This is an important week for Downtown Rising. The opening of City Creek will transform our urban center, Salt Lake City and the larger regional economy. It also coincides with sold-out shows of Beauty and the Beast, Utah Symphony performances, the LDS general Young Women meeting, Tumbleweeds Film Festival and a Utah Jazz game. Wow! For anyone who has ever dreamed about a more vibrant city center, congratulations! Your dreams are about to come true.
And we are ready to welcome everyone. With 5,000 new parking spaces at City Creek and new street parking pay stations that accept credit cards, downtown is more accessible than ever. We’re encouraging everyone to use TRAX or other mass transit to get downtown. If you drive, we encourage you to park once and take advantage of the free fare zone. (www.downtownslc.org/parking has more tips on getting to downtown and finding a space when you get here.)
Our friends at Taubman and City Creek Reserve deserve great credit for their vision, leadership and investment in building this new heart for our capital city. Thousands of construction workers, engineers, architects and planners have also worked very hard to make this center a reality. We are excited for Nordstrom, Macy’s, Tiffany’s and all the rest of the new stores and restaurants, in addition to the remarkable architectural features of this new downtown asset.
The impact of City Creek Center extends far beyond 100 South. You see it in the confidence of Hamilton Partner’s brand new 222 S. Main building. You see it in the new OC Tanner flagship store across State Street. You see it in the new businesses streaming into Main Street, the Broadway District and along 100 South. We gladly welcome Pallet, Becket and Robb, Ray’s Barbershop, Manhattan Finds, 10,000 Villages, Twisted Roots and Pebbles & Twigs, along with other new store-front shops throughout downtown.
Our friends at The Gateway have also been preparing for this week for some time. Since it opened, The Gateway has served as one of Utah’s most successful mixed-use developments and premiere shopping destinations. It is home of Urban Outfitters, the Apple Store, Anthropologie and Abercrombie. This will continue with store openings and future arrivals of Bettie Page, Epic Board Shop, Francesca’s Collection and G-Star Raw.
And more change is on the horizon. Momentum is building with a new performing arts center, convention center hotel, public market, film and media center, new residences and new office towers across downtown.
It may be tempting for some to look at the opening of City Creek Center as the final chapter of the Downtown Rising story originally envisioned by community leaders in 2007. But it’s really just a very exciting chapter in the larger narrative of Utah’s capital city—an urban engine for economic growth and a downtown that is on the rise. It’s an amazing time to be associated with downtown Salt Lake City, and I thank my lucky stars every day to be living and working right here, right now.
Welcome to your new downtown.
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