It’s an early Thursday evening inside of Urban Hill, and the recently opened restaurant is bustling. Urban Hill employees—or “associates,” as they are referred to here—mix cocktails at the bar and prep dinners at the raw bar attached to the open kitchen. Bottles glisten inside a sparkling wine room lined wall-to-wall with hand-selected flavors, and the sommelier is on-hand to discuss which wine pairs best with each menu item.
Patrons are spread out around the restaurant. Some are sitting bar-top watching the action unfold; others are nestled in tables by the fireplace in a space connected to a spacious patio—one of two spots in the fine-dining restaurant designed specifically to host events.
Though busy, the atmosphere is calm and collected, comfortable yet glamorous. Dining inside of Urban Hill feels like being let in on a secret that soon enough, everyone will know.
The anchoring restaurant for the up-and-coming Post District, Urban Hill is setting the standard high in its quest to help Salt Lake City stand out as a destination spot while it continues to make national headlines as one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. Urban Hill is the third establishment opened by David, Sherry, and Brooks Kirchheimer, the parent-and-son co-owners of Leave Room for Dessert Eateries, which introduced Park City to both Hearth and Hill and Hill’s Kitchen. Urban Hill opened on December 15, 2022, making its mark as the first business to open in the Post District.
“As my dad and co-founder, David Kirchheimer, likes to say, it’s easy to be the second or the third at something. But it’s more challenging to be the first—and we take that challenge head on,” Brooks says. “Being the first to open at the Post District is really exciting to us and is also a great challenge. We’re honored to lead the charge of the retail community for the Post District.”
Located on 300 West and 510 South, the Post District is currently a block and a half of mostly construction. Cranes, fences, hardhats, dust and a lot of signs are a bit of an eye sore, especially when compared to the atmosphere Urban Hill provides within the confines of its 7,000 square-foot walls. But good things come to those that wait, and amid its rough backdrop, Urban Hill makes for a spectacular glimpse of what’s to come at the Post District as the year unfolds.The Post District is a $144 million project aimed at creating a residential and business community in an area Salt Lake developers see as a prime location in the ever-expanding downtown Salt Lake. “The Post District is an interesting opportunity because it’s in an urban core of Salt Lake City,” says Ben Lowe, co-owner of Lowe Property Group, a Salt Lake-based, family run real estate development and investment firm. “It’s an opportunity to shape a broad area. Post District is especially unique because it’s right off the primary entrance and exit to Salt Lake City. It’s the first thing you see as you come into the city and the last thing you see as you leave the city.”
Lowe Property Group is partnering with Salt Lake’s BCG Holdings, Bridge Investment Group and Denver-based Q Factor to bring the vision of the Post District to life. The district is meant to help turn the dilapidated corridors of 500 South and 600 South along 300 West into a vibrant area that creates a welcoming scene when commuters enter the state’s capital city. As part of this effort, the Post District will bring the once barren and broken-down concrete area to life through a 13-acre, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood that will become home to businesses ranging from shops, dining establishments and breweries. It will also include a place to live: the Post House, the residential portion of the Post District project overseen by Ben and his co-partner and brother, Alex.
“We are really creating a complete neighborhood within these blocks,” says Lowe, who adds that the majority of construction should be wrapping up by the end of this summer. The Post House offers 580 Class-A multifamily units spanning four apartment communities. And on its main level, next to the leasing office, is Urban Hill.
Mixed-use neighborhoods like the Post District, which are designed to create a residential community that can easily engage with the amenities offered by a metropolitan city, is not a new concept—but it is a hot development trend happening around the nation. This is, in part, a response to both the work-from-home trends that took flight during the height of the Covid pandemic and the overwhelming need for housing.
Lowe says that projects like the Post District aim to meet these demands.
“We need more housing options to provide more opportunities for people. At Post District, we’re trying to offer a broad range of housing options,” Lowe says. “We think that for market-rate projects, it’s important to provide a range of alternatives within our properties for people who are all along the income spectrum. And at the same time, providing everybody living in places like Post District with amazing amenities.”
Salt Lake is consistently ranked as one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. In January 2022, the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Institute in the David Eccles School of Business released a stunning report revealing that Utah’s population is projected to increase by 2.2 million by the year 2060. The report also indicates that, along with the tremendous influx of residents, the state of Utah will experience an increase in employment opportunities through an addition of 1.3 million jobs. As the state grapples with how to accommodate this enormous population increase, businesses are well poised to seize opportunities this growth presents. For restaurateurs like the Kirchheimers, that means securing a spot in what FSR magazine lists as one of seven hottest areas for new and emerging restaurants: Salt Lake City.
The team at Urban Hill embraces that projection.
“Salt Lake City is obviously going through a big growth period,” Kirchheimer says. “The Post District is an area where it’s really cool to see the expansion of downtown. I think it’s going to be invigorating to the community—a showstopper and really unique. The Post District is going to be a fun place that basically has just about all of it.”
And while the Post District certainly offers housing for those moving into downtown Salt Lake City, it is also aiming to be a hotspot for surrounding neighborhoods, businesses and anyone—residents or visitors—spending time downtown.
“It’s providing the people that live and visit Salt Lake City with so many new places to go and different experiences,” Kirchheimer says. “That’s what makes Salt Lake City so great, is its diversity—and not just in the people, but in the different restaurants it has to offer, the new hotels coming on the scene and all the different areas that people can live in.”
Lowe says that a major theme of both the Post House, and the Post District as a whole, is amenities. When looking at well-established metropolitan cities teeming with things to do, amenities are at the core of their success. This comes in the form of accessibility, walkability and options. Lowe says that creating communities that offer these amenities also encourages smart growth.
“It’s important that as we grow, that we’re not just growing out. Everybody’s having to commute in cars and sit on freeways all the time,” he says. “By having proximity to all these experiences and amenities—to shopping, entertainment, and social experiences that are close by—it really allows us to create community. It allows us to grow smartly [in a way] that’s less reliant on the car and long commutes. We’re growing up more than out so that we can create opportunities for people to be able to do all these things in close proximity to where they live or where they work.”
Lowe adds that local government has been supportive of what the Post District aims to do for downtown Salt Lake. “The leadership of Salt Lake City government has been really fantastic to work with,” he says. “They’ve seen these visions and help encourage the vision of these complete neighborhoods.”
Kirchheimer is looking forward to building a community of neighbors and friends—like he has enjoyed at the Hearth and Hill and Hill’s Kitchen locations in Park City—as more businesses open in the coming months.
“Community is a big part of our culture,” Kirchheimer says. “It’s important to develop a sense of community amongst the restaurants and retailers that are in the same development so that we can support each other.” Confirmed neighbors that Urban Hill will see move in over the coming months include Traeger Pellet Grills, which announced at the end of 2020 that it will build its new and expanded headquarters in the Post District, and Level Crossing Brewing, which is undergoing construction now to open its second location there.
“We’re excited to welcome with open arms the other retailers that eventually come in—to support them and give them some insight as to what we’ve experienced so far during our time at the Post District,” Kirchheimer says.
Lowe confirms there are more businesses in the works that are preparing to open their doors in the Post District. “There’s a number of retailers we’re pretty darn excited about,” he says. “Announcements will be forthcoming in the coming months.”
The retailers have their own plans for making announcements about their Post District location, but Lowe hints that locals excited for the names to be unveiled can look forward to high-end brunch, ramen, bakeries, sandwiches and a retailer with 10,000 square-feet of space to experience.
Architectural renderings of the Post District paint a picturesque community that invites experience, whether that comes in the form of dining, shopping, living or simply exploring around the area. Truly experiencing the Post District will come with time, but if the Urban Hill experience is any indication, great things are on Salt Lake City’s horizon.
“I really look forward to the Post District being the buzzing gathering spot I foresee it to be,” says Urban Hill General Manager Jessica Johns.
Johns has been on the floor engaging with customers since the high-end dining restaurant opened its doors, and she is pleased to find that she already has repeat customers—a sign for things to come as the Post District continues to evolve. “I think it will be such a great destination of residential, retail and restaurants in an area that hasn’t always had as much vibrancy,” Johns says. “Salt Lake City is growing rapidly, and I love that the west part of downtown is getting some exciting love.”