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CRA increases USA Climbing allocation by $250,000 to support reconstruction of historic Mattress Company building
Summary
The CRA board approved a $250,000 increase (to a $6.25 million maximum) to USA Climbing’s term sheet to accommodate higher costs tied to incorporating the Salt Lake Mattress Company building into the organization’s headquarters and training center; board debated preservation vs. reconstruction and added language limiting future funding requests for the structure.
The Community Reinvestment Agency board on March 10 approved a modification to USA Climbing’s lease/term sheet that raises the CRA’s maximum allocation for the project by $250,000, bringing the total cap to $6.25 million.
The action addressed a roughly $1.3 million funding gap the applicant identified for adaptively reusing the historic Salt Lake Mattress Company building. CRA staff presented three pathways: full adaptive reuse (preservation), reconstruction using original materials, or replacement with a smaller contemporary structure. Staff recommended reconstruction using historic materials as a compromise that preserves the building’s appearance and character while limiting further CRA exposure.
‘‘While our preference would be adaptive reuse in the traditional sense, reconstruction would support the board’s original goal of retaining the structure as well as related components of the Rio Grande District plan,’’ staff said, noting that reconstruction using original brick and compatible materials would be the closest feasible approach given budget realities.
The board accepted a motion to amend and restate the lease terms, including a $250,000 maximum additional CRA contribution for mattress-building inclusion. The motion passed 6–1; one board member registered a dissenting vote. Following the vote, board members asked staff to explore salvage/resale options for previously procured structural components and to develop a rubric for evaluating future historic-preservation funding requests.
Next steps: staff will finalize lease terms and report back to the board on any salvage/resale options and proposed criteria for future preservation funding decisions.
