Hearing the announcement a while ago that the LDS church bought a huge chunk of downtown, I wondered what they would do with it. A few days ago, they released the details. I found them to be amazing.
Quote: “A premier retail, office and residential development will rise on nearly 20 acres across three blocks in the heart of Salt Lake City over the next five years, making the city one of few in the nation with a vibrant, mixed development of this scale at its core.
Demolition of part of the site will begin early next month, starting in the northwest portion of the redevelopment area. A progressive wave of demolition will move roughly west to east, followed by excavation and site preparation that will take about a year.
As outlined by Bishop Burton, the project will include:
* Up to three national department stores to anchor a retail component that will include a complement of nationally recognized in-line retail tenants.
* New, refurbished and renamed office towers.
* New residential buildings.
* A full-service grocery store to serve a growing downtown population.
* The reopening or extension of historic downtown streets as pedestrian walkways through two of the blocks — Richards Street, Regent Street and Social Hall Avenue.
* Fountains and man-made streams to represent the historic South Fork of City Creek supplemented by approximately six acres of gardens and open space.
* Underground parking to accommodate some 5,600 vehicles “
Check out this pdf for more details