From Deseret News archives:
Funds bloom for downtown projects
Anderson finally persuaded the City Council, acting as the city's Redevelopment Agency Board, to fund at least parts of two of his pet projects 300 South median improvements and flower arrangements on Main Street. In the past, the council has repeatedly declined to put any cash into those downtown beautification projects.
"I'm thrilled to do anything we can to get this started," Anderson said.
Besides being good to Anderson, the council also was generous with certain downtown merchants.
The council decided that displaced downtown mall tenants will be able to get some free taxpayer cash if they stay in the center of Salt Lake City.
One loser was the Utah Transit Authority. Council members declined to pitch in $200,000 for UTA's downtown transportation study, although they will likely reconsider the study next month.
On 300 South, the City Council acquiesced to Anderson and set aside $450,000 to fund medians with trees and other amenities in the downtown area.
The mayor would like to see the medians on 300 South from 400 West to 200 East. With only $450,000, however, the plan now is to put them between Main and 200 West or from West Temple to 300 West.
"It's incumbent upon us to invest in the downtown," Squatters brew pub owner Peter Cole told the council in arguing for the median improvements.
Anderson maintains the medians will spur economic development, especially between Main and West Temple where the southwestern portion of the block is largely vacant.
Besides the medians, the City Council, acting as the RDA Board, put $100,000 into a grant fund for mall tenants who are being kicked out of Crossroad Plaza or the ZCMI Center, as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints redevelops its two downtown malls.
Retailers that are not being kept at the mall can apply to get up to $20,000 in free cash from the grant fund if they relocate somewhere downtown between 400 South and South Temple and State and West Temple.
Downtown real estate broker Vasilios Priskos, who has been tapped by the LDS Church to help displaced mall retailers find new homes downtown, said 30 locally owned businesses in the mall will be displaced.
Many of those businesses' leases will expire as early as next week, he said.
Comments
- Utah gas up an average of 2 cents 4:31 p.m.
- Study: Mentoring makes difference 4:26 p.m.
- American Fork band raises funds 4:24 p.m.
- Fatal crash closes I-84 in Weber Co. 3:50 p.m.
- Fire damages Taylorsville home 3:25 p.m.
- Concert to benefit Ugandan children 3:22 p.m.
- Senate committee approves Voros 3:21 p.m.
- Mya tops fellow celebs 3:16 p.m.
- Stocks zigzag after rally 2:53 p.m.
- Placebo power behind cures 2:49 p.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Senators want food tax restored
- Utes get extra motivation
- Alta's Ohai is Ms. Soccer 2009
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- Price injured; Miles has cast removed
- House passes health care bill
256 - TCU showdown has big implications
185 - Lobo suspended
184 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
140 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
104 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants nationwide will honor...
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
Where is a picture of this girl?
Didn't you guarantee that Skyline would beat Syracuse as well. The way I see...
can be traced to PG play and lack of outside shooting and too short of bench....
Brothers Keeper: Perhaps since the article was authored by the LDS Church...
...sorry for pointing out the obvious, but homosexuals have a lot of "health...
TCU 48 UTAH 10
BYU may have beat Wyoming, but the Utes actually won them. Their trophy case...
I agree it should say 130 killed and state later in the article 8 LDS were...
So much for the AMA. That's why they are losing a lot of members. This is...
Not my view..... It's Gods.



You can be the first to comment on this story.