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Jed Boal ReportingSalt Lake business leaders today launched a new drive to create a long-range vision for downtown. It's called "Downtown Rising" and the Salt Lake Chamber tears a page from our past to plan for the future.
If you've asked recently, What's the plan downtown, you should have answers soon. Big projects are in the works and a team of business leaders just signed on to come up with a renewed blueprint for future development, called Downtown Rising.
Salt Lake City is the heart of the region. This project seeks input from everyone.
Lane Beattie, President of Salt Lake Chamber: "While there are lots of downtowns in Utah, there is only one downtown that is everybody's downtown."
Forty years ago, business leaders crafted the Second Century Plan, the blueprint for the current downtown, and included proposals for the Salt Palace Convention Center, Abravanel Hall and light rail.
Fortunately, Downtown Rising does not start from scratch. During the next five years, 1.5 billion dollars will be invested in a ten-block area. That's more money in a shorter period of time than at any juncture in Salt Lake City history.
Spence Eccles, Community Leader: "Certainly the people that are here are responsible contributors to this community and they really care. That's the most important thing."
Downtown Rising will present a vision, rather than specific projects. It will be business led, inclusive, thoughtfully expedited; in other words, done by the end of the year. And it will focus on principles and themes that unite individual projects.
Natalie Gochnour, Salt Lake Chamber: "We will leave the microscopes to someone else. Our aspiration is to use a telescope to bring the future closer."
Expect a draft vision for the public by the end of July and a finished blueprint by the end of the year.
