Our city is currently experiencing an unprecedented period of expansion and growth. Nine major development projects are planned for downtown Salt Lake City, with over $1 billion in new investment in the Central Business District projected over the next five years. The City Creek Center development, which commenced this fall, will add retail opportunities, 600 units of housing, a full-service grocery store, and much-needed commercial space to Downtown. I thank Bishop Burton and the LDS Church for involving City officials and the public in the shaping of this project.

Hamilton Partners will also construct a twenty-two story office tower at 222 South Main, adding 420,000 [square feet] of sorely-needed Class A office space to our downtown. This all spells amazing progress, particularly when we look back seven years, at a time when not one office in what was then known as the American Stores Building was occupied.

After six years of property acquisition, more than one year of negotiations, and many hours of staff time, we eagerly anticipate the development of a neighborhood lifestyle center on the corner of North Temple and Redwood Road. The developers for this project have committed to provide grocery and furniture stores as well as several smaller retail sites. The center will also provide professional and community services as well as a convenient community gathering space. A groundbreaking will be held this spring, with an expected construction period of twelve to eighteen months. This 160,000 square foot center will bring needed retail and community services to our City�s dynamic west side, and create momentum for other retailers to locate along Redwood Road and North Temple.

In our continuing efforts to draw development projects to the diverse and distinctive neighborhoods located west of I-15, we made numerous presentations to real estate agents and developers during 2006. The initiative was designed to inform and educate the development and sales community about the opportunities for commercial, retail, and mixed-use development in Salt Lake City�s west-side neighborhoods. We will expand the West Side Initiative this year by surveying neighborhood groups to identify desired retailers for this rapidly growing, vitally important part of our city.

As a benefit to manufacturing and distribution businesses and Salt Lake City companies that specialize in international markets, Salt Lake City is in the process of reactivating Foreign Trade Zone #30. The Foreign Trade Zone program will be sustained by our remarkable rail, air, and interstate highway systems, and will be a key selling point in our efforts to recruit new businesses.