This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A location on Salt Lake City's East Bench and another at the epicenter of its homeless activity were among those city leaders considered for one of four 150-bed homeless shelters.

A list of 11 site finalists obtained Monday by The Salt Lake Tribune includes a Mormon church on Foothill Drive, the land under the downtown Road Home shelter that currently serves up to 1,100 homeless people each night, and sites a block from City Hall and the Utah State Fairpark.

The mayor's office said the information from the report obtained by The Tribune appeared accurate.

City leaders have said they're irreversibly committed to the chosen sites after two years of research and discussion. Those are: 653 E. Simpson Ave. (2300 South), 275 W. High Ave. (1400 South), 131 E. 700 South and 648 W. 100 South.

They sought available land that was close to public transportation and services that won't be available at the shelters. But they also needed them to be scattered, so that no two sites were too near each other.

A whittled-down list that they began to weigh in mid-November shows some pros and cons of the final four and seven other considered sites, which were: 3 S. 1000 West, 210 S. Rio Grande, 330 E. 400 South, 850 S. 300 West, 1740 S. 300 West, 1565 S. Foothill Drive and 2234 S. Highland Drive.

While the most vocal opposition to the four announced sites has come from Sugar House residents who live near 653 E. Simpson Ave. and patrons of a day care at that address, the only negative listed on the report obtained by The Tribune is that "[s]ome demolition will be required."

The 648 W. 100 South location will require utility upgrades and noise reduction for the nearby railway, and is near an area notorious for its drug trade, the report says.

"While the site is not directly accessible from a major transportation corridor, the resource center design would need to include features that will mitigate the impact of the existing drug activity."

Drawbacks cited at 131 E. 700 South and 275 W. High Ave. were, respectively, the need to demolish and relocate a Deseret Industries thrift store and the likelihood that an existing vehicle storage yard will require an environmental cleanup.

Knocks on the other sites included in the report are:

1565 S. Foothill Drive • The LDS Church meetinghouse here would have needed to be demolished and the land would have to have been rezoned. It's not close to homeless services, and the highly trafficked road links it to the regional drug trade.

2234 S. Highland Drive • Some demolition would have been required at this city fire station, which sits at the northeast corner of Fairmont Park.

3 S. 1000 West • A block southeast of the Utah State Fairpark, this is partially owned by the city but would have required the closure of an alley and possibly a utility relocation.

210 S. Rio Grande • The current downtown Road Home shelter south of The Gateway shopping mall would have been demolished and the site would have needed "significant" utility upgrades. (The nonprofit board that owns the property has accepted a nonbinding agreement to close the shelter after the four smaller ones have opened.)

330 E. 400 South • This land is city-owned, just north of the city's Public Safety Building and east of Salt Lake Roasting Co. But demolition costs at the old Barnes Bank "will be one of the highest for considered sites," the list says. (The bank was used earlier this year to process dozens rounded up in the Rio Grande area as part of an effort to reduce crime.)

850 S. 300 West • The report notes opposition to building on this city property from the Volunteers of America, which operates a Youth Resource Center at 888 S. 400 West and "indicated that their clients would be negatively impacted by an adult homeless center located near their facility."

1740 S. 300 West • Next to the world's largest Costco and owned by the bulk retailer, this vacant lot isn't near homeless services and was further dinged for its proximity to the drugs transported along Interstate 15.

Twitter: @matthew_piper —

Chosen sites

648 W. 100 South • Owner: Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency; current use: temporary lease; size: 1.8 acres; assessed value: $717,000.

131 E. 700 South • Owner: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; current use: Deseret Industries secondhand store; size: 1.3 acres; purchase price: $2.5 million.

275 W. High Ave. (1400 South) • Owner: Mark Aletto; current use: vehicle storage yard; size: 3 acres; assessed value: $1.16 million.

653 E. Simpson Ave. (2300 South) • Owner: Forest Company; current use: retail, dance studios and child care/education; size: 1.2 acres; assessed value: $1.6 million.

Rejected sites

3 S. 1000 West • Owner: Salt Lake City and VPS South Temple; current use: warehouse; size: 1.7 acres; purchase price: $1.39 million.

210 S. Rio Grande St. • Owner: Shelter the Homeless, Inc.; current use: homeless shelter; size: 1.2 acres; assessed value: $3.1 million.

330 E. 400 South • Owner: Salt Lake City; current use: vacant land and buildings; size: 1.2 acres; assessed value: $6.1 million.

850 S. 300 West • Owner: Salt Lake City; current use: vacant land and storage facilities; size: 8.5 acres; assessed value: $5 million.

1740 S. 300 West • Owner: Costco; current use: vacant land; size: 2.75 acres; purchase price: $2.87 million.

1565 S. Foothill Drive • Owner: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; current use: church; size: 1.7 acres; assessed value: $3.7 million.

2234 S. Highland Drive • Owner: Salt Lake City and Salt Lake City RDA; current use: fire station, municipal services and a vacant building; size: 1.5 acres; assessed value: $1.26 million.