SALT LAKE CITY — It’s hard to predict what the future will look like, but Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and other city leaders are confident Salt Lake City will look completely different by the time the Winter Olympics and Paralympics return in 2034.
“Salt Lake City will not be the same in 10 years,” the mayor said shortly after Salt Lake City confirmed its bid to host the global event on Wednesday.
This transformation, she added, would happen independently of the Olympics, and it is already underway. Over the past two years, the city and others have unveiled several large-scale projects that will radically transform the city, particularly its downtown.
With the bid now secured, those plans could become a reality by 2034, as the Olympics are expected to unlock a wave of new federal funding, much like the 2002 Winter Olympics. Salt Lake City Councilman Alejandro Puy, who joined his colleagues at an early-morning gathering outside City Hall to watch the Olympics announcement, said the city is already drawing up a “long list of needs” that could be addressed.
“It’s a major event … I hope it has an impact, after the Games are over, for decades to come,” he told KSL.com. “A lot of older residents who were part of the (2002) Olympics saw Utah change because of the Olympics, so I think the bar is high and we can’t disappoint.”
It starts with the city center.
The imminent growth of the city center
Salt Lake City has already changed since it hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Its population today is about 210,000, its highest level ever and nearly 30,000 more than in 2002.
That’s not the only change. Once a mix of residents and businesses before the rural exodus of the 1960s, office workers were the main source of downtown traffic at the time of the 2002 Winter Olympics. That remained the case until the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.
The social economy, meaning people going to bars, restaurants or other activities, has taken over. Even though new office spaces have opened since the pandemic, this trend has not changed. It is one of the main reasons why developers are building high-rise residential buildings and converting old office towers into housing.
The residential transformation of downtown is already underway. The Worthington, a 31-story apartment building, opened in June, and Astra Tower, the state’s tallest building, is set to open next month, are among the most prominent projects. The downtown population is expected to double from about 4,900 in 2022 to 10,000 in 2025, the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Institute of Politics estimated last year.
According to new projections from the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance, the number of people living downtown is expected to reach 14,000 by 2034, nearly triple the 2022 population. The number of downtown workers is expected to reach 35,000, a 34 percent increase.
However, these may be conservative estimates.
“Frankly, it may be too modest,” said Dee Brewer, executive director of the Downtown Alliance, explaining that he is aware that many private developers are now considering “very ambitious” residential towers that would once again reshape the downtown skyline.
Additionally, he told KSL.com that the University of Utah has expressed interest in building new student housing, new programs and new colleges downtown. Smith Entertainment Group is also considering residential towers as part of its larger downtown revitalization project, which could change the numbers.
The city recently approved zoning changes that removed most height limits on downtown buildings, while Smith’s proposed plan could pave the way for 600-foot building height caps. Recent projects have also focused on multifamily housing to bring families back downtown.
These factors can radically change the type of population that will exist in 10 years.
“Increasing building height means we can achieve greater density,” Brewer said. “You can look at that positively or negatively, but strengthening the downtown core with more people living here has positive effects.”
A unique opportunity
That kind of growth requires all sorts of new amenities, including more infrastructure and green space. These projects are examples of the many large-scale projects the city is trying to complete in preparation for the Games, but they are also ones that Mendenhall said the city would pursue even if it doesn’t win an Olympic bid.
Since no new venues are needed for Salt Lake City to host the 2034 Games, Gov. Spencer Cox said Utah has a unique opportunity to dream up large-scale projects to improve the state.
“I believe the transformation of downtown Salt Lake City is the most important project we can work on right now,” he said last week.
Smith’s plan to renovate the Delta Center and build an entertainment district around it has garnered the most attention this summer as Utah welcomes a National Hockey League franchise, but it’s far from the only project that would dramatically change the downtown area.
Large-scale projects that could transform the city centre and its surroundings by 2034
- Downtown Revitalization District: Salt Lake City and Smith Entertainment Group reached a tentative agreement earlier this month on a plan to revitalize the area surrounding a renovated Delta Center for the Utah Jazz and Hockey Club. The plan still has a ways to go, but could include a new entertainment district east of the arena with new buildings and a plaza on 300 West that could be dug underground. A clause stipulates that all Smith projects backed by potential public funds must be completed by 2034. The massive project could also include a rebuilt Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and a renovated Abravanel Hall. The company says it will contribute $3 billion in private funds to the project, but could also raise up to $900 million in bonds.
- Place Gallivan: The Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency is currently working on a 20-year master plan that outlines future changes to the downtown plaza.
- Green Loop: Last year, Salt Lake City unveiled plans and future concepts for a “green loop” of trails and green spaces surrounding the city’s downtown. Updates on the project are expected soon.
- Main Street Walk: Salt Lake City unveiled conceptual plans earlier this year for how it could transform Main Street into a pedestrian promenade with different neighborhoods on each block, from 400 South to South Temple. The cost is estimated at $125 million.
- Pioneer Park: Salt Lake City has a plan to redevelop the downtown park. The city has dedicated $3.4 million in 2019 impact tax funds and $10 million from a 2022 sales tax bond to the project. It’s not yet clear when work will begin.
- Rio Grande District: The Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency plans to transform 11 acres near the Rio Grande Depot, anchored by USA Climbing’s proposed new headquarters. The project would essentially expand the downtown footprint to the west.
- Rio Grande Plan: A resident-led project, with interest from the city, would bury the tracks that run just west of downtown through a train box. UTA’s FrontRunner could potentially use the Rio Grande depot as a station. Salt Lake City released a preliminary analysis late last year, estimating that it could cost between $3 billion and $5 billion to complete.
- Technical link: The Utah Transit Authority wants to move forward with its light rail extension project that would connect the University of Utah Research Park to Salt Lake City International Airport via a new, deeper line in downtown Salt Lake City. UTA Director Jay Fox told KSL.com earlier this month that he would like to see the new TRAX Orange Line completed by 2034.
The Smith deal also has the largest funding, as the proposed deal would issue up to $900 million in bonds that could be repaid through a 0.5% sales tax over the next 30 years — if finalized.
The release of federal funds would give the city and state the opportunity to complete many more projects by 2034. Puy and Cox both said applications would resume once the request for proposals is finalized.
Brewer said green space projects (parks and the Green Loop) are the most likely to succeed, as are transportation projects like the TRAX downtown expansion or the Main Street Parkway. In the latter case, Main Street’s aging sewer infrastructure needs to be replaced anyway.
If all goes according to plan, people arriving for the 2034 Olympics could find a city center that is taller than it is today, with more pedestrian plazas, public transportation and green spaces. They could find more people living in the city center and more businesses and buildings that serve the needs of the community, including restaurants, shops and perhaps a school one day.
If so, Brewer said he hopes it will only provide an opportunity for existing downtown businesses to expand.
“We were already on this trajectory,” he said. “We need to make sure these investments are made from a holistic perspective that values the entire downtown.”