The stately old schoolhouse that has anchored Rowland Hall's middle and upper schools near Salt Lake City's 9th & 9th neighborhood for decades is now under contract to a student-housing developer, according to a signed memorandum filed with the Salt Lake County Recorder. The 4.62-acre property at 843 S. Lincoln Street currently serves middle school and high school students, but that could soon change as the private school finishes its long-planned move to a new campus on Sunnyside Avenue.
The memorandum names Landmark Properties and 843 Place, LLC as the parties behind the deal, according to Building Salt Lake, which reported that Landmark Properties is under contract to buy the Lincoln Street campus. The outlet first reported back in 2023 that Rowland Hall planned to eventually sell the property, and brokers with Cushman & Wakefield took the site to market late in 2025. Landmark Properties did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the publication.
Rowland Hall's own plans confirm the broader relocation timeline. The school is completing its new Richard R. Steiner Campus at 720 S. Guardsman Way, with construction expected to wrap up later in 2026 and an opening date set for December 2, 2026. The Steiner Campus is expected to open for the 2026-27 school year.
A 1947 Schoolhouse Facing a New Chapter
The Lincoln Street property stretches from 800 South to the rear of retail buildings in the 9th & 9th business district, a stone's throw from the neighborhood's shops and cafes. According to Preservation Utah, the site originally held Roosevelt Junior High School, constructed in 1921 and designed by architect Francis D. Rutherford for the Salt Lake City Board of Education. The current Rowland Hall building on the site was built in 1947, according to the seed reporting from Building Salt Lake. The building occupies just over 29 percent of the 4.62-acre lot, leaving substantial vacant land that could factor into any future redevelopment.
The property's historic status is described differently across sources. Preservation Utah states that the property is listed on the National Register on September 2, 2003, as a contributing property in the East Side Historic District, while likewise noting it lacks local demolition protections. The two accounts also diverge on the sale timeline: Preservation Utah says Rowland Hall sold the 4.62-acre property in December 2024 and that it was already being marketed as a redevelopment opportunity, while Building Salt Lake reports that Landmark Properties is newly under contract to buy it. Assessor figures differ too — Building Salt Lake cites a county assessor valuation of $28.5 million for the building and $5.9 million for the land, while Preservation Utah reports a total valuation of $35.1 million, split between $7 million for the land and $28 million for the building.
What Institutional Zoning Would Allow
Rowland Hall will remain in the Lincoln Street building through a leaseback agreement until the end of 2026, after which students move to the new Sunnyside Avenue campus, according to Preservation Utah.
Under the seed reporting's framing, the existing building could potentially be converted into housing, and Landmark Properties may seek permission to build additional housing on the vacant portion of the lot along 1000 East — though both possibilities are described as potential plans rather than confirmed projects. Developers cannot legally reserve residential units exclusively for students, but student-oriented housing is often designed and marketed through unit layouts with more bedrooms sharing kitchens and bathrooms. Landmark Properties could also seek permission to add more housing or other uses through the city's comprehensive zoning map amendment and design review processes, per the same reporting.
A National Student-Housing Developer Eyes Salt Lake City
Landmark Properties brings a sizable footprint to the table: the company has three student housing locations in Arizona, four in Colorado, one in Nevada and four in Oregon, along with a smaller multifamily and built-for-rent development portfolio, according to Building Salt Lake's reporting. Landmark's national ambitions are visible elsewhere too — the firm is developing The Standard at Los Angeles near the University of Southern California, a project that Multifamily Dive reports will total 1,284 beds across a mid-rise building and five renovated townhomes when it opens in August 2026. That project marks Landmark's second student development near USC, following The Mark at Los Angeles, which serves UCLA students.
The Salt Lake City market has its own demand for student beds. The University of Utah selected a group of partners in fall 2023 to help build and manage 5,000 new student beds on campus, with roughly 12,000 beds expected to come online over the next five years, according to University of Utah Housing. The university currently operates 11 on-campus housing communities and three off-site properties, and it guaranteed on-campus housing for incoming first-year students who applied by the May 3 deadline for the 2024-25 academic year.
Neighbors Weigh Density Against Community Space
The prospect of converting a longtime school site into student housing has already drawn commentary from at least one local architect. Warren Lloyd told Building Salt Lake that higher-density housing is a critical need in the city, but cautioned that neighborhoods still need the gathering-space functions that school and church properties have traditionally provided. That tension — between Salt Lake City's push for more housing near its universities and the loss of a longstanding neighborhood institution — is likely to shape how residents and city planners respond as the Lincoln Street deal moves forward.
