Businesses applaud downtown plans

"It was sad that we couldn't deliver the whole package to them (Nordstrom employees) because they are so valuable to us. But the alternative was leaving Salt Lake City altogether, which is what we are not going to do."

Kimberly Reason, spokeswoman for Macy's Northwest, said Macy's has about 125 full- and part-time employees at its ZCMI Center store.

"In all honesty, our associates were expecting something like this," Reason said. "We all understand how important it is to keep the downtown Salt Lake area vital, vibrant, dynamic and growing."

According to James Wood, director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah, a $1 billion-plus investment is "quite unique" for a city the size of Salt Lake City.

"It's only as you get to the top-tier cities that you see investment on this scale," Wood said. "We had about $1 billion invested between 1990 and 2000, which was leading up to the (2002) Olympic Winter Games. Now, we're going to see, in half the time, more development than we saw in what had previously been the most active period of capital investment in the history of downtown. So, it's going to be quite unique."

Neither Macy's nor Nordstrom expressed concern about the church's plan to operate a six-day retail week.

"We understand and respect the community and the culture that we've entered, and we embrace the values of that community," Reason said.

While Tony Weller, owner of Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore, 254 S. Main, also said he was pleased with what he knew of the project so far — its pedestrian-friendly, outdoorsy design — he also urged patience.

"I'm pleased that a plan is finally announced," Weller said. "Now I just hope that the actual construction will follow briskly and that things will come together in short order.

"I keep reminding everyone that there's a lot of time between now and the completion of the plan, and that any benefit (from the project) won't happen until this is behind us. It's a long trip, and we're just on the way to the airport."

Bart Stringham, owner of Utah Woolen Mills, 59 W. South Temple, said he's confident that the project will be "great" once complete and that customers will have access to his store in the interim.

"The fact is, we're going to be here, and we're going to be left alone," Stringham said. "It's going to be rather unique to be here by ourselves, with all the construction around us. I imagine it will be somewhat invasive. But we'll still have our parking garage, and we hope people will still come to find us.

"We're a 100-year-old, five-generation business. How many of them are left around here? We hope we're an asset to the community. We think we are."