Downtown On The Rise :: Detailed Vision

What Is Downtown Rising?

In May 2006 the Salt Lake Chamber launched Downtown Rising, a business-led collaborative effort to create a bold and exciting long-range vision for downtown Salt Lake City. The purpose of this flagship initiative of the Chamber is to create and communicate a unified vision, provide regional context between the city core and surrounding suburbs and exurbs, ensure everyone is working towards the same goal and assist with construction mitigation.

The Salt Lake Chamber has taken great care to involve a broad cross-section of the community in Downtown Rising. See who's involved.



$1.5 Billion To Be Invested

Salt Lake Chamber Invites Public to Help Create Visionary Blueprint For The Future

During the next five years, investment in the central business district of downtown Salt Lake City will exceed $1.5 billion - that is more in a shorter period of time than any other investment in Salt Lake City's history.

This investment will transform the city as we know it and provide us with an opportunity to shape the downtown area for decades to come. Because of this, the Salt Lake Chamber and its affiliate, the Downtown Alliance, are sponsoring a business-led, regional collaboration effort called Downtown Rising to create a long-range vision for downtown.

Many ideas about what downtown should be exist in various plans. Downtown Rising is intended to create a single articulated vision that people can rally behind, be inspired by and make a reality.

This effort will be patterned after the Second Century Plan, a successful Chamber-led planning effort conducted in the early 1960s. The purpose of the effort is to engage the public, provide regional context and create a collective vision or "vision of visions" so that we have a unified view for the future and a vibrant capital city that reflects our values.

The Salt Lake Chamber has taken great care to develop a collaborative structure for the four-phase, nine-month Downtown Rising effort. It involves business and community leaders, current and past elected officials, those charged with city planning, architects and urban planners, technical experts and the public.

This newspaper insert - which considers the components of current planning documents and captures the attributes and characteristics identified by Downtown Rising committees - is the beginning of many opportunities for the public to review and give input on the thinking and big ideas that eventually will become the future for downtown Salt Lake City.

Downtown Rising committees have grouped 13 thematic areas into four community goal categories that describe downtown Salt Lake City's desired attributes - beautiful, prosperous, community-focused and green.



What's Old is New Again

The Second Century Plan

In the 1960s the Salt Lake Chamber led a successful downtown planning effort that brought together prominent business and civic leaders to create a blueprint for the future called the Second Century Plan. These leaders planted the seeds for several proposals that have now become familiar landmarks:

  • The Salt Palace Convention Center
  • Abravanel Hall
  • City Creek Park
  • Main Street Plaza
  • Farmers Market

The Second Century Plan, which helped define the city as we know it today, is a successful model to help us create a new vision for downtown Salt Lake City.

Although much has changed since the Second Century Plan was created, the need for a unified vision remains. A clear game plan will help us as a community create the future we want and plan how to achieve it. A vision ensures that everyone is working towards the same ideas.

Creating a unified vision for downtown Salt Lake City is an ambitious goal. Through collaboration and public involvement our community will identify its purpose, core values and clarify what we are working towards. Without a vision we limit our ability to make decisions about the environment in which we want to live, work, learn and play. Planning without a vision it is like driving across the country without a roadmap.



Components Of The Vision

The final product of the Downtown Rising process will include:

Core Principles: Fundamental truths about what makes an ideal downtown.

Thematic Areas: Unifying ideas or concepts that are prominent or recurring.

Ideas: Representations of possible expressions of each theme.

Recommendations: Strategies for efforts to implement elements of the vision.

Core Principles

A core principle is a fundamental truth about what makes an ideal downtown. This list of draft principles was identified by Downtown Rising conveners, cabinet members and technical advisors.

  1. Central Place: Downtown belongs to all of Utah. As the heart of Utah, downtown is the state's central gathering place, and the economic, cultural, religious and civic core of Utah.

  2. Mix of Activities: Downtown offers a complete place to live, work, shop, learn and play.

  3. Neighborhoods: Downtown living occurs in a collection of distinctive live/work neighborhoods where a diversity of people resides.

  4. Economy: Downtown functions as our region's economic center, the hub of international commerce for the region, and a great place to locate and grow businesses that benefit from urban amenities.

  5. Mobility: Downtown is accessible. Transportation coordinates with development to provide efficient pedestrian, bicycling, public transportation and auto mobility to and from and within downtown.

  6. Education, Arts & Culture: Downtown provides intellectual, scientific, artistic and cultural opportunities. Downtown is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, and provides an environment for life-long learning.

  7. Sports, Entertainment, Recreation & Tourism: Downtown offers many opportunities for people to recreate and relax in a welcoming environment. Top-notch hotels, restaurants, convention facilities, sport venues, public spaces (such as parks, plazas and monuments) and other amenities combine to create a fun and lively downtown.

  8. Quality Design: Downtown presents a high-quality urban experience composed of vibrant, concentrated and beautiful places. Downtown values its historic buildings and looks forward with new and outstanding architecture.

  9. Nature: Downtown contributes to a healthy environment by striving to develop environmentally efficient buildings, districts and public spaces. Downtown absorbs growth, helping to conserve critical lands and water, and improve air quality.

  10. People: Downtown welcomes everyone and offers people the chance to meet, interact and live with others who may be different from themselves.

  11. Security: Downtown provides a safe and clean environment for everyone.

  12. Future-Minded: Downtown is a leading metropolitan center, with forward-thinking and tech-smart ideas and infrastructure that enables the city, region and state to prosper.



The Four Building Blocks of Downtown

Downtown Salt Lake City is at an exciting crossroads; now is the time to consider what its future will be. Downtown Rising steering committees have identified core principles - what downtown is today - and 13 community goal areas, each of which considers downtown's current characteristics, as well as what it could be in the future. These 13 areas are grouped into four broad categories that describe downtown's desired core attributes - beautiful, prosperous, community-focused and green. While community goals may span more than one category, they are placed in only one for organizational purposes. Read on for more information about the four categories and the goals within each.

Beautiful

With a stunning setting, downtown Salt Lake City draws in nature as a beautiful backdrop for appealing and interesting modern and historic buildings and the region's premier arts and entertainment district. The beauty of the surrounding environment is mirrored in green boulevards and other amenities that welcome visitors to downtown.

Community-Focused

Downtown is a welcoming place that is easy to navigate and has strong connections to its surrounding neighborhoods. Downtown offers a wide variety of gathering places in distinct districts. Its large blocks and wide streets provide great opportunities to establish new and unique places for people to meet, socialize, shop, work, learn and live.

Prosperous

Downtown is the commercial hub for Utah and much of the surrounding Intermountain Region. With a concentration of business services, high-tech infrastructure, transportation choices and a growing supply of housing, downtown is a logical place to shop, live and establish and grow a business.

Green

Downtown Salt Lake City has easy and direct access to nature with City Creek Canyon just steps from the State Capitol. It is a place that welcomes outdoor recreation and creates new opportunities such as uncovering City Creek and letting it meander in a new path downtown. Residents and businesses are mindful of and do their part to reduce their environmental impact.

You are invited to review what has developed from the Downtown Rising collaboration so far, explore ideas and give us input. Tell us what you think an ideal downtown should be like and what you envision for its future.



Beautiful

Salt Lake City is located in a physically stunning location. The peaks of the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains embrace the city's valley, while the ecologically unique Great Salt Lake supports an internationally significant wildlife habitat. The urban core of the city is historically significant with beautiful old and new buildings and park spaces; it serves as the heart and central gathering place for a region of two million people.

Each of these theme areas presents a combination of what Salt Lake City already is and can become in the future. It is our desired future condition.

1. Downtown is aesthetically appealing and interesting.

Successful urban design is aesthetically interesting: storefronts and glass greet the street and the pedestrian. New buildings have elements of surprise and whimsy. Historic buildings are preserved and adapted for new uses. Gaps in the urban landscape are filled in with structures and spaces that complement and enhance their neighbors. It's easy, desirable and enjoyable to walk throughout the downtown area.

2. Downtown's arts and entertainment district is alive 24-7.

Downtown includes a signature public space or district that highlights what is unique about the area and draws people to it, such as the Riverwalk in San Antonio or Pike Place Market in Seattle. This district offers arts and entertainment opportunities that cannot be found elsewhere in the region and complements downtown's iconic Temple Square District. The emerging district of arts, theaters, restaurants and night life activity along 200 South and 300 South west of Main Street is a place to strengthen by adding another venue(s) and concentrating public art, pedestrian amenities, parks/plazas, and a concentration of restaurants and nightlife.

3. Visitors and residents receive a warm welcome as they enter downtown.

Downtown presents a welcome and inviting environment for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. This includes a beautiful and green streetscape on major roads entering the downtown area, including the freeway access corridors of 400 South, 500 South, 600 South and 900 South, North Temple, Main Street and State Street. Convenient parking, easy-to-use transit and inviting pedestrian amenities enhance the vibrant, urban nature of downtown. Prominent monuments, such as the Eagle Gate, welcome visitors at key locations.

A Big Idea

A signature building, such as a Utah World Trade Center, frames the southern end of downtown and provides an anchor for additional commercial activity and public spaces.

Prosperous

Downtown Salt Lake City is the commercial heart of not just Utah, but the surrounding Intermountain Region. Downtown serves as the hub for financial, legal and other business services. With the latest in high-tech requirements, downtown meets the needs of businesses of all sizes and types, from multinational headquarters to home businesses. A growing supply of housing, a network of easy-to-use transit options and shops to meet daily needs help make downtown a convenient and thriving place to grow a business.

Each of these theme areas presents a combination of what Salt Lake City already is and can become in the future. It is our desired future condition.

4. Downtown is a great place for new and existing businesses to flourish.

Downtown provides many opportunities for starting new businesses and nourishing existing ones. Creative opportunities include revising zoning laws to encourage unique businesses, using vacant buildings to offer lower rent to temporarily house startup businesses, and aggressive business incentives for those locating in the areas. Utah's colleges and universities help draw students to the area and create an environment where they want to start new enterprises. The unique downtown environment, combined with tools such as tax incentives help nurture live/work spaces for artists, craftspeople and others. New federal, state and local government facilities remain downtown. A downtown public market complements the existing Farmers Market by providing affordable space to specialized vendors, who help supply downtown residents' grocery needs, as well as providing a hub of activity. With a concentration of fiber optic lines, downtown is a logical location for high tech and biotech companies, such as those developed as a result of the USTAR initiative.

5. Downtown supports an urban concentration of businesses and destinations.

A density of housing helps enliven downtown, providing a 24-hour population for activities and businesses. A resident population contributes greatly to a vibrant and pedestrian-friendly downtown. Housing options are available in a variety of distinctive and interesting districts. Investment is focused on the emerging and established success of these districts, which are destinations for not only downtown residents, but tourists, convention-goers and regional residents as well. A concentration of people and attractions encourages establishment of local businesses, one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants.

6. People can get around all parts of downtown easily.

Downtown provides a high degree of mobility without a car, something that's difficult to find in the suburbs. To achieve this, a person must be able to "park once" and get to all potential downtown destinations conveniently by foot and transit. A free-fare transit circulator system conveniently links downtown's commuter stations, office buildings, restaurants, arts facilities and other locations. People feel free to explore various districts of downtown without having to worry about moving their car from place to place, or walking if the distance is too far.

A Big Idea

A historic trolley or sleek modern streetcar connects key areas of downtown and runs frequently enough that it is easy to get around to all parts of downtown without driving.

Community-focused

Downtown Salt Lake City has always conveyed a sense of community. It is a welcoming city whose broad streets showcase stunning mountain vistas. The downtown core is bordered by leafy neighborhoods and it is the historic home of communities started by ethnic communities at the end of the 19th century. Although it has extraordinarily large blocks, downtown is easy to navigate by car, transit, bicycle and on foot. Downtown has a variety of gathering places for people to meet and converse, from Gallivan Plaza to the Gateway and from City Creek Park to a revitalized Pioneer Park. Downtown is unusual among large cities in its close proximity to such natural places as City Creek Canyon and the Wasatch Mountains, which encourage people to take a break from work and experience the outdoors together.

Each of these theme areas presents a combination of what Salt Lake City already is and can become in the future. It is our desired future condition.

7. A variety of distinctive districts give downtown an interesting flair.

A distinct sense of place and natural centers of activity are found in downtown's neighborhoods and districts, which are centered around different types of activities, ethnic neighborhoods or major facilities, such as Temple Square and the Salt Lake City Library. The names of streets, transit stops, districts and housing, and commercial developments echo the cultural and historic character. Public art and monuments reinforce downtown districts' history and identity. Each district has a distinct center, such as a gathering place, square or plaza. Districts are large and cohesive enough to create a context for downtown housing and unique destinations to flourish.

8. Downtown's large blocks provide opportunities to create vibrant, interior gathering places.

The interiors of downtown's 10-acre blocks present tremendous opportunities for pedestrian walkways, new development, plazas and parks, and on-street parking. Where possible, new streets, alleys and pedestrian passages through these large blocks help unlock them for new uses.

9. Unique wide streets are adapted to create active, people-oriented places.

Urban streets are where people enjoy public life; they play a major role downtown. A "hierarchy of streets" defines downtown - some streets are focused on moving vehicles, others on transit and still others are pedestrian-oriented. Pedestrian-oriented streets are narrowed to provide wide sidewalk areas for cafˇ seating, public art, trees, and planter boxes.

10. A resident population flourishes in housing throughout the downtown area.

People living downtown bring life to streets and businesses and help to attract visitors downtown; it's a simple truth that people attract people. City policies and zoning rules ensure a mix of housing types, styles and prices that appeal to diverse households and incomes. A robust supply of downtown housing is supported by the fact that daily needs for living - groceries, recreation, work and education - are available nearby within walking distance.

A Big Idea

Downtown embraces cultural and ethnic districts based on historic and cultural neighborhood centers, such as a Greektown, Japantown and Little Italy.

Green

Few cities have as dramatic a setting as has Salt Lake City. Surrounded by mountains with seven major canyons, with large lakes to the north and south and a river connecting them, Salt Lake is blessed with a beautiful natural environment. Myriad outdoor activities, from skiing to bird-watching to hiking, biking and canoeing, are easily accessible from downtown. These amenities are fragile, however, and in the face of growth care must be taken not just to preserve what we have, but build on it for the future. Downtown has unique opportunities to connect to its high desert environment. Downtown is a place that respects, celebrates and brings people closer to nature.

Each of these theme areas presents a combination of what Salt Lake City already is and can become in the future. It is our desired future condition.

11. Capitalize on world-class scenery and close mountain proximity.

One of our regions' strongest assets is our close proximity to world-class outdoor recreation. Downtown builds on this advantage with a strong connection to nature. Urban design and landscaping reinforces this connection. Downtown boasts easy access to mountain trailheads, City Creek Canyon, the Jordan River, Hogle Zoo, University of Utah and major parks, such as Liberty Park and This Is The Place Park. Bike and pedestrian trails connect downtown with the regional trail system.

12. Nature is downtown.

Downtown has many parks and trails where residents and visitors can rest, exercise and enjoy both nature and humanity. Pocket parks and bike paths exist throughout downtown. The path of City Creek meanders through downtown, adding coolness and calm to the city. Downtown takes advantages of its close ties to nature by developing the outdoor recreation industry, epitomized by downtown's twice-yearly Outdoor Retailer convention.

13. Downtown is conservation-minded.

Downtown supports ways to be environmentally efficient by conserving land, energy and water. Building codes encourage structures that are LEED-certified and use water-wise landscaping. Easy-to-use public transit is promoted, not only to help people get where they want to go, but also to save energy and improve air quality. Downtown businesses and residents embrace initiatives to protect the environment, such as protecting open space, recycling and encouraging employees and visitors to use mass transit. Businesses that are environmentally efficient are recognized and residents and visitors are educated about environmental issues.

A Big Idea

Bringing City Creek back above-ground provides a great opportunity to establish a calm, natural environment in the midst of the city. The "daylighting" of City Creek provides an opportunity to connect northern Main Street with the Gateway with a walking and cycling path through downtown.

We'd like to know what you think of the Vision.