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SALT LAKE CITY — Four Salt Lake City community councils, along with several other prominent organizations and residents, all signed a letter addressed to Intermountain Healthcare seeking clear communication as the health care provider moves forward with a proposed urban hospital.
"We want to welcome you into our community and take this opportunity to establish a productive and direct line of communication," the letter states. "We are eager to see you succeed in building what should be a vital community resource for generations to come — and could very well raise awareness of Intermountain Healthcare's innovative spirit on the global health care stage."
The letter was signed by representatives of the Downtown, Ballpark, Central Ninth and Central City community councils, as well as the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance, Midtown Business District, Neighbors for More Neighbors, Sweet Streets, DCHarrison, Redstone Health and Utah Sen. Jennifer Plumb, D-Salt Lake City,
The community councils' letter asks Intermountain Healthcare to establish a community advisory council to "get continuous and meaningful input from the community — not only in the early stages of development but also for your long-term residency."
It lists three categories of importance for the community and Intermountain to work together on as the urban hospital develops: healthy community development principles, community integration strategies and urban design best practices.
"Our goal in coming to you at this early stage is to ensure that you can integrate the needs of the community from the start," the letter states. "We are eager to help you build something special in the downtown community."
The letter was presented during a joint meeting of the Downtown, Ballpark, Central Ninth and Central City community councils on Thursday.
Leaders listened to residents' concerns during the joint meeting. The concerns and questions brought up largely surrounded zoning technicalities and how the city will deal with homelessness around the hospital.
"Tonight was the first step of many. It feels like we align on at least the talking points," said Christian Harrison of the Downtown Community Council. "We look forward to the next steps as we flesh out those commonalities and work through differences."
Intermountain Healthcare bought the property at 754 S. State in December 2021 and demolition started in October 2022.
A law firm for Intermountain Healthcare filed an application with Salt Lake City in November, seeking to rezone the Sears block from a downtown support district (D-2) to a central business district (D-1) to "accommodate a new downtown, urban hospital," according to an application obtained by KSL.com.
The document also asks for the city to amend its D-1 zone requirements to allow for ambulance service and other elements related to a hospital.
Downtown Community Council member Thomas Merrill emphasized in Thursday's meeting that the council believes businesses will be able to thrive from Intermountain Healthcare coming to the area, and from the area being rezoned as D-1. As a D-1 property, the hospital will have more flexibility in building height and it allows for a project design with more "permeability and walkability," the law firm said in its application.
The former Sears property could also benefit from already being rezoned as downtown limits eventually expand in the future, Merrill added.
