Skyscraper Symmetry

Kensington Investment Company, Boston‑based and owner of Utah’s tallest building, Astra Tower, has re‑filed a redevelopment package for Park Meadows Plaza on Kearns Boulevard, deflecting headlines via glossy renderings that hide a copper‑clad, low‑slope facade. The proposal offers 117 units, 20 affordable, with subterranean parking that, if executed, would turn the former Tupelo site into a monoculture of engineered concrete and oxidized copper. Commissioner Rick Shand dismisses the proposed setbacks, yet the city’s planning commission still hums with debate over whether the design violates the 35‑foot limit. Bill Johnson fears the new heights will imperil the Vista to Holiday Village & Parkside Apartments, while Henry Sigg, a developer, sarcastically demands drawings that prove the bones of the towers do not rise like a pyramid. John Frontero deems the proposal unsanctioned, insisting taller structures demand broader setbacks. Return on investment looks thinner than the concrete beams, aesthetic value anemic, and the risk of community backlash high. I recommend: Sell.