Developers have brought back a leaner, seven-story vision for the Van Buren apartments along 300 West in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark neighborhood, this time with a clear focus on families. The resubmitted design would create about 199 homes and shift away from a prior layout heavy on studios and one-bedrooms, opting instead for an all-affordable building aimed at roughly 60% of Area Median Income and a majority of larger units.
Design Pivots To Bigger, Family-Sized Homes
The latest proposal leans hard into multi-bedroom layouts. Plans call for roughly 102 two-bedroom units, 38 three-bedroom units and 21 four-bedroom apartments, a notable change from a previously approved version in 2024, as reported by Building Salt Lake. According to the project narrative cited there, about 81% of the homes would have two or more bedrooms, with the average affordability target set at about 60% of AMI.
City Money And Incentives On The Table
Salt Lake City’s Community Reinvestment Agency signaled its support with a $1.9 million low-interest loan for a project listed as 300 West Apartments at 1485 S. 300 West, highlighting the city’s push for family-sized affordable housing along the Ballpark corridor, per SLC.gov. Under the city’s Affordable Housing Incentives, projects that hit deeper affordability benchmarks can also request certain zoning breaks, including permission for longer building facades.
Design Tradeoffs Under Planning Microscope
Planning drawings and staff reports on file with the city show that earlier versions of the project stretched more than 450 feet along the block. The revised plans pull back some of that frontage while still asking for exceptions on facade length, sidewalk width and the placement of loading zones and curb cuts, according to Salt Lake City planning materials. The documents outline a roughly 5-foot-6-inch sidewalk along Van Buren and propose shifting curb cuts and the garage entrance to Andrew Avenue to keep 300 West more pedestrian-oriented, according to materials filed with the Salt Lake City Planning Division.
Developer Says Redesign Fits City’s Housing Playbook
“We are excited to be able to bring this back for a new design review as a family-sized affordable housing project,” Jarod Hall of di'Velept Design wrote in the project narrative included in the submission, language quoted by Building Salt Lake. Hall says the new layout better lines up with Salt Lake City’s stated housing goals.
What Happens Next
Before any shovels hit the ground, the Salt Lake City Planning Commission must approve the requested zoning exceptions. Public notices and staff reports outline the petition numbers and upcoming hearings on the city’s docket. Neighbors and commissioners are expected to weigh the tradeoffs between narrower sidewalks or longer facades and the city’s need for more family-sized affordable rentals in this transit-rich stretch of Ballpark, according to public meeting notices and planning records posted on Utah.gov.
