A historic Sugar House school that has seen a lot of hard living in its 79 years has been given a leg up by Salt Lake City and resurrected as an apartment complex.
The 1918-vintage Irving School, 1155 E. 2100 South, has been vacant for many years. Periodic attempts at developing it into such things as a business or arts center have failed, developers have gone bankrupt and commercial tenants have refused to enter into build-to-suit renovations of the property.In the 1980s and 1990s the former junior high was a burned-out shell of its former self, a hangout for vandals and gang members.
The school was, in short, a problem.
Enter the Salt Lake Redevelopment Agency, which bought the property in 1993 for $2 million and resold it to a housing developer for $1,160,000. (At $5,000 per planned apartment unit, that works out to - let's see, zeros cancel, remainder of one - 232 units).
"This is a critical project for Salt Lake City and for Sugar House in particular because it provides desperately needed housing in an area that had been overcome by blight," said Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini, "and it restores and preserves a priceless landmark in the facade of the Irving School."
The old nine-room building has now become a leasing office and health club for the tony Irving Schoolhouse apartments (rent: $690-$1,160 per month). Where junior high students once scratched their heads during tests and tried to avoid the teacher's ruler after dipping pigtails in ink, there is now carpet, soft music and daintily attired sales personnel eager to help.
There is, however, a prominent bookcase to remind patrons of the place's origins.
Some of the apartment buildings are still under construction, with final completion date set for next September. So far, developers are proving Corradini right with regard to housing demand.
"We get a building done and it's full like that," said leasing consultant Candice Wright, snapping her fingers.
City officials point to the Irving School as a good example of the RDA process going the way it should. Salt Lake RDA Director Alice Steiner says the agency carried the project forward with relatively few funds - the RDA spent less than $7 for every $100 private developers spent - and helped revitalize a run-down area at the same time.