Greystar and Valley Behavioral Health have filed an application with Salt Lake City to rezone the Carmen B. Pingree Autism Center of Learning site for a student housing complex containing 1,010 beds. According to a November 4 report, the proposal would transform the 5.33-acre property at the corner of Guardsman Way and Sunnyside Avenue from institutional to mixed-use 6 zoning.
The filing, submitted by a joint applicant including a Greystar representative, describes a five-story community featuring approximately 345 units. These units, which range from one to five bedrooms, would be built around two courtyards and include a pool, spa, and rooftop lounge. The proposed structure would reach a height of approximately 56 feet, staying under the 65-foot cap permitted by the MU-6 designation. To minimize visual impact, a garage with roughly 500 stalls would be wrapped by the apartment units.
In a narrative letter dated Oct. 26, attorney Wade Budge of Snell & Wilmer argued that the relocation of the Pingree Center and local housing policies justify the rezone. The argument cites Plan Salt Lake, Housing SLC, and the East Bench Master Plan, framing the student housing as part of the city's push for more affordable housing. While the application does not propose income-restricted units, it notes the project would compete in a crowded market for student renters. To provide community benefit, Greystar proposed subsidized space for Lucky Ones Coffee, a Utah nonprofit café that employs people with disabilities, to continue the site's service to that population after the school relocates.
The rezoning request follows a report that the Utah Board of Higher Education approved the University of Utah's request to bid up to $21 million in state capital funds to purchase the same parcels. University President Taylor Randall previously told the board that the school had not settled on a use for the land, noting the rarity of such available blocks of land.
Valley Behavioral Health still owns the property and announced this spring that it would relocate the Pingree Center to the west side of the valley closer to the 80 children it serves. That move is not expected until 2028. A traffic study requested by city reviewers regarding the proposal is currently underway.
The proposal arrives amid a surge of student-oriented developments near the University of Utah. While projects like Chapter SLC and Montaire are in various stages of development, university officials reported in August that the campus had just over 900 open beds, noting heavy rent concessions in the local apartment market.
