Completed: 2015
The Wilmington Gardens project is a 278,323 square foot mixed-use project in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City that consists of 105 market-rate apartments, 7 luxury townhomes, 70,420 square feet of retail, bar, restaurant and office space, a large centrally located outdoor plaza that will feature a seasonal community garden and a 157 stall underground parking garage. It brought together a diverse group of stakeholders with a vested interest in developing and designing an urban garden destination in the heart of the funky Sugar House business community.
This small parcel is nestled among an interesting mix of unique businesses, urban condominium dwellers, and satellite Westminster College teaching and living spaces, all abutting a protected riparian stream corridor called Hidden Hollow. The challenge and goal of the Salt Lake Redevelopment Agency for this little piece of land was to protect and enhance the riparian corridor, energize and drive the unique small business sector of the Sugar House community, create a public plaza gathering venue suitable for concerts, farmer’s markets, other community uses and provide affordable housing units in a community that is lacking in that regard. The plaza is a central connector that encourages foot traffic to public transportation, the nearby Sugar House Park, local businesses, Hidden Hollow, and the Westminster College campus auxiliary spaces.VCBO Architecture coordinated with the Woodbury and Colmena Group, Dee’s, Inc., Westminster College, the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, local Sugar House community activists, and the transportation planning firm of Fehr & Peers for the design of the Wilmington Gardens project.