Harbor Bay Ventures has quietly backed away from its splashy plan for a 22-story mass-timber tower at the Wells Fargo corner in Salt Lake City's Sugar House neighborhood, trimming its ambitions to match the city's new mixed-use zoning. Under the MU-11 designation now applied to the site, building height tops out at about 125 feet, or roughly 10 to 12 stories, and anything taller than 75 feet must go through a formal city design review. For the moment, there is still no new application at City Hall, and the prominent corner remains in limbo.
As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, Harbor Bay informed city planners in a Nov. 3 email from CEO Mark Bell that it was pulling back requests for a custom rezoning that could have allowed a tower up to about 305 feet and would instead "rework" its concept to comply with MU-11. The Tribune noted that the reversal followed two rejected petitions at the planning commission and that Bell's email was attached to the firm's original 2023 application. The outlet also reported that Harbor Bay has not said whether mass timber will stay in any downsized design.
What MU-11 Means For The Corner
MU-11 is one of the tallest mixed-use categories created in Salt Lake City's recent zoning overhaul and typically allows buildings up to about 125 feet while loosening rules around parking and other standards, according to Building Salt Lake. The rewrite collapsed scores of commercial and mixed-use districts into a smaller set of MU zones intended to simplify approvals and encourage more by-right development. Under MU-11, however, projects that climb above a lower height threshold still must head to design review, which gives neighbors and planners a formal say over taller proposals.
How Plans Shifted
Harbor Bay's first filing in late 2023 asked the city to create a custom "Sustainability District" that could have boosted allowable height to roughly 305 feet if the tower met strict mass-timber and sustainability benchmarks, KSL reported. After public pushback and a later, toned-down proposal of about 14 to 15 stories was turned down by the Salt Lake City planning commission, the developer pivoted to working inside the new MU-11 rules instead of chasing a bespoke zone. Public emails reviewed by local outlets show Harbor Bay telling planners it would "rework" the concept rather than keep pressing for a one-off rezoning.
Local Reaction And What's Next
Neighbors and nearby small-business owners raised alarms about shadows, traffic and a loss of neighborhood scale during early public hearings, concerns that helped shape the fight over extra-tall buildings in Sugar House. As KSL quoted Sugar House Coffee owner Emily Potts, "It's not Sugar House. It would take away all the charm from Sugar House," a sentiment that reinforced resistance to the tallest versions of the project. For now, the 1.22-acre Wells Fargo parcel remains in Harbor Bay's hands, and locals are watching to see what shows up in the next round of plans.
City planners have hinted they are open to a redesigned, MU-11-compliant proposal. As Building Salt Lake reported, a senior planner told the developer she was "looking forward to seeing the redesign," while also noting that no new design-review application had been filed as of the outlet's latest check. That leaves the site at 1095 E 2100 S, at the northwest corner of 1100 East and 2100 South, in a holding pattern until Harbor Bay submits a new blueprint.
