Utah Arts Alliance Art Castle

The project

Three parts. One campus.

Art Castle, where Dolly Parton once recorded, fills the gap between the Delta Center and the Power District with an art center, 32 affordable homes and a free sculpture garden. ASSIST, Inc. is the architect.

Concept rendering of the finished campus from 100 South at sunset. The chapel, the Art Deco annex with its Art Castle District sign, a café and the new homes building stand side by side, with mountains behind.Concept rendering
1

Castle

The 1904 chapel returns to life as a place for art and music.

  • An immersive art attraction anchors the restored chapel.
  • Two concert venues host live music.
  • Galleries and changing immersive spaces show new work.
  • KUAA 99.9 FM community radio calls the chapel home.
  • Families visit by day. After dark, the attraction favors 21 and over.

One of four pioneer-era ward chapels left in Salt Lake City. Dolly Parton and Carly Simon both recorded here.

See the castle art center →
Concept rendering of the new homes building at sunset, seen from the street corner. Gothic windows and gold trim cover its upper floors, and an arched garage entry opens below.Concept rendering
2

Homes

A new building beside the chapel holds 32 affordable homes.

  • The homes include 12 studios, 8 two-bedrooms and 12 three-bedrooms.
  • Every home serves households that earn 30% to 80% of the area median income.
  • Five homes go to veterans and five go to creatives.
  • The Operation Palette clinic sits next door.

Two levels of parking and a café fill the lower floors. Homes start on level 3.

See the homes →
Concept rendering of the sculpture garden at sunset, with The Illuminator, the crystal-and-heart sculpture, a lion and a mural-covered whale tail beside the chapel.Concept rendering
3

Garden

An 18,917-square-foot sculpture garden welcomes the neighborhood.

  • Public sculpture, including new light, fire and mirror installations.
  • A playground and plaza invite families.
  • A stage hosts outdoor shows.

The garden wraps the castle’s whole east side. It opens to everyone, free to view.

See the sculpture garden →

Conceptual plan

Our Creative Playground is a New Model for Arts Facilities

Level 1 holds the café, the homes lobby and the garage, with the immersive art attraction and restrooms in the chapel’s basement.

Colored plan of Level 1. The garage runs along the west side with its parking stalls in teal and two EV stalls in orchid. The café appears in gold, the homes lobby in blue, the immersive art attraction in lavender and the restrooms in pale lilac.
Level 1, basement and ground. Conceptual plan by ASSIST, Inc. Tap a number to learn more.

Level 2 is the chapel’s main floor, with the second level of the garage beside it.

Colored site plan of the Art Castle campus. The chapel appears in lavender, the new homes building in aqua, and the sculpture garden in mint along the chapel’s whole east side. The Operation Palette clinic appears in pink.
Conceptual plan, designed by project architects ASSIST, Inc. Tap a number to learn more.

Homes begin on Level 3, above two levels of parking, with a residential deck beside the chapel.

  • Studio, 575 to 592 SF
  • Two-bedroom, 835 to 840 SF
  • Three-bedroom, 1,065 SF
  • Veteran home
Colored plan of Level 3, the first floor of homes. Veteran homes appear in pink, other homes in shades of aqua, and the residential deck in mint.
Level 3, first floor of homes. Conceptual plan by ASSIST, Inc. Tap a number to learn more.

Levels 4, 5 and 6 repeat one plan of eight homes. Four floors of eight make 32 homes.

  • Studio, 575 to 592 SF
  • Two-bedroom, 835 to 840 SF
  • Three-bedroom, 1,065 SF
Colored plan of a typical home floor, repeated on Levels 4, 5 and 6. Studios appear in pale aqua, two-bedrooms in aqua and three-bedrooms in deep aqua.
Levels 4, 5 and 6 share one plan. Conceptual plan by ASSIST, Inc.

The place

There’s a Half-Mile Blighted Gap Between Two Billion-Dollar Bets

The gap runs between the Delta Center & Power District, and we’re in between. With art as the engine, everybody succeeds.

Art Castle sits in Poplar Grove, on Salt Lake City’s Westside, where arts spaces, grocery options and homes that fit families are few.

  • 0.33 mito the nearest TRAX stop
  • 1026census tract, in the 9-Line Community Reinvestment Area
  • Bottom 25%of Utah census tracts on the Health Opportunity Index
  • 65%of ZIP code 84104 residents are people of color

Where it sits

The site sits inside the 9-Line Community Reinvestment Area. UAA meets regularly with the Poplar Grove, Glendale, Fairpark and Rose Park community councils to hear what neighbors want.

Who lives nearby

In ZIP code 84104, about 65% of residents are people of color, and about 47% are Hispanic or Latino. Across the three Westside ZIP codes around the campus, about 60% of residents are people of color. Statewide, the figure is about 23%.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, as compiled by Census Reporter.

A federally designated tract. Census tract 1026 carries these federal designations:
  • New Markets Tax Credit low-income community (CDFI Fund), with median family income at 71.5% of the area’s
  • CDFI Investment Area, Low Income Area and Economic Distress Tract (CDFI Fund, FY 2024)
  • Food desert (CDFI Fund, FY 2024)
  • Qualified Census Tract (HUD), which also earns an SBA HUBZone designation
Sources: CDFI Fund CIMS NMTC Public Viewer; HUD User QCT and DDA map; SBA HUBZone Map. Checked November 11, 2026.

What UAA pledges to the neighborhood

  • Offer bilingual programming and more than 100 free public events each year.
  • Open a sculpture garden that stays free to everyone.
  • Advance the housing, transportation and business goals of Salt Lake City’s Consolidated Plan.

Join the castle.

Crystal Young
Development Lead, Sterling & Pink
cy@sterlingpink.net

Derek Dyer
Executive Director, Utah Arts Alliance
derek@utaharts.org

Email Crystal Donate now