A long-vacant, deteriorating house on Hillside Avenue in Capitol Hill could soon trade peeling paint for fresh stucco, after a developer filed plans to replace it with a nine-unit apartment project. The proposal calls for a new three-story, street-facing walkup at the front of the lot, plus a smaller rear building, positioning the project as another example of “missing middle” infill slipping into Salt Lake City one small site at a time. The application frames the effort as compact, neighborhood-scaled density rather than a full-blown redevelopment blitz.
As reported by Building Salt Lake, the "Hillside Apartments" proposal at 58 E. Hillside Ave would put six units in the main three-story walkup and three additional units in the rear structure. Plans list the front-building units at about 865 square feet, each with two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, while the smaller rear building would hold one-bedroom apartments with in-unit laundry and south-facing decks. Parking plans show four spaces tucked under the front building, four surface stalls between the two buildings and two tandem stalls on the east side, with a driveway that would be shared with the neighboring home.
Developer's design and the site
Developers describe their approach in a project narrative as a detailed reproduction of the existing structure, which they say has suffered “significant damage and deterioration,” language quoted in Building Salt Lake. They argue that a three-story walkup on the site balances the need for additional housing with sensitivity to the surrounding block’s character. The filing also asks the city to reduce the required rear setback from 10 feet to 6 feet, which would allow the back building to sit closer to the property line.
Why the city's rule changes matter
City planning staff and the City Council rewrote RMF-35 and RMF-45 rules late last year, shrinking minimum lot-area requirements and adjusting parking standards, changes planners say are meant to unlock gentler density in established neighborhoods. A City Council staff report explains that the update shifts RMF zones into a "Neighborhood Center" parking context that requires one off-street parking space per unit instead of higher default minimums, and trims lot-area minimums so smaller parcels can host multifamily infill. The report also lays out a more form-based approach, new building types and the parking context that planners presented to the council for adoption.
Debate over parking and character continues
Supporters say those changes finally make it possible to build small, walkable apartment projects without needing a mega-lot or a massive garage. Critics worry that the loosened rules will invite spillover parking and steadily reshape historic blocks. That divide showed up in earlier public hearings and Planning Commission meetings, where residents and commissioners were split on how far the updates should go, as reported by KSL.
Next steps for the Hillside proposal
The Hillside site sits inside the Capitol Hill Historic District, so the application will face scrutiny from the Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission as well as other city review bodies before any permits can be issued. Council staff documents outline the timetable and review milestones tied to the RMF amendments and related development review, and the project will have to clear those steps before construction can begin, according to the City Council.
