One of the newest areas for emerging development in downtown Salt Lake City is also one of the older parts, as apartment buildings and other projects pop up in the southern side of the city.
SevenO2 Main is one such multifamily development. Its name is a play on its address at 702 S. Main St. and the chemical symbol for Oxygen, signaling its goal of bringing a sense of health and wellness to residential living.
The five-story building features 239 units ranging from "Oxygen"-branded loft-style studios and "Nitrogen" one-bedrooms to "Hydrogen" three-bedrooms and apartments offering live-work suites. Amenities include a spa and zen garden.
PEG Cos., headquartered in Provo, Utah, is behind the project and offers on-site property management and maintenance. The company is one of the few to originally bet on redeveloping the area, even kicking in to help fund a new light rail station nearby. Its efforts earned it a 2023 CoStar Impact Award, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
"This type of project is the kind you need to see in a downtown that needs to thrive. Great partnerships between developers and city as well," wrote Impact Award judge Dejan Eskic, a senior research fellow and scholar at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah.
Indeed, the project won praise from the city's mayor, who hoped it would spur redevelopment in a part of town that had not seen serious investment for some time.
"They've set a new bar for this direct area that I think will be reflected in the kind of future creative projects and approaches to building truly a community in a neighborhood and not just housing," said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, according to a September report by the local Fox 13 television affiliate.
About the property: The community includes a 24-hour health and wellness center, zen gardens, a business center, bike storage and repair space, sports courts and a pool and cabanas with a large rooftop deck offering 360-degree views.
What the judges said: "This multifamily building supports health and well-being of building occupants and was purposefully designed for this. More importantly, its impact on community development and future growth of the immediate area are noteworthy. Proximity to public transportation was taken into account during the development, as well as proximity to downtown," wrote Ajla Aksamija, professor and chair of the School of Architecture at the University of Utah.
They made it happen: PEG Cos., a real estate firm headquartered in Provo, Utah, developed and manages SevenO2 Main. The architect was FFKR Architects.