This Old (Sugar) House

Sugarhouse was recently listed by This Old House as one of the best old neighborhoods. While home values have plummeted elsewhere, homes in this area are still selling for top dollar. Why? I'll tell you:

There's a grid of narrow, well connected, tree-lined streets that disperse traffic, and improve walkablity compared to the now typical pattern of cul-de-sacs that dump all of their traffic onto a handful of wide streets, and make it a nightmare to walk anywhere.

It's 10 minutes from downtown, 15 minutes from Park City and the mountains, within walking or biking distance of its own commercial center, across the street from one of the largest parks in the City (more on that later), and lastly, it's full of a variety of sizes and styles of beautiful homes and cottages:

People move here because of the fabulous location, and then invest in their homes and yards. It's hard to believe that 20-30 years ago, this neighborhood was looked down on as run down and full of homes that are too small. The only downside to the increasing desirability of the area is that what once were starter homes are now out of the price range for many younger couples who are just starting out.

Urbana

Urbana on Eleventh is a 29-unit condo complex in the heart of Sugarhouse that is almost complete. It is built on what used to be a parking lot.

This project is a perfect example of what can happen when a developer "gets it". They have covered parking on the first floor but it is completely hidden from the street. What you see from the street is the office space of the live/work units that they built into the project.

They have a great website that is as much a marketing piece for Sugarhouse as it is for their development:
www.urbanaoneleventh.com

Sprague Library

It's fitting that the Sugarhouse library in a beautiful old building, located in the heart of the community. The front of the building faces west onto 1100 East, right across from the "Sugarhole". The backdoor of the library leads into a newish shopping area with various clothing, food, and other establishments. 

The thing sticking out of the lawn is a giant sugar beet. The picture below shows the inside:

The door on the left of this picture leads into a comfy reading room where they keep all of the magazines and newspapers. There's a well-used meeting room downstairs, used for community gatherings. I have to say that this is my favorite library in the City.

Cucina Nassi

About a year ago, the owners of the Cucina Toscana added yet another gem to Sugarhouse: Cucina Nassi. They wanted  to add a catering arm to their award-winning downtown restaurant, and decided this would be the perfect spot.

This building, located on 1100 East, between Whole Foods and the library, used to be a furniture store, but sat empty for years. When I visited, they were preparing for a wedding luncheon, but they were still kind enough to give me a tour.

They've clearly invested long-term into making this a premier location for events in the area. The main floor can host three separate events, and there's an upstairs room that is also available. Check them out at www.cucinanassi.com

1100 East

If you take a stroll down 1100 East, starting at 2100 South and heading north, you'll see a lot of reasons why Sugarhouse is such an attractive area.

This picture shows several urban design elements that make this street work for all modes of getting around. There are sidewalks, street furniture, shade trees, short crossing distances at crosswalks, and interesting buildings for pedestrians. Drivers aren't going to feel comfortable going too fast on this street, but the road still manages to carry around 11,000 vehicle per day. There is convenient on-street parking. Bike lanes would be nice, but the auto speeds are slow enough that I feel safe riding my bike in the the street.  

Over the past decade or so, small businesses have been flocking to this street, renovating old homes and buildings, and bringing life and energy and people to this area. Here are some examples of the variety of businesses within about a half of a mile:

                          

                                Grooming for people....                               grooming for pets.

            

Holliday Financial did a gorgeous renovation of this old bungalow 

Finn's is an icon know for their great breakfasts.

Piper's Quilts and Comforts is a popular place to stock up on sewing necessities and quilting supplies.

You can't forget the Soup Kitchen. They are closed at breakfast time (as shown in the picture), but the line regularly goes out the door around noon.

There are many other businesses not shown here, including the post office, various hair salons, the Utah AIDS  Foundation, floral shops, furniture and home accessory stores, the Christian Science Reading Room, a tattoo parlor, a laundry mat, and others.

Take the a moment to stroll down this street sometime. I think you'll enjoy it.

Tacos

Located in the heart of Sugarhouse is proof that this neighborhood belongs as a quality urban locale: a taco stand. A taco stand means that people are out on the street, gathering, socializing, and eating. 

Before the block was torn down to create "Sugarhole", there was a guy who ran a taco stand in front of Sugarhouse Coffee. Unfortunately, his business dried up once the buildings came down. However, in early summer of 2009, Tacos Don Martin showed up. They're right in front of the pit on 1100 East, a shimmering beacon of hope of great things to come for this block.  They've been able to make it through the winter. Hopefully, they will have a busy and profitable spring and summer.

Neighborhood Streets

The following picture is of a typical suburban residential street:

Notice the yellow sign that says "bump". They had to put in that sign because people kept hitting the big bump in the road at high speeds. The bump in the road is there because people were going too fast in the first place. Why were they going too fast? It may have something to do with the 40-foot width of the pavement. 

The following two pictures are typical streets in the Sugarhouse area:

28-foot wide street

32-foot wide street

Notice that the narrower streets don't have speed humps. They have fewer issues with speeding. I don't believe that it's because the people in these Sugarhouse neighborhoods are better drivers than other suburbs of Salt Lake. Speeding in residential neighborhoods is a design issue more than it is a behavior issue. 

On the 28-foot street, parking is allowed on both sides. This makes is so that when two drivers pass each other, often, one will have to pull off and stop to let the other one go by. Maybe this is a bit annoying, but only a bit. It gives you the chance to wave to your neighbor, and it forces you to drive at a reasonable speed. On the 40-foot wide street, it's just too tempting to speed- there's nothing in your way... at least until a little boy chases his ball into the street.

The driver behind wider and wider residential streets over the last few decades is the fire code. Fire trucks need at least a 20-foot clear zone for access and deployment- you don't want a fire truck with the stabilizers out blocking access to the ambulance and the second fire truck. The beauty of Sugarhouse is that it's built on a grid, rather than being full of cul-de-sacs. As a result, there's at least two different ways to get to each house. This means that you can live on a narrow street that is safer for your kids, and safer for your whole family.

Rocky Mountain Grill

Located on 1100 East, just north where it passes under I-80 is Rocky Mountain Grill. 

Lunch here is more than just a heaping plate full of fabulous homemade comfort food. It's a fun experience. This isn't a bland chain where the servers only know half the menu, and will recommend one or two of the higher-priced items on the menu if you ask what's good. The waitresses here are a bit sassy. If you ask for a recommendation, be prepared for some friendly banter as they help you find something just right for your mood. I've always left with a full tummy and a smile on my face.

Lori (server), Hector (cook), and Margie (owner)

Sugarhouse Streetcar

If you look at the picture below, you can see the faint outline of two rails, left over from a line that used to run up to the old Granite Furniture Building (about 1100 East), from the rail lines down near I-15.

 

I took this picture looking east from the paring lot of Sugarhouse BBQ (www.sugarhousebbq.com), located on 700 East, at about 2200 South. Before too long, you'll be able to take a Trolley from either the 2100 South TRAX station or from the heart of Sugarhouse to the east, and step off for a quick lunch of ribs or a pulled pork sandwich at one of the best BBQ joints in the city:

This streetcar line has support from Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, local businesses, land developers, and many others. We're pretty much just waiting on funding  for this to be built. Developers and local officials are salivating over the development and redevelopment opportunities that this line can help stimulate.

There will be some design issues, such as dealing with utilities, and how to safely and efficiently cross 700 East and State Street, but those are being worked out.

The following link will take you to the official project site, sponsored by UTA:
http://www.rideuta.com/projects/sugarhouseTransitStudy/default.aspx

Carol's Pastries

You can't talk about Sugarhouse without talking about Carol's Pastries. They are located just north of 2100 South on a little alleyway that runs between Lincoln Street (about 950 East) and 1000 East. I personally love their eclairs, but you can't go wrong with any of their cookies, pies, cakes, creampuffs, strudels, or other pastries.

 Service with a smile

"Front" entrance, that gives you the feel that you're stopping in to visit your neighbor at their back door.

View of alley to access Carol's.

21st South

As a traffic engineer, I have mixed feelings about this road. It has so many things wrong with it from a traffic engineering standpoint: the lanes are too narrow, there's no shoulder, no right turn lanes, crosswalks without traffic signals, and sections where there's no center left turn lane (known by most people as the chicken or suicide lane, and know to traffic engineers as a two-way left turn lane (TWLTL- pronounced "twittle"). This photo is looking west, standing just west of 11th East:

Considering that this road carries in the ballpark of 25,000 vehicles per day, the auto-mover in me argues that we need to widen the lanes and add shoulders to make it more comfortable for people to drive fast and add turn right turn pockets to help traffic flow better and to cut down on the rear-end crashes. I've personally witnessed three accidents near Millie's Burgers at about 10th East.

However, when I step back and look at this roadway from the perspective of someone who lives nearby, and loves to visit Sugarhouse, I think that for the most part, we should leave it alone. People slow down because they know that at any minute, the person in front of them might stop and turn. As a result, most crashes are just fender benders. The narrow street gives a more intimate feel, and makes it easier and more pleasant for pedestrians to cross. The businesses are more willing to invest in interesting storefronts, because they're nestled right up against the street. I get a little grumpy when I drive on 2100 South, but every time I walk down the sidewalk, I have a smile on my face. It's a fun place to be, especially if you've got a shake from Millie's in your hand (more on that in another post).

Besides, if you're in a hurry, UDOT just finished work on widening and renovating I-80, located less than 1/2 mile to the south. I smile every time I drive on it.

Sugarhouse

I'm going to focus on Sugarhouse for a little while. Some people spell it "Sugar House", but I prefer one word, so I apologize in advance to anyone who's offended. The following map shows the location of Sugarhouse:

This neighborhood got its name from the founders of the neighborhood who hauled machinery in from Europe to produce sugar from sugar beets. The corner of 1300 East and 2100 South is generally accepted as the heart of Sugarhouse. The picture below is of the lot on the southwest corner of that intersection:

A couple of years ago, this empty lot was full of eclectic shops that thrived in this location with cheap rent and plenty of people milling around. The anchor was Sugarhouse Coffee, located right on the corner. In 2007, Craig Mecham, the land owner, decided it was time to redevelop, much to the dismay of many of the locals. His vision was to keep the retail component, while adding office and residential space. He got ready for construction, and tore down the old buildings. As it turned out, the timing couldn't have been worse. For months, this sat as on open pit, while Mr. Mecham kept hoping for financing to come through. Eventually, he filled in the pit and added some landscaping around the perimeter.

According to interviews that he's given to the media, Mr. Mecham is still committed to his vision. Someday, this will be a vibrant development, hopefully with at least a few locally-owned businesses scattered in. For now, this empty lot is a stark reminder of the current economic conditions.