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Sugar House Community Council details plans for ‘Shopko block’ overhaul

Posted at 8:29 PM, Apr 09, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-09 22:29:02-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Sugar House Community Council announced the Sugar House neighborhood is getting a facelift.

The Shopko off I-80 and 1300 East, west of Sugar House Park, closed in January. The area totals 9 acres, including the parking lot in front and the space behind the large building. It's developer is Sentinel Development.

Sentinel Development's CEO Colby Durnin said his company interviewed 2,500 Sugar House neighbors about what they wanted to do with the "Shopko block", as the Sugar House Community Council Vice Chair Amy Barry called it.

"This really is a dead zone," said Barry about the parking area and the Shopko store. "This whole block, we call it the "Shopko block," really is not pedestrian oriented, not pedestrian friendly."

She said Durnin plans to put in a new street through the parking lot and demolish the Shopko to connect the street from 1300 East to Highland Drive.

"We want to make sure we get some pedestrian connectivity throughout this block going north to south so that people can be coming from Hidden Hollow area or Parleys Trail to get through, because right now they can't," Barry said.

Durnin said the new street, which used to be there and was called Stringham Avenue, will reopen bearing the same name. The street will have green space around it, waiting areas, and amenities to emulate the scenery across 1300 East at Sugar House Park.

Barry said the plan from Durnin is not final. He must submit it and then the council has 45 days to collect public input on it.

Demolition will begin on the Shopko in the next few weeks.