- Skyler Baird is restoring the historic Fifth Ward meetinghouse in Salt Lake City into mixed-use property.
- The project includes 18 recovery housing units, supported by Baird’s for-profit business.
- Preservation Utah provided a low-interest loan, aiding the historic church’s renovation.
SALT LAKE CITY — A project to restore a historic church was showing visible signs of progress Tuesday as the owner said he hopes to have work completed in a year.
Skyler Baird said he has faced some financing obstacles in his bid to transform the Fifth Ward meetinghouse, located at 740 S. 300 West, into a mixed-use property featuring housing for people recovering from drug addiction, leading to some modifications.
“As time has progressed, it’s become very apparent that financing a half-demolished church with a nonprofit is not the banks’ first choice, and so we’re pivoting a little bit,” Baird explained during an interview with KSL. “I have a for-profit business, BoostedSafe, that’s going to take over half of the building — the top half, the chapel and that — and we’re still going to maintain the housing for the nonprofit, and we’re going to continue on with the original goal, just supported by my for-profit business.”…