From Deseret News archives:

LDS dream for Salt Lake hailed

Church is committed to downtown, publisher says

Published: Thursday, Aug. 25, 2005 11:31 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
WEST VALLEY CITY — Salt Lake City has a lot in its favor, but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — "a downtown landowner that's got a dream" — is its top resource for revitalization, media executive Dean Singleton said Thursday.

The featured speaker at a Salt Lake Chamber CEO Roundtable, Singleton cited Oakland's dynamic mayor, Denver's baseball team and Long Beach's ocean for sparking downtown revitalization in those cities.

"You don't have an ocean, you don't have a baseball team, but you've got a downtown landowner that's got a dream. They've got land, they've got a dream and they've got a commitment. Nobody else has that. In every downtown redevelopment, there's been one unique quality that made it happen.

Yours is your real estate ownership," said Singleton, vice chairman and chief executive officer of MediaNews Group and publisher of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Singleton said no other community in the world "has that kind of citizen that's willing to pour that kind of money into making Salt Lake a good place to be. And while we've not been able to see all the plans and what it's going to look like, those will come soon enough."

Story continues below
The community now faces an opportunity to "wrap our arms around that effort" and ideas to advance it, he said. Among the projects planned by the church are the redevelopment of the two downtown malls, the ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — actually perhaps a once-in-two- or three-lifetime opportunity — to have the resources and the love of the church and their real estate to make Salt Lake a great place. And I will tell you that The Salt Lake Tribune is absolutely committed to doing our part to seeing that this project is a success once it's out there and ready to be talked about, because I know of no other opportunity like it in the country."

Singleton's presentation took place at the under-construction headquarters and press facility for the Newspaper Agency Corp., which handles production, distribution and advertising for the Deseret Morning News and Tribune. Singleton is NAC's chairman.

The news and editorial departments of the News and Tribune, which are separate and competitive, will remain in their respective office buildings in downtown Salt Lake City, but the NAC's six-month moving process from downtown Salt Lake City to the $90 million-plus West Valley facility is expected to begin in October, NAC President Harry Whipple said. The first of three new presses will begin operating in April, with the two others following in May and June.

But Singleton's talk focused on Salt Lake City.

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News

Sugata Hiroshi works Thursday at the NAC press facility, which will serve the Deseret Morning News and the Salt Lake Tribune.

previousnext

Latest comments

GameDay in Fort Worth

You must have missed the part where he is kissing the Utes helmet.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed? The majority of these (anti-pit)...

GameDay in Fort Worth

what are you talking about? the utes re going to ge crushed

5A: Davis runs over Hunter

Great Game Davis and Hunter. The Bingham and Davis game wil be a great one.

PETA unhappy with Utah laws

Wow...this thread just shows the closeminded nature of the average human...

I'm just glad they're alright, no matter what anyone says, i believe that...

Letters: Tort reform needed

Canadians live longer than we do. And you would say that canada is killing...

I love how this man is a victim and the girl is either lying or must be held...

RE: silly neocons | 1:08 p.m. Nov. 14, 2009 What are you talking...

you mean like you? Everyone who knows anything about the NFL knows that...

Advertisements
Advertisement