In a low profile land play this month, Salt Lake City's Community Reinvestment Agency closed on four vacant buildings in the Poplar Grove neighborhood, stitching together just under an acre of property near the intersection of 900 West and 400 South. The agency has already branded the cluster the "Peacock Blocks" as it lines up the parcels for future reinvestment under the city's planning framework.
According to Building Salt Lake, the purchases include three single family houses at 865, 859 and 857 West 400 South plus a nearby multifamily building at 853–845 West 400 South, with all four parcels acquired for under $2.3 million. CRA spokesperson Tauni Barker told the outlet the properties were vacant at the time of sale and that the agency closed on the buildings in recent weeks. Staff will now run structural analyses to decide whether the existing buildings can be restored or should come down. The land is zoned MU 3, which allows mid rise mixed use projects and requires active uses on the ground floor.
Where the parcels fit in city plans
The properties sit inside the CRA's 9 Line reinvestment area, a corridor that runs west of I 15 across Poplar Grove and Glendale, according to the Salt Lake City CRA project page. The city's Westside policy blueprint, housed on Salt Lake City, specifically identifies the 900 West and 400 South intersection as a "community node" aimed at mixed use activity, which helps explain why the agency is focused on assembling land so close by.
Funding and next steps
The acquisitions draw on money city leaders had already set aside for 9 Line work. Board documents show the CRA earmarking millions last year for interventions in the 9 Line project area, including roughly $1.9 million dedicated to ADU financing, according to Utah.gov. Agency officials say they will survey building conditions and continue planning and outreach before any development proposal moves ahead, and they have not set a timeline.
What officials are saying
Lauren Parisi, a CRA project manager, told Building Salt Lake the purchases "complement land the CRA already owns" and that no specific development plan is on deck yet. For now, the focus is on assembling strategic parcels and getting the sites ready for reinvestment that lines up with the community vision already laid out in city plans.
