Residents of a northwest neighborhood under siege from age and possible renovation of I-15 believe a redevelopment project may be their salvation.
The project would encompass the area bounded by 200 West and 500 West and North Temple and 700 North . The Redevelopment Agency plans to tell its board of directors (the City Council) Wednesday that it's received a request to establish a project in the area."We have the potential to really turn this into a great avenue, a great entrance way," said Pam Card, chairwoman of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council, which includes the area.
The residents have found a strong advocate in City Councilman Sam Souvall, who has taken a lead in the effort.
He believes the city's viability depends on a fringe of strong residential areas. For Souvall, the area exemplifies a cup half-full/half-empty situation.
Where some see a dying neighborhood, Souvall sees an area "just about ready to kick off."
"The greatest investment the RDA could make is downtown perimeter housing," Souvall said. "I think these people have a lot invested in the city and they deserve to have their investment protected."
The largest threat to the neighborhood looming on the horizon is renovation and expansion of I-15. Several of the options currently on the drawing board would decimate the proposed project area.
Those options include expanding the 600 North off-ramp from I-15 from four to six lanes, turning 300 West and 400 West into one-way streets and adding a new off-ramp at either North Temple or 200 South.
Given the effect of those options on the neighborhood, Souvall said, "Why don't you just bulldoze it? The attitude is downtown perimeter housing is expendable to Davis County commuters.
"Their (UDOT's) primary objective is moving cars. As part of that they hope to mitigate the effect on neighborhoods," Souvall said. "It's a priority problem. The priority should be that the area's homes be the strongest, most protected areas in the city."
Residents have canvassed about half the area to gauge property owners' support for an RDA project, Card said. Most are supportive, although some fear higher taxes and the RDA's eminent domain muscle. Card has tried to calm those concerns.
"We honestly feel that we will be the planners," Card said. "We don't expect to turn this over and say `OK, tell us about our neighborhood.' "
If approved, the area would be the third residential redevelopment project in the city. Projects exist in the Central City and Jackson neighborhoods.
"In both of those cases, once an RDA area was established, there was a concentrated effort to retain and renovate housing," said Alice Steiner, RDA director.
With redevelopment status, the area would be eligible for community block grant money and for housing rehabilitation grants. Those programs would pay for street, sidewalk and park improvements as well as renovation of dilapidated housing.
The project also could qualify for a share of tax-increment funding from RDAs in commercial areas, although it has not been decided to pursue that option.
Steiner said it will take six months to one year to complete the redevelopment process required to establish a project in the neighborhood.