City Creek announces 20 stores

SALT LAKE CITY — The roster of retailers coming to downtown Salt Lake's highly anticipated City Creek Center is taking shape with the announcement Tuesday that Coach, Brooks Brothers and Tiffany & Co. will be coming.

Taubman Centers Inc. revealed the first 20 retailers — all new to the market — that will be offering their wares in the 700,000-square-foot retail section of the major mixed-use development scheduled to open next spring.

Along with anchor stores Macy’s and Nordstrom, the shopping center will include approximately 80 stores and restaurants — many with nationally recognized names.

"This is a great statement about the economy here," said Linda Wardell, retail general manager for the project. "Theses 20 new stores are an exciting part of City Creek Center that is very significant for this local economy."

The 20 retailers along with the previously announced anchor tenants comprise about 30 percent of the available retail space at City Creek. When the project opens, it will bring about 2,000 jobs to the local economy, she said.

City Creek Center is due to open its doors on March 22, 2012. The 23-acre development will include a mix of residences, retail and office space.

While the project is expected to change the retail landscape of downtown, exactly how it will impact other retail in the area is still unknown.

"It will be a benefit for everybody in the end, but to start with … (it would be surprising) if there wasn't a little bit of cannibalism from Gateway to City Creek," said Bill Knowles, ombudsman for Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake Chamber. He said a similar dynamic occurred when the Gateway opened years ago, prompting consumers to migrate away from Crossroads Mall and ZCMI Center on Main Street.

But it should not be anything to worry about long-term, he added.

"(When City Creek eventually opens) you'll have the largest shopping complex anywhere in the Intermountain West," he said. "I don't see how anybody could find a better scenario for that kind of commercial activity."

As for whether a market the size of Salt Lake would be able to support high-end retailers like Tiffany & Co. and Brooks Brothers, Knowles said renowned companies like that have studied the risk and believe they will be successful.