From Deseret News archives:

Downtown Rising: Vision of what S.L. might become is unveiled

Published: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 12:32 a.m. MDT
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And, Gochnour said, while all of the districts will be open to all uses, the hope of Downtown Rising is that businesses will make decisions to locate or grow their businesses in the various districts according to those districts' personalities.

"This was not easy to do, to get people to agree on these main, general areas," Gochnour said. "But we think it's a great way to brand and build our city, market our city and guide future investment to our city. And we think we can accelerate that investment by being purposeful about the thinking."

Downtown Rising also calls for a coordinated transportation plan — from adding new TRAX routes and commuter rail, to remaking the city's main entry points so that they're more inviting, to landscaping city streets to promote walkability.

The plan also outlines eight signature projects Gochnour said will facilitate a "look and feel" of which Salt Lake City, and Utah, can be proud. The projects include a regional rail network, the creation of a "green loop" connecting the Wasatch Mountains with the Jordan River Parkway, a permanent public market and a sports and fitness complex.

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Decisions about some of this growth, and these projects, will be made at the city or state level. Others will be made by private businesses. And while Downtown Rising isn't meant to supplant the city's master plan or the plans of individual business owners, the chamber hopes decision makers will use it as a kind of "guiding hand."

"The city will evolve through the aggregate decisions of thousands of players — businesses and state and local government," said Keith Rattie, president and chief executive of Questar Corp. and chairman of the Salt Lake Chamber's Board of Governors. "What this vision is intended to do is provide a context for those future decisions. For this to have useful life, and to really have an impact on the community, it's going to require the ownership of a lot of entities. Not just business, but state and city officials."

Part of the beauty of the plan, Beattie said, is its high-altitude perspective. While it does recommend building certain facilities, improving certain city streets, creating a certain "feel," it doesn't dictate when. It doesn't say what should happen first, or next. It kicks in as opportunities arise and needs present themselves.

"When this ought to be done is when things are redone," Beattie said. "When we talk about the growth of a new theater, we aren't saying it ought to be here next year or in 10 years. But what we are saying is that when we are ready as a community for a large theater that would attract national shows, it ought to be part of downtown Salt Lake City."

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Crossroads Plaza, which stands on the corner of West and South Temples, is in the process of being leveled.

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