SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Housing Preservation Fund (UHPF) has acquired Ascent at Marmalade, a 72-unit multifamily community in Salt Lake City’s Marmalade district. The transaction closed on July 29, 2026. The Fund purchased the property at auction and will hold it as the long-term owner, investing in capital improvements while keeping the homes affordable in perpetuity.
The Fund’s interest in Ascent at Marmalade centers on what the property can become. It sits in one of the most connected neighborhoods in the state, on a site with capacity beyond what stands on it today. Under long-term ownership, both the quality of the homes and the number of them can improve for the residents and families who live there.
“Affordable housing is most valuable when it gives families access to everything a community has to offer,” said Lukas Ridd, Fund Manager. “At Ascent at Marmalade, we can preserve that access permanently, improve the homes that are already here, and ultimately create more of them. That combination of great location, long-term affordability, and room to grow is exactly what the Fund was created to pursue.”
The combination of a well-located property with real room to grow tends to leave the affordable inventory quickly if not preserved. Properties like this one are typically acquired, renovated at speed, and repriced well beyond the reach of the families already living there. The Fund exists to offer the alternative: patient investment, permanent affordability, and improvements made with residents in place rather than in their absence.
A HIGH-OPPORTUNITY LOCATION FOR THE FAMILIES WHO LIVE THERE
Ascent at Marmalade sits within a couple blocks of downtown Salt Lake City, with direct access to transit, employment, health care, and the civic core of the capital city. The property is also located within a Salt Lake City high opportunity area, as defined by Dr. Raj Chetty and the Opportunity Insights team at Harvard University.
Research from Dr. Chetty and his team established that the neighborhood a child grows up in has a measurable causal effect on their earnings in adulthood, and that the effect compounds with each additional year of childhood spent there. Their subsequent work on social capital found that upward mobility is strongest in places with high economic connectedness, where children from lower-income families build relationships across income lines. Utah ranks among the most economically connected states in the country.
“Utah’s housing challenge isn’t just about building more homes, it’s also about holding on to the affordability we already have,” said Dejan Eskic, Lead Utah Housing Researcher and Board Member, Perpetual Housing Fund. “As housing costs rise and well-located properties become more valuable, naturally affordable units are increasingly at risk of being lost. Preserving those homes, particularly in neighborhoods with access to jobs, schools and transportation, is one of the most cost-effective ways to protect Utah’s housing supply while we work to build more.”
The practical implication is straightforward: where affordable housing is preserved matters as much as how much of it is preserved. Keeping affordable homes in a central, well-connected neighborhood, rather than only in the places where land happens to be cheapest, is how those cross-income connections are built and sustained.
BUILT FOR FAMILIES
Ascent at Marmalade is served by Washington Elementary, Bryant Middle School, and West High School all within 2 miles of the property. For a family with children at multiple grade levels, that proximity removes a logistical burden that shapes where households can realistically afford to live.
“Preserving affordable homes in places people already know and love is just as important as building new ones,” said Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Salt Lake City. “Minutes from downtown and around the corner from The Apricot sculpture, this investment will help keep 72 homes affordable for generations to come. We’re grateful to the Utah Housing Preservation Fund for investing in Salt Lake City and the families who call it home.”
It also supports the outcome the Fund cares most about: residents staying put. Across the Fund’s portfolio, the average resident tenure is 4.3 years, compared to a national average of 2.3 years. Long tenure is what allows children to remain in the same school, and families to remain in the same neighborhood, long enough for the benefits of that neighborhood to accrue.
THE PLAN FOR THE PROPERTY
The Fund will pursue a phased capital improvement program at Ascent at Marmalade, addressing deferred maintenance and building systems while residents remain in place. Over a longer horizon, the Fund will evaluate the site’s capacity to accommodate additional homes, adding units to Salt Lake City’s affordable inventory on land that is already zoned, already served, and already connected, without displacing the households living there today.
The acquisition brings UHPF’s portfolio to 13 properties and 1,156 units preserved statewide, serving more than 2,700 residents. Across the portfolio, residents save a weighted average of $270 per month compared to market rents — savings that have now totaled more than $13 million.
ABOUT THE UTAH HOUSING PRESERVATION FUND
The Utah Housing Preservation Fund is a public-private partnership backed by the State of Utah and operated under Utah Non Profit Housing Corporation. The Fund acquires and preserves existing multifamily affordable housing in perpetuity, with a focus on naturally occurring affordable housing, LIHTC properties with expiring restrictions, properties with Section 8 HAP contracts, and Class B and C multifamily assets. With approximately $200 million in committed capital, the Fund has preserved more than 1,100 units serving over 2,700 residents across Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, and Washington counties. Learn more at utahpreservation.org.