In an email sent Wednesday, Salt Lake Community College President Deneece Huftalin announced that construction on the 400-bed residence hall at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus, originally scheduled to start this spring with a projected opening of fall 2023, has been delayed.
According to the email, the construction project could not secure an acceptable investment package that would allow construction to begin on schedule due to “current volatility in the stock market.”
“Market conditions have been highly unpredictable, a circumstance resulting from two pandemic years, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and increased inflation,” the email said. “Given this information, we will be unable to move forward on student housing until the market stabilizes.”
In the email, Huftalin acknowledged potential feelings of disappointment from the college community but added that the decision to delay construction is “the most prudent step for SLCC’s financial wellbeing at this time.”
SLCC’s Finance and Administration office and housing development company Servitas will continue to work during the delay to “monitor market conditions and evaluate all available construction financing options.”
“We will share any updates regarding housing through SLCC Today in the coming months,” the email concluded.
On the topic of on-campus housing during last year’s fall student forum, students raised concerns about rising housing costs in the Salt Lake area, to which Huftalin responded by saying that SLCC was still negotiating with their partners to determine final costs.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll build into our scholarship opportunities with housing as part of a scholarship,” Huftalin said during the forum. “That way we can help those who really need affordable housing and a good place to be educated.”
The plan communicated at the time would require students to take at least nine credit hours to qualify for housing, a requirement that carried the possibility of changing if units were not filled.
