Downtown not dead, chamber chief says

In the ongoing, at times heated, discussion about the fate of downtown Salt Lake City, there are realities and illusions, Salt Lake Chamber president Lane Beattie said Tuesday.

The claim that downtown Salt Lake City is dead is an illusion, Beattie said at a Rotary Club of Salt Lake luncheon. The first reality, on the other hand, is that "realities have changed."

Shopping isn't what it used to be, he said. No longer is the downtown shopping corridor a leisurely Saturday stroll from ZCMI to Auerbach's.

"That's not how people shop in America today, anywhere," Beattie said. "It's not just in Salt Lake City. So if any of you are under the illusion that we're here to promote the downtown Salt Lake City area to restore the shopping from ZCMI to Auerbach's, you're terribly mistaken. It isn't going to happen, nor are we going to encourage it. Because it wouldn't be successful."

What will add to the success of downtown Salt Lake City is a renewed focus on supporting both the Main Street malls and The Gateway.

Beattie said the project proposed earlier this month by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to renovate its downtown malls and build an educational complex was "impressive," "significant and almost overwhelming." The church also has plans for a parking program to accommodate the increase in need, Beattie hinted, which "speaks volumes as to what the future really holds for Salt Lake City."

And, Beattie said he hasn't given up hope that Nordstrom can be persuaded to stay in the renovated Crossroads Plaza/ZCMI Center development.

"I am very pleased with the direction we're going," Beattie said. "Does that mean I'm pleased that Nordstrom is going to move out of Salt Lake City? The answer is no. I will do everything that I can, and encourage anyone else to do what they can, to try to keep Nordstrom in downtown Salt Lake City."

Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White confirmed Tuesday that store representatives will meet with representatives from the LDS Church's mall partner, the Taubman Co., sometime within the next month.

"They called us and said they'd like to make a presentation," White said. Representatives from Taubman Co. and the church's strategic adviser on the project, AEW Capital Management, were unavailable for comment.

The Salt Lake City Council voted last week not to allow Nordstrom to move to The Gateway. Nordstrom stated repeatedly it would leave the city when its Crossroads lease expires in August 2005 unless it was allowed to build a store at The Gateway.

Tuesday, White said that Nordstrom still has concerns about Crossroads Plaza, pointing specifically to renovation-related disruptions and the mall's tenant mix. But she said hearing the church's proposal "is the right thing to do."

"At this point in time, we can't conceive of anything that could address our concerns," White said. "But, it is the right thing to do for our customers and our employees, to meet with them and listen."

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