City Creek Center
| File:City Creek logo.svg | |
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| Location | Blocks 74-76 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°46′6″N 111°53′33″W / 40.76833°N 111.89250°W |
| Opening date | March 2012 |
| Developer | City Creek Reserve, Inc. (Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Taubman Centers, Inc. Harmons Grocery Stores Cowboy Partners LC |
| Owner | City Creek Reserve, Inc. (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) |
| Architect | ZGF Architects |
| No. of stores and services | 100 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Website | shopcitycreekcenter.com Downtown Rising - City Creek Center |
The City Creek Center is a mixed-use development with a shopping center, office and residential buildings, fountain, and simulated creek near Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It is an undertaking by Property Reserve, Inc. (the commercial real estate division of the Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Taubman Centers, Inc. The center integrates shopping and residential elements, with foliage-lined walkways and streams covering three blocks in the heart of downtown Salt Lake. The City Creek Center opened to the general public on March 22, 2012. This shopping, office and residential center encompass nearly 20 acres (8.1 ha) of downtown Salt Lake City.[1] The City Creek Center is part of an estimated $5 billion[2] sustainable design project to revitalize downtown Salt Lake City.[3] The City Creek Center project itself has been estimated to cost around $1.5 billion.[4]
History
Development of the City Creek Center began in 2003, when a for-profit company owned by the LDS Church purchased the Crossroads Plaza Mall, a shopping center on the west side of Main Street from the ZCMI Center Mall. Both malls (known unofficially as the “Main Street Malls”) had been constructed in the 1970s and had begun to drop in sales figures by the late 1990s as a result of competition from rival centers in Salt Lake City’s suburbs. In 2001, the Boyer Company completed its new open-air Gateway Mall, a scant four blocks to the west of Crossroads and ZCMI, drawing even more business away from Main Street. Soon after, the Nordstrom store at Crossroads announced its intentions to leave the mall and open a new store at Gateway. When the owners of the mall proved unable and unwilling to persuade the store to stay on Main Street, the LDS Church decided in 2003 to purchase the mall and redevelop the area in an effort to revitalize downtown Salt Lake City and keep the properties surrounding the church’s world headquarters at Temple Square economically vibrant. The church enlisted the help of nationally renowned mall developer Taubman Centers, Inc. to help it redesign the malls into a single project and recruit retailers to fill it. In October 2006, the concept design of City Creek Center was announced. A Ribbon-cutting ceremony with a large crowd and the media on hand took place on 22 March 2012.
Overall Design and Transportation
The City Creek Center features an open-air design, similar to the competing Gateway Mall. The mall is intended to cater predominantly to pedestrian traffic. Multi-level sidewalks feature six total acres of green space, fountains, and a stream. A pedestrian skyway links the two city blocks across Main Street. The site is serviced by the City Center station of the TRAX light rail system, and large underground parking structures enable access by car.
Retail
The City Creek Center is anchored by two national department stores: Nordstrom and Macy's. Nordstrom has a two-story, 124,000 sq ft (11,500 m2) store located on West Temple Street, across from the The Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center and Macy’s occupies a three-level store of 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2), located on east block among the Main Street. In the original plan, a third anchor, Dillard's, was planned for the mall as well. After public outcry about the alignment of the restored, historic Regent Street in the project, however, and after a subsequent realignment left insufficient space for the proposed 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m2) store, plans for a Dillard's at the Center were canceled. In its place will be more room for specialty retailers and an additional condominium tower. There will also be approximately 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m2) of additional retail space for specialty stores. The new Harmons grocery store is located on the east most (3rd) block, at the corner of 100 South and 200 East Streets. The northeast area containing the Key Bank Tower and adjoining Eagle Gate Tower was completed in June 2009. It contains the Food Court with a view to the west. Several eateries are conveniently located, including McCafe (McDonald's), Chang Chung, Sbarro's, Red Iguana, and Bocata. The mall has a valet-assisted underground parking located under the Key Bank Tower. Deseret Book's flagship store opened March 2010 on the northeast corner of Richards Street, in the east building of the Richards Court, directly across from the Temple Square. Mall developers announced some of the first tenants of the new mall as Macy’s, Nordstrom, Yankee Candle Co., 77kids by American Eagle, Michael Kors, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Brooks Brothers / Brooks Brothers Women, Cotton On, Love Culture, Bose, Coach, The Limited, L’OCCITANE, LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, N3L Optics, Tiffany & Co, Rolex, Swarovski, Pandora, Papyrus, TUMI, Porsche Design, Texas de Brazil Churrascaria and Cheesecake Factory.
Office
Several existing office buildings in the area will maintain their positions in the City Creek Center development. The Key Bank Tower, however, has been demolished, and its tenants have been relocated to the Beneficial Financial Group Tower nearby, which has been renamed the Key Bank Tower. That building’s chief tenant relocated to the Gateway Tower West, which has been renamed as the new Beneficial Financial Group Tower. Residents and media challenged the decision to demolish the old First Security Bank Building. The challenge was upheld, the building will be renovated.
The City Creek Center project may also eventually include the Global Exchange Place. This building will offer exciting opportunities for Salt Lake City, as a region that is globally aware and engaged. Salt Lake City will benefit by creating a central location to showcase Utah's international abilities and strength into a "Global Exchange Place." A World Trade Center Utah will consolidate the now-scattered government and nonprofit economic development agencies and private sector international service providers as a single premier downtown Salt Lake City location. A conflict resolution and peace studies center will build upon Salt Lake City's Olympic legacy of friendship and goodwill to create a university-associated conflict resolution, mediation and` peace studies center. An International Institute will house an international university campus downtown. This "park-like" campus could include a foreign language institute, international student housing, conference center and central commons area. This project is only a proposal.
Residential
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Approximately 300 housing units, consisting of condos and apartments, will be built into the new City Creek Center. They will be located in at least five residential towers, one of which is planned to be 30-35 stories tall not named yet, located on 100 South Street. Promontory on South Temple is a large tower which has replaced the demolished Inn at Temple Square on the northwest corner of the west block, South Temple and West Temple Streets. Richards Court located on South Temple Street, direct across from the Temple Square, topped early February 2009 with more than 45 percent sold. Construction started on foundation for the 20-floor Regent condominium tower located on south side of east block (100 South Street) with all penthouses located on 17th and 18th floors already sold out. They will principally be built along 100 South Street, with some constructed along South Temple Street as well.
Demolition and Construction
Most of the City Creek Center was completed by the end of 2011 and opened in early 2012, encompassing nearly 20 acres (81,000 m2) across three blocks in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City as a revitalization effort to restore the city's downtown into a vibrant economic and cultural center.[5]
Demolition of the site’s old structures commenced in November 2006. By February 2007, the Inn at Temple Square had been completely demolished and work was underway to demolish the old parking structure for the Crossroads Plaza Mall. The destruction proceeded across the site from west to east, with several businesses remaining open until a short time before their scheduled demolition. Macy’s and Nordstrom had both closed by early February 2007. On August 18, 2007 the twenty-story Key Bank Tower was imploded and was one of the final steps to demolition completion. Demolition was completed by the end of 2007, and was followed by another six months of excavation and site preparation. By July 2008, most of the below-surface structures of the Crossroads block located to the southeast of the Main Street and South Temple Street intersection were complete. The parking structure beneath the future Nordstrom site was complete on the southwestern corner of the block. The central core of the thirty-two story condo tower as well as the base-work for three additional residential structures located along the northern edge of the block had begun initial construction by mid-2008.[6]
Building Envelope consultant, Morrison Hershfield provided services on issues from schematic through construction phases of the City Creek Center project. This included two underground parking garages, five residential/office buildings, multiple retail stores, one building rehabilitation, and areas around and beneath the man-made stream and fountain areas.The design of the air barrier system was developed based on a continuous air barrier membrane for all opaque wall areas tied in with the glazing and roofing/waterproofing systems.[7]
Rebar was set into place to the south of the newly-relocated Key Bank Tower located on the eastern edge of the ZCMI block to the east of the Crossroads block by the end of July 2008. The remainder of the ZCMI block had just completed initial site preparation by this time with demolition of the remaining portion of the ZCMI Mall completed by January 2009.
The Food Court section, located between Key Bank Tower and Eagle Gate Tower opened on June 10, 2009 after a 2-day delay. There are at least 10 food establishment spaces expected, with 7 already opened.
The first condominiums, Richard's Court, were finished during the spring of 2010. The first tenant, a Deseret Book Flagship store, opened on the first floor of Richard's Court in April 2010.
Criticism
A number of critics opposed the sky-bridge, which is expected to funnel shoppers through the development. The critics include many South-end merchants who express concern that the sky-bridge will divert traffic from street-level stores adjacent to the development. They claim a similar result occurred thirty years ago after the construction of the two malls that City Creek replaced, during which longtime merchants such as Auerbachs, Paris Company, Wolfs, and Broadway Music all closed shop and either relocated or went out of business.
In addition, many Salt Lake residents criticized the project for not introducing new anchors that currently do not operate in Utah. Many hope for upscale retailers such as Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue.
The LDS Church claims to have used no tithing money for construction of the complex; the entire project is being financed through the church's commercial real-estate arm, Property Reserve, Inc.[8][9]
In 2008, the Sierra Club praised the church for being "good stewards" of the environment in its City Creek Center development.[10]
The LDS Church has received criticism for hosting stores in the mall that sell alcohol, and making a profit from those stores being present. Alcohol abstinence is a basic tenet of the LDS religion's Word of Wisdom, and the Church is generally viewed as a supportive force behind the state's strict alcohol laws. [citation needed] The LDS have also received criticism for closing the mall on Sundays, and for the very limited number of dining establishments allowed to sell alcohol.
See also
Notes
- ^ Downtown Redevelopment Plans Announced, LDS Church press release, October 3, 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- ^ [1] A look inside as City Creek Center's completion nears
- ^ "City Creek Center Air Barrier". Morrison Hershfield. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ [2]$1.5B City Creek Center on schedule for March 22 opening
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ "When Traditional Waterproofing Just Isn't Enough" (PDF). Hycrete. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ Salt Lake City Rising: City Creek Center Announced, KUTV, 3 Oct 2006, accessed 5 May 2007
- ^ Doug Smeath, Downtown renovation project, Deseret Morning News, 27 March 2007, accessed 5 May 2007
- ^ Page, Jared (2008-06-20). "Sierra Club hails LDS Church for downtown Salt Lake makeover". Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
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References
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2007) |
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