Emily Potts braced for the worst when Salt Lake City transportation planners first unveiled plans for Sugar House four years ago.
Potts, owner of Sugar House Coffee on the corner of 2100 South and 1100 East, attended every meeting she could and signed up for notifications because she knew the city’s plans to address the crumbling roads and infrastructure underneath — while much-needed — would be bad for business. Yet, she says nothing could have prepared her for how difficult three years of construction would be.
Customers stopped coming to the Sugar House business district completely because of the construction. There were days when hardly anyone showed up at all, forcing her to drain her savings account to stay afloat as she took to social media to beg people to come back. Some of her business neighbors closed down under the weight of construction.
That’s why she could hardly contain her excitement when she came across virtually no traffic cones on her way to open her shop Thursday morning.
“To know it’s actually done, it’s a huge celebration,” she said with a smile. “I’m grateful that it’s done.”
Yes, Salt Lake City’s Sugar House construction projects are finally over — well, for the most part. There is still some work being done to improve 1300 East, but construction has been taking place overnight to mitigate traffic impacts. City leaders and Sugar House business owners gathered Thursday to celebrate the end of an arduous few years for the growing neighborhood, as construction has wrapped up on 2100 South.
They also announced details of Sugar Fest, a large neighborhood celebration planned for Oct. 4 to help welcome people back to the area.
“It’s fun to see the city coming back,” Potts said.
Sugar House’s new look — and a party to celebrate
Salt Lake City’s projects, funded by a 2018 bond, tackled 2100 South and 1100 East/Highland Drive within the heart of Sugar House.
It was a big undertaking because about 25,000 to 30,000 motor vehicles use 2100 South in the heart of Sugar House, and there are about 1 million pedestrians who cross the intersection of 2100 South and 1100 East every year, making it one of the busiest parts of the city, said Lynn Jacobs, a project manager for Salt Lake City, as he led residents and business owners on a tour of the new-look streets.
The new configuration aims to keep regular traffic flowing while reducing speeding and major collision areas, making the road safer for drivers, bikers and pedestrians as the area grows, Jacobs explained.
Over 150 new trees were also planted, some to replace ones that were dying or in the way of construction, so that the neighborhood could retain its old feel. Crews handled major infrastructure needs, too, replacing more than 7,000 feet of utilities pipe that were about a century old in some cases.
“All of the utilities underneath this roadway are future-proof for what we think might be happening at (properties that might be redeveloped in the area),” Jacobs said. “We future-proofed all of that as part of this project, which means we should not need to touch at least 2100 South again for a very long time.”
The construction was also rough on many businesses. While Potts fought to hang on, owners of new businesses like Scovilles (2121 S. McClelland Street) pondered their timing to open. Jeff Krie, the business’s owner, still isn’t entirely sure how impactful the construction was because Scovilles debuted in the middle of the project, but he said business has seemed to pick up since two-way traffic returned on 2100 South a few weeks ago.
“It’s been a wild ride, but it’s looking pretty dang good if you ask me,” he said of the area’s new look.
Over a dozen local businesses are now teaming up to celebrate the end of construction through Sugar Fest, an 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. celebration scheduled for Oct. 4. The event will also feature 24 musical artists and other activities for all ages, a vendor market, as well as “limited-edition Sugar House swag,” per the city.
A punch card program was launched on Thursday for people who visit supporting businesses over the next month, where additional prizes will be awarded through a drawing after Oct. 25. The punch cards can be picked up at any of the locally owned businesses in the neighborhood, said James Roberts, co-owner of Sugar House Station.
“You can come down and hop from place to place, and listen to music, buy food, have a drink of your choice and have fun,” he said.
Lessons for future construction
More construction is on the horizon in Sugar House and citywide, but Salt Lake City leaders hope to apply lessons learned from both projects to improve future construction experiences.
Utah Transit Authority and Salt Lake City now have the funding to extend the S-Line streetcar to Highland Drive, and construction of the two-year project is expected to begin next year, Jacobs said. He doesn’t expect the project to be as harsh on traffic as work on the less-traveled Simpson Avenue, but it could have some impacts on Highland Drive for a few weeks in late 2026 or early 2027.
Many of the city’s next projects, however, will focus on downtown, as the Smith Entertainment Group’s downtown revitalization vision and preparations for the 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics are expected to intensify over the next few years.
The city awarded $500,000 in construction mitigation grants to 175 affected businesses during Sugar House construction, and it switched to Stacy & Witbeck, a contractor that ultimately finished the project earlier than expected after addressing construction delays. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said these experiences and feedback from the past few projects will help shape how projects are carried out in the heart of the city.
“We are learning in real time,” she said. “I think whatever lessons we’ve learned — good, bad and ugly in Sugar House — are going to benefit every part of the city as we go through these major development projects.”