Winner: Best city 'hood: Sugar House, Salt Lake City

 

One of Salt Lake’s oldest neighborhoods, Sugar House draws its name from a 19th-century sugar beet factory (which never produced any sugar). Today it encompasses quiet residential streets; a thriving business district; Westminster College, a private liberal arts school; and five parks, including the 110-acre Sugar House Park, where Olympic cross-country skiers train in the winter and, come summer, valley farmers sell local raspberries and honey at the farmers’ market. And all of SLC’s fabled outdoor attractions—bike trails, craggy canyons, and seven ski resorts—are within reach.

It’s qualities like these that lure residents who might otherwise have chosen suburbs. Adding to its appeal: a new 2-mile streetcar line that connects Sugar House with Salt Lake’s extensive light-rail system. Local investors have poured $405 million into the neighborhood in the form of condos—nearly 1,000 units are under construction—commercial space, and restaurants like The Annex, a new outpost by Utah’s gold medal–winning Epic Brewing.