Salt Lake City, the largest visitor destination in Utah, will have another venue to draw and accommodate tourists before and after the 2002 Winter Olympics. The Gateway. Directly adjacent to the Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz, The Gateway will be a portal for tourism and a strong retail destination in this second-tier city. The centerpiece of this major mixed-use development project of retailing, dining, cultural, and entertainment residential housing units will be the restored Union Pacific Railway station with its beautiful, enormous historic stained glass windows depicting the history of Salt Lake City.
The $375-million privately financed Gateway project is on a fast-track construction timetable with completion scheduled for early 2002 to coincide with the Winter Olympics. The Boyer Company, based in Salt Lake City, is in charge of the 650-acre redevelopment project, which will result in approximately 2 million square feet of space:
- 700,000 square feet of retail space,
- 400,000 square feet of office space,
- 100,000 square feet of cultural activity space, and
- 500 residential housing units.
The architectural firm hired for the redevelopment project, The Jerde Partnership International, Inc., is an internationally acclaimed organization that has pioneered the development of "urban villages" such as Horton Plaza in San Diego, Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, the Bellagio Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and Universal City Walk.
The Olympic Legacy Plaza, across from the Union Pacific depot, will feature a wall of honor with the names of the athletes, volunteers, and contributors of the Winter 2002 Olympics.
Visible from the U.S. Highway 15 and only 8 miles from the international airport, The Gateway encompasses three city blocks and offers a 13-screen movieplex, an IMAX theater, the Children's Museum and the Hansen Planetarium.
Media covering the Winter Olympics will be the first "tenants" to enjoy the new project's housing units in February 2002. Retail tenants for The Gateway include Galyan's sporting goods store, Barnes & Noble, Abercrombie & Fitch, Ann Taylor Loft, Brookstone, Bebe, and Banana Republic. It is over 75% leased on the retail side. Second-level bridges above the main street of the center, Rio Grande Street, enable visitors to travel easily between shops, restaurants, and entertainment. Salt Lake City is the 28th largest retail market in the United States -- larger than Charlotte, Cincinnati, Nashville, Milwaukee, and Norfolk.
Salt Lake City's strong points -- fast growth, high incomes, youthful population -- and the fact that the city suffers from retail and dining voids demonstrated the appropriateness of The Gateway project. For example, the Delta Center currently attracts 20,000 people to the area approximately 250 nights of the year. And, the population base of 900,000 who live within a twenty-minute drive, nine million annual tourists visiting the area, and 75,000 daytime office workers will make Salt Lake City a more visible market on a national level.
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Olympic Accommodations: Winter Games 2002
Pat Rioux
