Salt Palace drops 100 South closure

The Salt Palace Convention Center, faced with complaints from Utah's Japanese-American community, has dropped its plan to close a portion of 100 South between 200 and 300 West in downtown Salt Lake City.

Expansion designers also have pledged to give that portion of 100 South some Japanese-style enhancements, including bamboo chutes, cherry trees, a pocket park, bamboo screen walls and shaped evergreens.

And Mayor Rocky Anderson — in conjunction with the city's Japanese-American community — would like to go one step further to re-establish a Japanese presence on 100 South and 300 West.

The mayor on Tuesday called for Salt Lake County, the Japanese-American community and the City Council to help him create a plan to enrich the area's Japanese influence, which has eroded since the original construction of the Salt Palace decades ago displaced much of the city's thriving Japan Town.

Such a plan may include selling the Japanese Buddhist Temple on 100 South to the county for future convention center expansion, Anderson said.

That money could be used to purchase land farther west on 100 South, across from the Japanese Church of Christ. The city could then establish some sort of city-owned plaza, connecting the two churches across 100 South. That way, 100 South could be closed to vehicles near 300 West — but vehicle access to 100 South from 200 West could be maintained.

Details of Anderson's plan need to be worked out, and some City Council members were leery about quickly pushing it through.

"We cannot give financial assistance to churches and build new churches, so I hope we are being realistic," Councilman Dale Lambert said. "There are limits to what we can do."

Council members want a slower planning process that would include a master plan for the area. The two Japanese churches are working with independent architect Kenneth Pollard toward the goal.

Before Tuesday, part of 100 South was being considered for closure. Salt Lake County wants to expand its convention center to make more room for the semi-annual Outdoor Retailers conventions that pump more than $30 million into the local economy.

But closing the street would result in fewer trees, less urban space and more semi-truck traffic near the pair of Japanese churches, the last remnants of Japan Town.