Downtown units selling as S.L. facelift progresses

SALT LAKE CITY — About 30 of the condo units in Promontory Tower, a high rise residential building that's part of the City Creek development, have been sold since being put on the market about two months ago.

Mark Gibbons, president of City Creek Reserve, said a third of the units in the Richards Court development have sold, and another 90 of 150 units in a building under construction have "reservation agreements" in place.

Gibbons said the pricing for all the developments will remain at current levels, as the City Creek developments have been a "bright spot" in the real estate market.

Gibbons also announced MetLife will join Wells Fargo and Zions banks as preferred mortgage lenders on the project. MetLife will offer an option for people to lock in an interest rate for up to sixth months so they can plan for buying City Creek properties slated to open later in the year.

"Any of our buyers who are going to be purchasing in the Regent, which will be opened in the fall of this year, can know with certainty today what their interest rate will be," Gibbons said.

Gibbons was one of a number of representatives from different entities who participated in the panel discussion put on by the Downtown Alliance Tuesday.

Lori McFarlane, sales vice president at Harmons Grocery, said a store currently under construction on State Street and 100 South is expected to open on schedule next spring.

The panel also discussed the future of development in Salt Lake City. Downtown Realtor Babs DeLay said she believes downtown will inevitably expand west as Rose Park and Glendale neighborhoods already serve as "feeders" to downtown.

"That's very, very exciting," she said. "We cannot forget the west side."

Vasilios Priskos, owner of Internet Properties, said the current focus is the ticket, as stakeholders spend time and money developing the "core" of the city.

"We need to be careful and make sure that we take care of the core of our city. ... We have a lot of vacant land still," he said. "I would hate to see anything artificial from the city's perspective to try to encourage development outside the core of our city because it's happening already."

Email: mfarmer@desnews.com