One of the big housing trends that we have seen across North America over the last several years is the push to allow greater supply in low-rise neighbourhoods.
Here in Toronto, this has come through a well-known program called Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (or EHON), which I believe launched around 2020. But you can find countless similar programs in other cities.
Salt Lake City, for example, is currently looking at updating its single-family exclusive zoning to allow for "gentle infill opportunities" on smaller lots. The zones under consideration cover 77% of the land zoned for residential in SLC. And interestingly enough, this program is also called Expanding Housing Options.
In their case, they are proposing to create a new definition for "Small Lot Dwellings," which would, among other things, reduce the minimum lot area per dwelling to 2,000 sf, reduce the number of required off-street parking spaces from 2 to 1 per dwelling, and allow up to four homes per lot via fourplexes and townhomes.
One of the things that I found interesting about their proposed policies is that they seem to explicitly encourage "sideways" multiplexes and row houses like this:
This starts to tell you something about the scale of SLC's urban fabric, even though there are no dimensions on this conceptual site plan. These are big lots.
Despite sometimes having the same moniker, cities are responding to their urban contexts in different ways. SLC uses explicit density math: at least 2,000 sf of site area per dwelling. Whereas Toronto increasingly relies on built-form standards: here's the envelope you can build, if you can fit a fourplex within it (or a sixplex in certain wards), go for it. And don't worry about parking.
If Toronto mandated one parking space per dwelling unit, virtually no multiplexes would ever get built in the city. Our lot sizes simply don't allow for it. Moving away from the car is also the only way that Toronto will be able to continue to grow and scale up.
Despite these local nuances, the overall ambition remains the same. Low-rise neighbourhoods across North America are being asked to house more people on the same amount of land, and that's a positive step forward.
Cover photo by Ashton Bingham on Unsplash
Map and planning diagrams from Salt Lake City Planning Division
Salt Lake City has two recently completed luxury multi-family developments. Or perhaps I should say, at least two.
The first is The Worthington by Chicago-based developer Convexity Properties. It has 31 floors and 359 apartments. Leasing started last summer and seems to be going well.
The second is the Astra Tower by Kensington Investment Company, which is being managed by Greystar. It has 41 floors, 377 apartments, and is 451 feet tall, making it the tallest building in the state of Utah. Construction was completed at the beginning of this year and, according to Building Salt Lake, it's already about 30% occupied with full stabilization forecasted for summer 2026.
It's interesting to compare these projects to multi-family developments here in Toronto.
First of all, the reported average rent for Astra is US$3 per square foot, which works out to ~C$4.19 psf for us Canadians at today's exchange rate. I would say that this is at least ~15% lower compared to where I would expect most Toronto developers are underwriting new projects. This suggests to me that it's more cost effective to build in SLC.
The product is also different. On Astra's website, they have two virtual tours.
The first is for a studio apartment at 554 sf and the second is for a one bedroom at 788 sf. These are meaningfully larger than new apartments in Toronto. Here, the first would have to be a one bedroom and the second would be
I used Turo for the first time this evening. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Turo is like Airbnb, but for cars. It connects people who have cars with people who need rental cars. Here is a photo of ours at SLC:
One of the big housing trends that we have seen across North America over the last several years is the push to allow greater supply in low-rise neighbourhoods.
Here in Toronto, this has come through a well-known program called Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (or EHON), which I believe launched around 2020. But you can find countless similar programs in other cities.
Salt Lake City, for example, is currently looking at updating its single-family exclusive zoning to allow for "gentle infill opportunities" on smaller lots. The zones under consideration cover 77% of the land zoned for residential in SLC. And interestingly enough, this program is also called Expanding Housing Options.
In their case, they are proposing to create a new definition for "Small Lot Dwellings," which would, among other things, reduce the minimum lot area per dwelling to 2,000 sf, reduce the number of required off-street parking spaces from 2 to 1 per dwelling, and allow up to four homes per lot via fourplexes and townhomes.
One of the things that I found interesting about their proposed policies is that they seem to explicitly encourage "sideways" multiplexes and row houses like this:
This starts to tell you something about the scale of SLC's urban fabric, even though there are no dimensions on this conceptual site plan. These are big lots.
Despite sometimes having the same moniker, cities are responding to their urban contexts in different ways. SLC uses explicit density math: at least 2,000 sf of site area per dwelling. Whereas Toronto increasingly relies on built-form standards: here's the envelope you can build, if you can fit a fourplex within it (or a sixplex in certain wards), go for it. And don't worry about parking.
If Toronto mandated one parking space per dwelling unit, virtually no multiplexes would ever get built in the city. Our lot sizes simply don't allow for it. Moving away from the car is also the only way that Toronto will be able to continue to grow and scale up.
Despite these local nuances, the overall ambition remains the same. Low-rise neighbourhoods across North America are being asked to house more people on the same amount of land, and that's a positive step forward.
Cover photo by Ashton Bingham on Unsplash
Map and planning diagrams from Salt Lake City Planning Division
Salt Lake City has two recently completed luxury multi-family developments. Or perhaps I should say, at least two.
The first is The Worthington by Chicago-based developer Convexity Properties. It has 31 floors and 359 apartments. Leasing started last summer and seems to be going well.
The second is the Astra Tower by Kensington Investment Company, which is being managed by Greystar. It has 41 floors, 377 apartments, and is 451 feet tall, making it the tallest building in the state of Utah. Construction was completed at the beginning of this year and, according to Building Salt Lake, it's already about 30% occupied with full stabilization forecasted for summer 2026.
It's interesting to compare these projects to multi-family developments here in Toronto.
First of all, the reported average rent for Astra is US$3 per square foot, which works out to ~C$4.19 psf for us Canadians at today's exchange rate. I would say that this is at least ~15% lower compared to where I would expect most Toronto developers are underwriting new projects. This suggests to me that it's more cost effective to build in SLC.
The product is also different. On Astra's website, they have two virtual tours.
The first is for a studio apartment at 554 sf and the second is for a one bedroom at 788 sf. These are meaningfully larger than new apartments in Toronto. Here, the first would have to be a one bedroom and the second would be
I used Turo for the first time this evening. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Turo is like Airbnb, but for cars. It connects people who have cars with people who need rental cars. Here is a photo of ours at SLC:
Every market has its nuances. In the case of SLC, the model suites appear to be very clearly competing with low-rise housing. The one bedroom has a dedicated entrance foyer, there's a separate dining area, and the bedroom has carpet, among other things. It reminds me of earlier multi-family vintages in Toronto.
Of course, one really unique feature you get here is views of the Wasatch mountain range (see cover photo above). It's a special feeling being in an urban center where you have mountains all around you, and it's one of the primary reasons why an increasing number of people are being drawn to Utah.
Congratulations to the team on successfully completing such an ambitious project. It's exciting to see SLC continue to grow and urbanize.
Cover photo via the Astra Tower
The pickup was perfectly seamless. I got a text from an alleged human the day before. It said that they would leave the car on the second level of the parking garage next to baggage claim. And that I would get more precise instructions -- such as where the key will be -- after it was parked there.
I was also told that there would be a small charge to pay in order to exit the garage. And that the charge would obviously depend on how quickly I retrieve the car after they park it. In my case it ended up being US$10, but we also stopped for food on the way.
Overall, I’d say the pickup experience was easier and faster than your typical rental car. The car was as advertised. And thankfully, it was also there waiting for us. The two standout features for me are probably: (1) It was cheaper and (2) you get to pick your exact car.
This second one is important because sometimes you need a rental car so that you can drive it into a snow-covered canyon. And when faced with this situation, it can be helpful to know exactly what you’ll be getting — right down to the type of tires.
Every market has its nuances. In the case of SLC, the model suites appear to be very clearly competing with low-rise housing. The one bedroom has a dedicated entrance foyer, there's a separate dining area, and the bedroom has carpet, among other things. It reminds me of earlier multi-family vintages in Toronto.
Of course, one really unique feature you get here is views of the Wasatch mountain range (see cover photo above). It's a special feeling being in an urban center where you have mountains all around you, and it's one of the primary reasons why an increasing number of people are being drawn to Utah.
Congratulations to the team on successfully completing such an ambitious project. It's exciting to see SLC continue to grow and urbanize.
Cover photo via the Astra Tower
The pickup was perfectly seamless. I got a text from an alleged human the day before. It said that they would leave the car on the second level of the parking garage next to baggage claim. And that I would get more precise instructions -- such as where the key will be -- after it was parked there.
I was also told that there would be a small charge to pay in order to exit the garage. And that the charge would obviously depend on how quickly I retrieve the car after they park it. In my case it ended up being US$10, but we also stopped for food on the way.
Overall, I’d say the pickup experience was easier and faster than your typical rental car. The car was as advertised. And thankfully, it was also there waiting for us. The two standout features for me are probably: (1) It was cheaper and (2) you get to pick your exact car.
This second one is important because sometimes you need a rental car so that you can drive it into a snow-covered canyon. And when faced with this situation, it can be helpful to know exactly what you’ll be getting — right down to the type of tires.
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