Shopping to lure the masses

Condos and offices will bring people to a revamped downtown Salt Lake City. But developers are counting on shopping to attract the masses.

Nordstrom, Macy's and possibly a third department store will anchor the City Creek Center, officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said this week in announcing the development. Plans also call for specialty shops to line walkways on re-established and pedestrian-friendly Regent Street, Richards Street and Social Hall Avenue, totaling some 300,000 square feet of retail space.

"It will be divided up into approximately 100 stores and a food court," said Bruce Heckman, Taubman Centers Inc. vice president for development, who will manage the project. The church hired the Michigan-based company to build the retail portion of the estimated $1.5 billion mixed-use development.

The focus, Heckman said, will be on mid- to high-end apparel and home furnishings. There also will be "limited" nice sit-down restaurants.

"We're looking for merchants most appropriately located adjacent to the anchor stores," he said.

It's too early to name names, Heckman said. Specific retailers won't be announced until about nine months before the intended 2011 opening.

Nordstrom will occupy a new two-story, 124,000-square-foot building located mid-block on West Temple. Macy's will be housed in a three-story, 150,000-square-foot building on Main Street near its present location. A third anchor could go on 100 South between Regent Street and Social Hall Avenue.

Most of Taubman Centers' 23 malls in 11 states are enclosed shopping centers rather than the open-air type on the drawing board in Salt Lake City, marking a departure for both the company and the city. Gone from Main Street will be the boxy behemoths that visitors often mistook for office buildings.

"They didn't even know that there were malls downtown," Heckman said. "We don't want that to happen at all. We want this to be a focal point."

The focus will be on browsing and buying. The project does not include movie theaters or entertainment venues like The Gateway three blocks to the west. "We want this project to be synergistic with Gateway," he said.

Taubman intends for about 30 percent of the tenants to be unique to the market.

Nick LeMasters, general manager of the upscale Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver, said one key to success is a distinctive image. The project must be done in a way to create its own identity with quality one-of-a-kind stores.

"The retail is the magnet," he said. Built by Taubman in 1990, Cherry Creek established itself as a major tourist attraction. Twenty percent of its retail sales come from the six states surrounding Colorado, LeMasters said.

Tourism plays a big role in the company's promotional strategy, and City Creek Center will be part of that. Taubman works closely with airlines and hotels to offer destination shopping packages.

"We would hope to make this a significant tourist spot," Heckman said.

City Creek Center already has a built-in tourist base with Temple Square, the Family History Library and other sites bringing millions of visitors to the area each year.

"All the attractions that are downtown are going to feed that development," said LeMasters, who formerly worked in Salt Lake. "The audience is right there."

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