Rather than as a bastion of conservatism, Salt Lake City is becoming known for its proactive approach to housing affordability, which is resulting in steady expansion.
While other tech hubs may be struggling with housing affordability, Salt Lake City is booming by comparison; the Urban Land Institute recently named the city as the third-best market for commercial development in the nation for this year. Curbed reports that the state's population has grown 9 percent over the last five years, and Realtor.com named Salt Lake City one of the hottest markets of the year, anticipating home sales to increase by 4.5 percent.
City Creek Center was built near the bottom of the market with long-term results in mind. Conservative developers didn’t dive in, instead making sure the market was ready for residential development downtown. “With this city, it’s about reality versus perception,” says Dave Ward, a developer at the Boyer Company. “There’s a longstanding conservative image here, that you can’t have fun in Utah outside of trips to Park City or national parks. That perception is finally getting recognized as being just not true.”
