Time of hope, concern for downtown S.L.

There is a cautious optimism building about downtown Salt Lake City — but in the back of many minds remains thoughts that the city's heart is in a precarious position.

Mayor Rocky Anderson touched on much of the growing excitement about downtown's renovation during his annual "state of downtown" address before the Downtown Merchants Association Tuesday.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plans to remodel its two Main Street malls, Hamilton Partners will construct a 22-story office tower on Main Street, Wood Development will break ground on a 117-unit condominium complex on 200 East today, and momentum builds for a cultural and entertainment district downtown.

"We have had a lot of challenges in our downtown," Anderson said. But now, the mayor added, "We are entering a period of momentous change and tremendous opportunity."

But for all the optimism, there is some lingering concern.

For starters, officials with the Downtown Merchants Association lament that its organization isn't as large as it once was. They also note the large number of vacancies and boarded-up storefronts on Main Street.

Then there's the pending exit of the Newspaper Agency Corp. and its 800 employees, who will move to West Valley City from Main Street next year.

And the final worry is that all the new construction pending for downtown — Salt Palace Convention Center renovation, the Hamilton tower and the malls renovation — will cripple downtown traffic for the next few years.

To fight that crippling effect, Anderson wants a downtown construction ombudsman who will work to mitigate problems. However, the City Council, faced with other budget requests, is leery of creating another position at City Hall.

For business owners, foremost among downtown's challenges is a lack of free parking, which suburban shopping centers enjoy, Downtown Merchants Association President Tony Weller said. The other major problem is land banking where wealthy property owners snatch up prime Main Street land and then leave it vacant waiting for the investment to go up in value.

"We must put an end to commercial land banking," Weller said. He added that many visitors love downtown but "still express their puzzlement about the vacancies in the downtown area."

To fight the parking problem, Weller is pushing for a public Salt Lake Parking Authority that may be able to provide free parking subsidized by taxpayers. The City Council has kicked that idea around briefly and will look at parking issues in the near future. Anderson is also examining the idea of having no time limits for parking at downtown meters. Starting July 3, parking at meters on 300 South from State to 300 East will be free, and there will be no time limit for cars parked there.

The association's annual "Friend of the Merchant" award went to Nordstrom for deciding to stick it out in the new malls despite facing sagging sales in the short term.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com