After nearly a decade of rising towers and astonishing growth, downtown Salt Lake City has added two new driving forces likely to accelerate that pace of change.
Boosters of the business and cultural sides of Utah’s urban core say with the prospect of a new sports and entertainment district around the Delta Center and news the city will host the 2034 Winter Olympics, downtown is on the cusp of even more profound transformation.
The buzz of growth is an all but customary theme, but this year’s “State of Downtown” — a snapshot on the status of the city center produced by the Salt Lake Chamber’s Downtown Alliance — is more upbeat and visionary than usual, while also highlighting major challenges to making the heart of Utah’s capital more livable.
“As long-term downtown residents,” said Kristen Lavelett, business development manager for the alliance, “we feel like the city we know and love now is going to look radically different in two, three, five and 10 years.”
“And we want to make sure,” Lavelett told downtown supporters at a celebratory event Thursday, “that the people who live, work and play in Salt Lake City are part of that process and can have an impact, to make sure the city serves them.”
Here are key takeaways on where downtown is headed:
New residents and more visitors are bringing lots of change
(Ryan Smith via X) Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith posted this rendering of the proposed downtown sports and entertainment district on X in February 2024.
An ongoing population boom is expected to lift the city center from 14,469 full-time residents in 2020 to 27,000 or more by 2030. That trend is already bringing major shifts and is likely to drive more, with effects ranging from reshaping the city’s overall economy to boosting the need for wider transit access and, in a huge way, more green spaces.
“Thriving urban cities need ventilation,” said Dee Brewer, the alliance’s executive director. “As we grow our downtown population, workforce and visitation, we must invest in public space and programs in Pioneer Park, Gallivan Center, Washington Square, the Green Loop and on Main Street.”
The number of folks spending at least 90 minutes downtown — whether living, working or playing — jumped by 2 million in 2024 compared to the year before, soaring to 20.2 million — and visitors made up almost two-thirds of that total.
Growth in conventions, tourism, sports and cultural events and retail attractions downtown are all part of that, and Salt Lake County as a whole saw $5.8 billion in traveler spending last year.
Downtown’s evolution toward more of a “visitor economy,” meanwhile, is probably going to gain steam with the development of a proposed taxpayer-funded sports, entertainment, culture and convention district on several blocks east of the Delta Center.
Outlines of that plan being pursued by Smith Entertainment Group, owners of the Utah Jazz and a new NHL team, are now under review by a key state committee, before a Salt Lake City Council vote on a half-a-percentage-point sales tax hike to pump $900 million into the district.
Downtown housing and high-end office spaces remain competitive
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Worthington Residences, a new 31-story residential tower that opened in Salt Lake City, with 359 luxury apartments, is pictured on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.
While Utah is dealing with a severe pinch in affordable housing and elevated office vacancies due to work from home, prevailing rents on both those fronts downtown are still competitive compared to similar cities.
Average residential rents are still well below those in other Western cities such as Seattle; Denver; Portland, Oregon; and Sacramento, California; while at the same time, Salt Lake City — despite a slowdown in commercial real estate — has a robust pipeline of new apartment projects under construction.
The city also hopes to spur residential growth by investing in new neighborhoods. Key examples are Rio Grande, planned between the Rio Grande Depot and Utah Transit Authority’s Intermodal Hub on the city’s west side, as well as the thriving 2nd & 2nd commercial district, which is spurring residential construction east of State Street between 200 South and Broadway.
The University of Utah’s goals for expanding its presence downtown with satellite campuses, student housing and new programming are likely to bring an additional lift — and increase investment in new TRAX lines through the city.
“Imagine the possibilities,” Brewer said, “of mixing our university students with the seasoned professionals, entrepreneurs and artists that are creating and producing at the apex of their careers.”
Leasing in the city’s high-end office buildings, at the same time, is also relatively strong right now. In what’s being called a “flight to quality,” Salt Lake City’s employers continue to draw on competitive rents and upscale workspaces with access to dining, shopping and cultural attractions as a way to recruit and retain talented workers.
The new ‘Olympic horizon’ is, yes, a game-changer
With Salt Lake City and Utah officially chosen to host the 2034 Winter Games, the region will, Brewer noted, “enjoy literally hundreds of millions of dollars in attention that only a few communities in the world qualify for.”
That funding, in turn, can be leveraged for expanding economic opportunity, including investments in capital projects and transportation, luring new major employers, and boosting the city’s clout in attracting and retaining talented workers. Downtown advocates also plan campaigns to expand arts and cultural attractions, and to encourage property owners to activate dormant storefronts and empty parcels of land.
“Let’s use this decade of opportunity,” Brewer said, “to put forsaken properties to work.”