Why it matters: The increase of units could help alleviate Salt Lake City's housing-shortage crisis.
- Of the county's estimated 148,500 rental units, about 2% of those are unoccupied, the research brief found.
- That's the lowest vacancy rate the report has recorded in its 20-year history.
Yes, but: It's unclear whether many Salt Lake residents will be able to afford to live in the luxury units.
- Context: In 2021, rental rates in Salt Lake County rose by more than 10%.
- The average cost for a one-bedroom apartment in Salt Lake County is now $1,190.