Revitalizing
Salt Lake City
What is Revitalizing Salt Lake City?
Revitalizing Salt Lake City is a broad subject. It is either adding more to an area or destroying
the old and bringing in the new. The revitalization of Salt Lake City has actually been going on
for decades. It has anything to do with the construction of transportation routes, and structures.
Why does Salt Lake City need to be revitalized?
The city of Salt Lake is relatively young. It began
as a small town in 1847 with only 148 people. It
wasn’t until the early 1900s that there was a huge
infrastructure improvement with a population of
about 50,000 people. By 1930, the population
had tripled. In today’s world with a population of
about 200,000 , Salt Lake city is always in need
of improvements. With the continuous population
increase, revitalization offers hope for areas that
lack elements other big cities have, or to repair
previously damaged areas.
The creation of TRAX was a big breathrough
towards the revitalization
The Issue of Revitalizing Salt Lake City
The reason the revitalization of Salt Lake City is an issue is that not everyone is always ready
to go “gung ho” with the change. With the construction of TRAX, people have had to relocate
their homes. Some of these people were not happy with this new change. There is always a
good and a bad to bringing in new places.
Contributors
There are simply to many social action projects towards the revitalization of Salt Lake city that
it would take to much to cover them all. We will discuss two agencies that aid towards the revitalization of Salt Lake City.
DownTown Rising
The Project of Downtown Rising focuses on the downtown of Salt Lake City. It has a vision
about the city: “A great state deserves a great capital city” is the shared vision of prominent
business leaders in Salt Lake City’s business community.(Downtown Rising) The Project was
launched in 2006 “as a business-led colaborative effort to create a bold and exciting long-range
vision fo downtown Salt Lake City”(DownTown Rising) There are 100 business leaders that
lead the project.
Redevelopment Agency Of Salt Lake City
The Redevelopment Agency(RDA) is much more sophisticated than Downtown Rising. The
agency was established in 1969 and has played a pivotal role in revitalizing many areas of
downtown. It is under the Utah Community Development and Renewal Agencies Act that the
RDA can have the charge and financial tools to address “blight”(tainted land) and disinvestment
in specific areas of Salt Lake City.
Inquiry: How does the RDA of SLC contribute to the revitalization of SLC?
The Redevelopment Agency
The RDA of Salt Lake City will be the focus of this report because of its importance towards
the revitalization of Salt Lake City.
Mission of the RDA
The mission of the RDA is to improve blighted areas of Salt Lake City, encourage economic
development of Salt Lake City, encourage the development of housing for low and moderate
income households within Salt Lake City and encourage compliance with and implementation
of the Salt Lake City master plan.(RDA of SLC) The purpose of this plan is to improve how
appealing an area is to businesses and private investors so that they would be willing to establish themselves to further improve and invest in the area.
Project Areas
The RDA has 11 project areas:
• Baseball Stadium - 1993
• Central Business District - 1983-2040
• Central City - 1981-Current
• Depot District - 1999-2024
• Granary District - 1999-2025
• North Temple Viaduct - (CDA) 2010
• North Temple - 2011-2037
• Sugar House - 1986-2014
• West Capitol Hill - 1996-2023
• West Temple Gateway - 1987-2018
The Gallivan Center was a past project of the
Central Business District
• Block 70 (CDA) 2013
Interview with RDA Member
Edward Butterfield
Senior Project Manager of the RDA
There was much to learn from the interview with Edward. His career with the RDA has lasted
6 years. He is a project manager for 4 of the 11 areas. He manages Sugar House, West Temple
Gateway, the Central Business District, and the Depot District. He mentioned that the projects
that occured in Sugar House are being finished, and are in the last stages of completion.
The Utah Theater that was built in 1918 still contains most of its original structures
Questions
What is the most important project that you are currently working on?
“The Utah Theater the was recently purchased by the RDA in January 2010”.
Where do most of the finances for the RDA come from?
“They come from a tax increment which is a method to use future gains in taxes”.
What is a typical day at work consist of?
“Lots of traveling from different areas, decision making, and coordinating projects”.
Do you think the RDA is beneficial to Salt Lake City?
“Yes i believe it is positive for the community to improve urban design”.
Conclusion
With the creation of many programs and projects aimed towards revitalizing Salt Lake City, it
brings hope for areas unappealing to investors. It can turn lifeless areas into a thriving
community.
“As Utah’s capital city evolves, the needs of our residents and businesses also change, sometimes creating a disconnect between what has been and what is. As the city continues to develop practices that support a more sustainable community, the role of the RDA is more critical
than ever”. – Mayor Ralph Becker(RDA of SLC)
Is the tax money the RDA uses really worth its cause?
Are there going to be problems later down the road with the RDA?
So far the projects completed by the RDA have shown promising effects. Only time can tell if
the projects continue to be beneficial
Works Cited
Downtown Rising. Down Town SLC Alliance. Web. 20 Feb 2015.
RDA of Salt Lake City. SLC RDA. Web. 18 Feb 2015
Utah Travel Industry. Sale Lake City History. Salt Lake City Skyline. Web. 25 Feb 2015
Salt Lake City, Utah Population History. biggestuscities.com. 23 May 2014. Web. 25 Feb 2015