Developer Brandon Blaser is wasting no time reshaping a key block of Salt Lake City’s Granary District. Demolition permits are in, crews are already at work on a neighboring warehouse, and a cluster of old industrial buildings is on deck for removal. Blaser says the beloved Kilby Court music venue will stay put, while several vacant structures are slated to come down to make room for new walkways and adaptive‑reuse space that would tie together his Pickle & Hide and Granary Square projects as early as February.
According to Building Salt Lake, four demolition permits were filed with Salt Lake City to remove vacant buildings inside the block roughly bounded by 700 South to 800 South and 300 West to 400 West. The applications list three buildings along 800 South and one with a Kilby Street address, and they pencil in demolition beginning as early as Feb. 9 with an approximate wrap in early March.
Blaser told Building Salt Lake, "None of the demo permits are for any buildings surrounding Kilby Court (music venue)." He said the removals are intended to open a cross‑block, multi‑modal connection to the Pickle & Hide project and to Granary Live, and that one of the demolished structures would be rebuilt. The site at 751 S. 500 West, labeled the Granary Square warehouse, received a demolition permit in December.
How this connects to Pickle & Hide and the city's incentives
The block work is closely tied to Blaser's Pickle & Hide development, a two‑part mixed‑use project that reimagines the historic Bissinger Hides and Utah Pickle Company buildings while adding housing, retail, and public open space. The Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency voted to approve a tax‑increment reimbursement for the project under a new reinvestment‑zone incentive, a move meant to help cover the costs of including affordable units and preservation work, according to KSL.
Why preservation advocates raised alarms
Blaser's team previously demolished the Utah Pickle Company building in May 2025 after engineers identified structural damage, a decision that drew criticism from neighborhood groups who had pushed to keep more of the original fabric. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the demolition complicated the project's agreement with the CRA and left the outcome of the reimbursement uncertain, prompting calls from residents and the agency for more transparency.
Blaser's footprint and the plan ahead
Blaser Ventures has become a major player in the Granary, with projects such as the Post District, The Silos, and Granary Square helping anchor the neighborhood's rapid transformation. Company project pages list Granary Square at 751 S. 500 West and show Phase I and Pickle & Hide tracking toward a mid‑2026 delivery, highlighting adaptive reuse and public plazas as key features, according to Blaser Ventures.
Community reaction and next steps
Neighborhood groups such as the Granary District Alliance have publicly lamented the loss of historic buildings and urged both the developer and the city to follow through on preservation commitments. Councilmember Eva López Chávez and residents have said some demolitions were structural necessities after the 2020 earthquake, but they have also asked the CRA to keep tight oversight as demolition and rebuilding move ahead, as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.
Legal and financing notes
The CRA's reimbursement award comes with conditions, including energy‑efficiency reporting and landscape and public‑access easements that were attached when the agency approved the deal. Those requirements could influence how much the developers ultimately receive, according to KSL. Any changes to the agreement or missed contractual steps could slow payments or alter eligibility, making the next few weeks crucial for both permitting and paperwork.
What to watch now are crews mobilizing on site, fresh permit placards, and any CRA or city filings that clarify whether reimbursements and preservation commitments are holding steady. The timeline for Phase I of Granary Square and Pickle & Hide is still pointed toward delivery next year, according to Blaser Ventures, and the Granary will be watching how that deadline meets the dust and debris on the ground.
