Almost a year after permanently opening another shelter option for Utahns experiencing homelessness, state officials plan to expand it.
State homelessness coordinator Wayne Niederhauser called the Salt Lake City microshelter community, a plot of 50 small units for individuals, a success.
“It is living up to what its expectations have been. People are going there. They’re stabilizing,” Niederhauser said. “There’s not a lot of criminal activity around there. In fact, the calls for service are very, very low. So, getting people in a situation like that, we’re proving that that works.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A microshelter community near 500 South and 700 West in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025.
Niederhauser, who leads the state’s Office of Homeless Services, said the state will more than double the number of beds on the property, which sits between highway overpasses at 548 S. 700 West. The addition of 54 new units will bring the total number to 104.
The community is an example of the growing noncongregate shelter model, like the new family shelter in South Salt Lake and the facility for medically vulnerable people in Sandy.
Each unit has a bed, a lockable door, power, air conditioning and heating. The property is run by Utah homeless services nonprofit Switchpoint.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A microshelter community near 500 South and 700 West in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025.
A survey that officials administered to those experiencing unsheltered homelessness as a part of the annual point-in-time count found that people would prefer to go to a shelter if they had a private room there or could bring their own setup, like a tent, and use other shared facilities. Congregate shelters — those where people sleep in one big room together — were respondents’ least favorite option.
Niederhauser pointed to the results as a reason to expand the microshelter project, saying that people are more inclined to move off the street if they could have their own private space.
State officials released the survey results Wednesday as a part of the annual report on homelessness in Utah. The data showed that the number of homeless Utahns jumped again, from just under 3,900 last year to about 4,600 this year – an 18% rise. It also found that almost 10,300 people became homeless for the first time last year, signaling to Niederhauser that preventing people from losing their homes remains a priority.
State Office of Homeless Services spokesperson Sarah Nielson said the expansion is expected to be open next June.
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