SLC’s Union Pacific station to be base for new Marriott hotel

Commercial real estate development firms Hatteras Sky of Atlanta and The Athens Group of Phoenix have broken ground on Asher Adams, an adaptive re-use of Salt Lake City’s historic downtown Union Pacific train depot and new construction of a 225-room Autograph Collection by Marriott hotel.

Asher Adams will feature 13 historic guest suites in the original train depot and a new eight-story guestroom structure with an additional 212 guest rooms in the new construction. The hotel will also include multiple food and beverage outlets, a 1,500-square-foot fitness facility, 9,000 square feet of meeting and function space and approximately 3,200 square feet of open-air gathering spaces. The Depot, an existing 17,000-square-foot live entertainment venue located within the Union Pacific building, will be retained in its current location and continue operations during construction.

Barings, a North Carolina-based investment management firm, is the senior construction lender and financing is also being provided by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City with equity from individual investors on CrowdStreet, an online real estate investing marketplace.

Originally constructed in 1909, the historic Union Pacific railroad station is regarded as one of the most outstanding architectural structures in Utah. The iconic station features French Second Empire architecture, original stained-glass windows and huge original oil-on-canvas murals including, “Driving the Golden Spike” commemorating the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit and “This is the Place” portraying Brigham Young making his famous exclamation upon first seeing the Great Salt Lake Valley.

The new hotel is located in The Gateway, a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use commercial business, retail, residential, dining and entertainment destination. Asher Adams sits directly across the street from Vivint Smart Home Arena, the TRAX Blue and Green light rail stops and is within walking distance of the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center and the Frontrunner commuter rail line.

“We are honored by the opportunity to both preserve and showcase the historic Union Pacific Depot, while at the same time providing Salt Lake City with a state-of-the-art hospitality experience which will serve as an enhanced community gathering space for residents and visitors alike,” said Oz Friedmann, principal and managing director of development for Hatteras Sky.

“After many years of planning, and with our sincere appreciation to Barings, CrowdStreet and the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, we are excited to take the next steps toward delivering the best hospitality experience in Salt Lake City,” said Rob McIver, principal of The Athens Group. “The design and juxtaposition of the historic building with the new guestroom tower has been carefully crafted by our design partners at HKS Architects and JNS Design. With Okland as our general contractor and Pivot as our hotel operator, we look forward to bringing this project to life.”   

“We are pleased that construction of the new Asher Adams hotel at The Gateway is now underway,” said Jenny Cushing, vice president of leasing for Vestar, the development company that owns The Gateway. “This boutique hotel will be as iconic as the historic building it’s housed in and will serve as the crown jewel for the redevelopment of The Gateway. It will be designed to cater to leisure and business travelers seeking a unique and memorable property with fabulous amenities. Asher Adams promises to further transform The Gateway into a vibrant and sought-out destination within Salt Lake City and will drive additional business to our merchants.”

Hatteras Sky is a commercial real estate firm focused on multifamily and hospitality development in high-growth American markets. The Athens Group is a full-service real estate development company specializing in the development of environmentally conscious upscale resort communities, luxury resort and urban hotels, golf courses and related residential and recreational properties.

Pivot, the entity that will operate Asher Adams, is the lifestyle operating division of Davidson Hospitality Group, also based in Atlanta.

Asher Adams, named after the first cartographers to depict railroad lines on their maps, is scheduled to open early in 2024, developers said.