A neighborhood better known for its farms and rural vibe but more recently targeted as a hub for distribution centers and manufacturers will be seeing a different type of facility in the near future: a 1,300-bed homeless campus.
Salt Lake City’s Northpoint area, much of which was recently annexed into Utah’s capital, eventually will host the massive shelter on what is now a roughly 16-acre, city-owned parcel at 2520 N. 2200 West.
State homelessness officials, chiefly homelessness coordinator Wayne Niederhauser, have long said Utah’s emergency shelter system needs more beds. They ha00ve also contended that state agencies and nonprofits must do better at connecting people experiencing homelessness to employment, health care and other services. They say the campus — which would be larger than the shuttered downtown shelter near the Rio Grande Depot — could hit both goals.
“This is more than a campus; it’s a turning point for Utah of reimagining hope,” Niederhauser said in a news release. “It will further fulfill the identified need to provide additional beds and treatment in Utah’s homeless response while providing individuals served by the campus a transformative path from crisis to stability and, ultimately, thriving.”
A long search ends
Wednesday’s announcement concludes almost a yearlong search for a suitable site. Early on, state officials considered placing the shelter where the Oxbow Jail stands in South Salt Lake — if it were to close — and at a handful of other places. The Utah Homeless Services Board, which oversees Niederhauser’s Office of Homeless Services, had stipulated that the campus be built on a parcel of at least 30 acres and that officials open it by October 2025. State leaders now anticipate the campus will open in 2027.
The new shelter won’t replace the existing homeless resource centers, the release said, but it was unclear how or if the use of those centers might change. State officials imagine the campus as the center of a hub-and-spoke model where people staying at the shelter could find additional services on-site but also be connected to help elsewhere.
“Despite tremendous effort, resources, and goodwill across the state, homelessness in Utah has continued to worsen — for both those experiencing it and for our communities,” Randy Shumway, chair of the Homeless Services Board, said in the release. “The proposed Utah campus will take a human-first approach that provides healing and stability while embedding accountability at every stage. By pairing compassionate support and medical care with clear expectations and opportunities for growth, the campus will help individuals reclaim their inherent dignity, achieve self-reliance, and live drug-free, crime-free, and contributing lives.”
Mayor Erin Mendenhall said the new campus would help Salt Lake City police focus on providing greater public safety.
“Our state has long needed more shelter beds and services, and this campus represents a critical step forward in supporting the most vulnerable people in our communities,” Mendenhall said in the release. “By providing consistent shelter and wraparound services in one location, this facility could also help Salt Lake City first responders by reducing the number of emergency calls, freeing up law enforcement to focus on public safety, and better connecting people to the help they need.”
Officials plan to run a regular shuttle service to get people to and from the campus.
Neighbors respond
Nichole Solt’s home — along with her family’s horse barn, chicken coop and homing pigeon enclosure — nearly borders the planned campus site. She and her family have lived here for about a decade.
“I’m saddened for some reasons because this is my home,” she said. “But another thing about where they are putting the homeless shelter, I feel it is actually not a good location for that community as well, because it is in such a remote location that they don’t have as much access to the resources they need.”
Solt said she still loves the neighborhood, its agricultural feel and the wildlife that visits its open spaces. Her family, she said, does not intend to move.
Angela Taylor, who also lives in Northpoint, is less sure of her family’s future in the area.
“I worry for the safety of my property,” she said, “the safety of my animals, the safety of my family, just from trespassing.”
Taylor also expressed concern about the size of the shelter and questioned whether it would be run effectively and appropriately.
“I do hope that it would run perfectly and it would work for people [experiencing homelessness], and we won’t have problems,” she added. “But that’s in a perfect world.”
Niederhauser, Utah’s homelessness coordinator, said the state intends to provide many of the services people will need on-site so they have a reason to stay there. The state also has budgeted for robust security inside and outside the facility.
Lawmakers weigh in
In a statement, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, lauded Niederhauser’s efforts to find a spot for a campus.
“To succeed, this new campus must offer more than just shelter; it must deliver real accountability through treatment, recovery, and long-term stability, or it will fail like every half-measure before it,” Schultz said. “If done correctly, this transformative campus has the opportunity to improve public safety, clean up our cities, and change lives. We will work with the Utah Homeless Services Board to take full advantage of President Trump’s recent executive order – which squarely aligns federal agencies with Utah’s focus on public safety, support, and accountability – including exploring opportunities to reprioritize existing resources to improve public safety and achieve lasting outcomes.”
Utah Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, and Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, issued a joint statement on the state’s campus plan.
“With the Utah Homeless Services Board’s proposal of a new homeless services campus in the area we represent, we are concerned that this decision was made without any significant input from the public,” they wrote. “As leaders and champions on issues of homelessness, we know how critical it is for our unhoused neighbors to have access to safe shelter and the services they need to regain stability. This campus is an important step in addressing the state’s homelessness crisis, but it must move forward in partnership with the people who will live alongside it.”
Environmental studies of the parcel are ongoing and some wetlands exist on the property, where it backs up to Interstate 215. Officials will also be looking to secure ongoing operating funds for the campus.