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Proposal to put housing units at site of Granite High School sent back to drawing board

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SOUTH SALT LAKE – The old Granite High School at 3300 South and 500 East in South Salt Lake has been in limbo for the last several years, and a new proposal to tear down the building was under discussion at a South Salt Lake City Hall held Wednesday night, but only briefly--as the city council quickly sent the proposal back to the drawing board.

The building has been a part of the city for more than a century, and since it stopped functioning as a school there have been plans to turn it into a community center and a film center, but both plans fell through. The property was put up for sale, and Wednesday night Garbett Homes and Wasatch Property Group paired up to offer a plan to redevelop the area.

The plan would have included 400 housing units and a three acre park as well as some retail shops. Roy Turner, South Salt Lake City Council District 4, spoke after the short presentation from the developers.

“This flies in the face of all our master planning,” Turner said.

Councilman Irvin Jones, District 5, ended the discussion altogether a short time later.

“Thanks for your time, and go back to the drawing board,” he said. “Thank you. Next item on the agenda.”

There was no public comment as part of Wednesday’s meeting, but resident Mike Gianalakis spoke to FOX 13 after the meeting.

“It was taken care of very well by the city council I think,” he said.

Jacob Ballstaedt of Garbett Homes said they have been looking at the site for years, and he said they were disappointed they weren’t able to find more common ground.

“I was a bit surprised, especially with our experience with South Salt Lake, I thought we had a better relationship with them,” he said.

He said they may go back to the drawing board and come back with a modified proposal.

“I think we could work together and figure something out, and I think we will,” he said.

Garbett Homes and Wasatch Property Group have the site under contract currently. Residents said they understand that redevelopment will come to the area eventually, but they said they hope any developments carried out won’t have as many residential units as the proposal offered Wednesday.