Construction begins on affordable, public housing apartments in Midvale
Oct 20, 2022, 5:05 PM | Updated: 10:23 pm
MIDVALE, Utah — Salt Lake County took a big step Thursday to create affordable apartments for dozens of families. Housing Connect broke ground on a public housing redevelopment project that will change lives for dozens of Utah families.
A transformation is taking place on Fort Union Boulevard in Midvale where Sunset Gardens used to stand. It will beautify the block and create safe, stable, and clean apartments for people who need them.
“Everyone deserves quality affordable housing. So building nice housing is part of the game,” said Zach Bale, Housing Connect Chief Program Officer.
Sunset Gardens public housing was built there in the 1980s and had 24 units. The new complex, called 72 East, will have 89 units and modern amenities.
“I feel like it has a bit of a European chalet, would feel. I think it looks beautiful,” Bale said.
It will feature a playground with pickleball courts, a pond, and green space for families to spend time together. It will house people with low, or extremely low income.
“Housing is super expensive, so anything we can do as an agency as Housing Connect and as a community to make sure there’s affordable housing, that’s what we’re doing,” Bale said.
Housing Connect, formerly known as the Salt Lake Housing Authority, received tax credit funding to redevelop the four-acre site.
“We will have quite an increase in the number of affordable housing units we have, which is something we desperately need in Utah,” Kelly Jorgensen, state director for the Utah HUD office said.
Five units are reserved for those who have experienced homelessness, five for people with disabilities, five for survivors of domestic violence, and ten ADA-accessible units for those with severe physical disabilities.
“That group is what we call hard to house,” Jorgensen said. “It is difficult for them to find housing. So, the fact that they’re setting aside certain units for that population is great.”
The people who used to live there have been moved to other housing. But, they have the first option to move back into the new apartments.
“Generally, our properties fill within a matter of months,” Bale said.
Housing Connect will work with other community partners to find people who are eligible to live there when it opens in about a year.
