Salt Lake City board approves $45.8M tax incentive for developer after 10% cut
by Carter Williams ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Salt Lake City approved a $45.8M tax incentive for Granary District redevelopment.
- Developers Blaser Ventures and Lowe Property Group received 10% less than requested over waivers to city incentives.
- The full $390M project includes 740 units, commercial space and preserved historic silos.
SALT LAKE CITY — A truce has been reached between Salt Lake City leaders and two Utah development companies, allowing them to receive millions in tax breaks as they overhaul a full block within the fast-growing Granary District.
However, it's not quite as large as what the developers first sought.
The Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency board of directors voted 6-1 on Tuesday to approve a resolution approving the Silo Park Development Tax Increment Reimbursement Agreement term sheet requested by Blaser Ventures and Lowe Property Group.
It allows the developers to collect a little more than $45.8 million in tax incentives from the Silo Park project, $5.6 million less than what they had requested earlier this year.
"It's a beautiful project. It's got a lot of amenities ... in a location that needed some love and development, so I appreciate all those efforts," said Salt Lake City Councilman Dan Dugan, who also serves as chair of the Reinvestment Agency board.
The $390 million project calls for the redevelopment of 8.2 acres from 400 West to 500 West and 500 South to 600 South in the Granary District southwest of downtown. Over 1 million square feet of development is planned across five phases.
The first two phases, featuring over 200 total units and a small park, are under construction. In all, the space will feature approximately 740 units, almost 180 of which will be dedicated to affordable housing, along with a hotel and 31,000 square feet of commercial space. All of it is being constructed around historic silos that are to be preserved.
Blaser and Lowe requested 90% reimbursement from tax increments over the next 25 years, or $51.5 million of the $58.4 million increase anticipated over that time. However, the board voiced concerns over waivers sought to bypass parts of the city's sustainable development incentive requirements for city funds.
A few modifications were hashed out over the past month, said Kristina Harrold, a project manager for the Reinvestment Agency, who updated the board on the changes before Tuesday's vote. The board allowed the developers to waive two pieces of the sustainable development policy in exchange for a 10% reduction in the incentives cap, leading to the $5.6 million cut.
"The annual reimbursement will still be at 90% of the reimbursement rate for 25 years, but it just will mean the developer will hit this cap faster," she said, adding that the developer was offered an option to "earn back" the full request with any project changes that the developer declined.
Project officials also agreed to prioritize Salt Lake City's Community Clean Energy Program by donating up to $5,000 to the program for the energy it uses for its commercial spaces, parking garage and hotel.
Brandon Blaser, founder and CEO of Blaser Ventures, said he wouldn't seek any other waivers in the project, saying that every anticipated construction challenge has been identified. He added his company would be "overly communicating" any unforeseen changes to the place.
He said that while being questioned by Salt Lake City Council Chairman Alejandro Puy, who was most vocal about the initial proposal last month. Puy, who also voted against the reimbursement, emphasized that since taxpayer money is involved, he'd like developers to follow the requirements the city has outlined to receive incentives.
The debate over the Silo Park incentives brewed shortly after the board reduced $1 million from incentives tied to another Blaser project in the city, after a historic building was demolished and rebuilt before the board's approval.
"We are creating (a precedent) for the whole development on projects that you lead," he said. "We are waiving our own policies to 'make sure that your projects are feasible.' I appreciate that you are anticipating no more waivers, no more additional financial support to what we are already investing in."
Dugan added that he hopes both sides will remember the lessons learned from the drama as the city continues to grow.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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Carter Williams
Carter Williams is a reporter for KSL. He covers Salt Lake City, statewide transportation issues, outdoors, the environment and weather. He is a graduate of Southern Utah University.