While the church is among downtown's big players, in terms of land ownership and employment, Porter said Downtown Rising makes room for, and encourages, all kinds of growth.

"We feel like when the business community joins together to create an economic environment that will enable a city to grow and develop, that's a plus for all of us," Porter said. "One of the great things about Downtown Rising is that we recognize that its individual points have expandable borders, so to speak. They're not finite borders, and as a consequence, in general we think it's wonderful, recognizing that each individual area there can still be individual expression in what is developed."

Jake Boyer, president of The Boyer Co., agreed.

"It is great to have a statement, to get the stakeholders in the downtown to have a unified vision of what we want the capital city to be," Boyer said. "The thing I like about this vision is that it talks about principles, but it's not trying to say that things have to happen in one place or another. It's a mission statement, with ideas and direction for the capital city."

Richard Wirick, owner of The Oxford Shop on 100 South, called Downtown Rising a "wonderful, wonderful thing."

"It's true that in the 1960s we had a project, too, but what's happening now is even more important," Wirick said. "And we will truly have one of the finest downtowns in America."

Anderson said he specifically liked the idea of expanding the mass transit system and building identifiable districts downtown, to "build on the desire for people to come together in gathering places."

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. added his applause, but also a caution.

"What we're doing here is about plans, to be sure, and the plans have to be good and accurate," Huntsman said. "But it really is about people. And it's about people who are visionary. As this process goes forward it never should be forgotten that ... we should never leave behind those who are most vulnerable in our society. Whether it's shelter, whether it's food, whether it's the need for health care.

"These are pretty ambitious plans, $2 billion over five years. It's going to totally transform the downtown area. But there are lives that will probably not be transformed in this effort, and those lives we always need to be mindful of as well."

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E-mail: jnii@desnews.com