Despite the fact that Salt Lake County needs about 8,000 rental properties right now and that the mayor's office still hasn't announced where she's planning to open four new homeless shelters, the building boom of apartments in the Capitol City is nonstop. Here's a list of what's growing on our skyline: 165 units on 200 East between 100 and 200 South; 200 units at 400 South and 400 East; 277 apartments at 100 South between 500 and 600 West; 158 units at 260 S. 500 East; and 300 rentals and retail space at the old Wonder Bread Building at 750 E. 400 South. When added up, all of that construction will only put 1,300 new units into the housing market.

There is a massive new project going up directly behind West High School called Hardware Village. At the core of this sizable piece of land is the old Salt Lake Hardware Building which will anchor new office, rental and retail spaces. Luckily for this developer, there's a FrontRunner station at ground level and a Trax station above it on the North Temple viaduct. The first phase of 10 acres of this new micro neighborhood opened mid-November as the newly built 4th West apartments. It's going to be just one piece of what the builder sees as an urban resort, with brownstone used throughout, and apartments with a roof pool, clubhouse and test kitchen. You might also picture this area as where the old Carriage Horse barns were located when Temple Square was surrounded by buggies for hire. There will be a ground floor lounge area featuring a full bar area and community dining space.

Sadly, though, the developer hasn't been able to attract a bodega or grocery store to the area, so for now the huge development will be a food desert for residents. The second phase of 4th West is set to be ready by May of 2017 and a 10-story tower will start once those apartments are finished. One of the buildings will connect to the pedestrian plaza at the North Temple viaduct. And an old UTA-owned parcel was secured to use as a dog park in return for bathrooms for train and bus operators. There are several hotels in the works for conventioneers and visitors, including a 190-room hotel mixed with 38 condos at 200 South and Regent Street, and a 160-room project next door to a new apartment building at 200 South between 200 and 300 West. We're going to need this now that, once again, Forbes has named Utah the best state for business and Salt Lake City the fastest growing city in America.