Four months into construction, John Gardiner, President of Gardiner Properties, has plenty to say about why they chose Sugar House’s 11th East for their new development, Urbana on Eleventh.
“Sugar House is the ideal walkable urban living environment. Look at what’s here right now. This is the only place in Utah where you have a Whole Foods three minutes from your front door. Literally, you don’t need a car to go grocery shopping. Downtown has no grocery shopping. In five minutes you have Smith’s. You have four gyms within walking distance. You have the coolest library in Salt Lake over here. You have a swimming pool down here at Fairmont Park. You have two parks, Fairmont Park and Sugar House Park. You have shopping, you have dining. You have national chains as well as local eclectic establishments. So Sugar House, from an urban living standpoint, really has everything.”
Well, except for maybe a big chunk of land to build condos on. So how about a small chunk?
Somehow, on a carefully chosen strip of land wedged between a Sinclair and a locksmith, the development packs in 29 high-end units, complete with enclosed parking, storage space, a fireplace, and a private balcony for each of them. “Urban dwellers aren’t hanging out in their bedroom that often,” says Gardiner, not so much to explain the low urban birth rate as to explain why the developers put an emphasis on space in the living areas, even in the smaller units. “They‘re in the kitchen, living, dining, with their computer out there–that’s where they live.” Even 18-foot vaulted ceilings have been fit into the five-and-a-half story structure.
- The development has one live/work unit on the first level with 700 sq ft of commercial space.
- Units on the top floor have spiral staircases and lofts.
- Almost all the units have walk-in closets.
- In order to keep HOA fees low, the developers haven’t included other amenities such as a gym or swimming pool.
“In Sugar House, you can go up thirty feet if you’re on the street, but then you have to step back fifteen. From the street, they want it to feel like a three-story building. So we had to go up thirty and back fifteen, and then we go up to sixty feet which is the limit. And so we had a natural balcony, and we make use of that in two ways. There’s a private balcony for a premium unit. And then there’s a common area for the residents. And that’s a nice balcony that overlooks 11th East. We’ll put a hot tub there with a barbecue and seating area,” explains Gardiner.
Urbana on Eleventh, the only condo project to rise in Sugar House in recent years, is scheduled for completion in late July. Price range is set at $195,605 to $465,411. Photos, information, and availability can be found onurbanaonevelenth.com.