About The Co-Op

South Salt Lake is a small city with big opportunities. Our city is among the most socially and economically diverse in Utah. Home to over 27,000 people and 3,000 businesses, the city knows it has a role to play in helping everyone live a better life. The Promise South Salt Lake initiative, now a decade old, helps us deliver on three promises to its community:

Everyone has the opportunity to attend and graduate from college
(certificate, 2 or 4-year college)
Everyone has a safe, clean home and neighborhood.
Everyone has the opportunity to be healthy and to prosper

South Salt Lake’s Community Opportunity Center (The Co-Op) is Promise South Salt Lake’s effort, focusing on adults transitioning into new learning, jobs, careers, or business ventures. For many, this means not just changing a job, but getting support along the way, such as local housing, childcare, basic needs, and other support services.

The Co-Op opened in August 2022 as a space for City residents, community groups, and partner organizations to connect, work, learn, and grow. Located in the South Salt Lake Community Center, The Co-Op includes 9,000 square feet of workspaces, reservable private meeting rooms, classrooms and event spaces.

The Co-Op works with our partner organizations and sponsors to offer a variety of events and programming, equipment rentals, and other resources that help members stay connected, becoming financially empowered and advance their careers and businesses.

History of the Co-Op

The Co-Op started out of both necessity and opportunity. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic change the world and our community. Community centers and libraries closed and we saw a huge shift in how people work and learn, and being digitally connected became a greater necessity. In response to these changes, South Salt Lake started a visioning process with community leaders and city staff to re-imagine what a community center could be. When construction began on the new Granite Library, we asked residents what they wanted to take libraries place in the South Salt Lake Community Center (formally known as the Columbus Community Center). Many residents requested functions of a library – gathering space, computers, and classes – but with a focus on helping people get back on their feet and into new and better jobs and careers. In addition, many of our partners who had been delivering programs and services to their small communities lost their former spaces and needed a place to put down roots and grow their programs again. Thus, The Co-Op was created.