Although it is difficult to predict the future, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and other city leaders are confident that the city and its downtown will look completely different by the time the Winter Olympics and Paralympics return to Utah in 2034.
"Salt Lake City is not going to look the same in 10 years," the mayor said earlier this summer after Salt Lake City locked down its bid to host the global event.
That transformation, she added, was coming regardless of the Olympics and it is already under way, reported KSL.com, the website for KSL-TV. Over the past year or two, the city and other entities have unveiled multiple large-scale projects that will radically transform the Utah capital, especially its downtown core.
With the bid now secure, these projects could become a reality by 2034 because the Olympics is expected to unlock a wave of new federal funds, much like the 2002 Winter Games did before Salt Lake City hosted that event.
City Councilman Alejandro Puy, who joined his colleagues at a viewing party to watch the Olympic announcement from Paris on July 24, told KSL.com that Salt Lake City is compiling a "big laundry list of needs" that could be addressed.
"It's a huge deal. Hopefully, it'll make an impact, after the Games are done, for decades," he said. "Many of the older [residents] who participated in the [2002] Olympics saw Utah change because of the Olympics, so I think the bar is high, and we cannot disappoint."
Downtown's Pending Growth
Salt Lake City has already been transformed since it hosted the 2002 games. Its population is now about 210,000 — its highest count ever with nearly 30,000 more residents than the city had 22 years ago, according to KSL.com.
And that is not the only difference. Once a mix of residents and businesses before the suburban flight of the 1960s, office workers were the biggest driver of downtown visitation during the 2002 Winter Olympics. This remained the case until the pandemic, which transformed everything.
The social economy — people coming to bars, restaurants or other activities — took over. While new office spaces have opened up since the pandemic, this trend, too, has not changed, and it is a big reason developers are building residential high-rises and converting old office towers into housing.
Salt Lake City's downtown's residential transformation is already under way.
Among the larger projects, the Worthington, a 31-story apartment high-rise, began welcoming tenants in June, and Astra Tower, the state's tallest building, is slated to open in September.
The downtown's population is projected to double from approximately 4,900 in 2022 to 10,000 in 2025, the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute estimated last year.
That number is expected to reach 14,000 by 2034, nearly triple its 2022 population, according to new Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance projections. Additionally, the city's central business district will likely see the population of downtown workers reach 35,000, a 34 percent increase.
However, these could be conservative estimates.
"Frankly, it may be too modest," said Dee Brewer, executive director of the Downtown Alliance, who added that he knows of multiple private developers who are now considering "very ambitious" residential towers that would reshape the skyline yet again.
On top of that, he explained to KSL.com that the University of Utah has expressed interest in building new student housing, programs and colleges downtown. Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) also is eyeing residential towers within its major downtown revitalization project, and that could change the numbers as well.
Salt Lake City recently approved zoning changes that removed most downtown building height limits, while SEG's proposed plan could open the door for building height caps of 600 ft. Many recent projects have centered on multifamily housing to bring families back downtown.
Together, these factors would drastically alter what type of population exists in 10 years.
"Increasing building height means that we can achieve density," Brewer explained. "You may look at that positively or negatively, but there are good things that come out of strengthening downtown with more people living here."
Unique Opportunity Awaits
That type of growth calls for many new amenities, including more infrastructure and green space. They highlight many of the large-scale projects that the city is trying to accomplish ahead of the Winter Olympics but are also the types of projects that Mendenhall said Salt Lake City would push even if it had lost out on the bid.
Since no new venues are needed for Salt Lake City to pull off the 2034 games, Gov. Spencer Cox said Utah has a unique opportunity to dream of several large-scale projects to improve the state.
"I believe the transformation of downtown Salt Lake City is the biggest thing that we can be working on right now," he told KSL.com.
SEG's plan to remodel the Delta Center and build an entertainment district around it has garnered the most attention this summer as Utah welcomes in a National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, but it's far from the only project that would drastically change downtown.
- The Downtown Revitalization District is a collaboration between Salt Lake City and SEG, with a remodeled Delta Center for the NBA's Utah Jazz and the new NHL team. The plan could include a new entertainment district east of the arena with new buildings and a plaza over 300 West that could be tunneled underground. A clause within the agreement between the city and SEG notes that all Smith projects supported by possible public funds must be complete by 2034. The massive construction effort may include a rebuilt Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and a renovated Abravanel Hall. SEG said it will direct $3 billion in private funds to the project, but it can also get up to $900 million in bonds.
- The Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City is working on a 20-year plan that highlights future changes to the downtown's Gallivan Plaza.
- In 2023, the city unveiled its plans and later concept designs for a "green loop" of trails and park space surrounding the downtown.
- Salt Lake City introduced concept designs earlier this year on how to turn Main Street into a walkable promenade with various districts on each block from 400 South to South Temple, a project estimated to cost $125 million.
- The downtown's Pioneer Park could be revamped. So far, the city directed $3.4 million in impact fee funds in 2019 and $10 million from a sales tax bond in 2022 toward the project; however, it is unclear when construction will begin.
- The Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City's formed a plan to transform 11 acres near the Rio Grande Depot, anchored by USA Climbing's proposed new headquarters. The project is designed to extend the downtown footprint to the west.
- Rio Grande Plan, a resident-led effort would bury the rails that run just west of downtown through a train box. The Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) FrontRunner commuter line potentially could use the Rio Grande Depot as a station. Salt Lake City published a screening analysis late last year and estimated that it could cost $3-5 billion to develop.
- UTA wants to move forward with its proposed light-rail extension that would link the University of Utah's Research Park to Salt Lake City International Airport via a new line deeper into the core of downtown. Jay Fox, the transit authority's director, told KSL.com in July that he would like to see the new orange TRAX line finished and operational by 2034.
Of all the proposed projects for Salt Lake City ahead of the Olympics, the SEG proposal to revitalize downtown has the most attached funding, as the tentative deal, if finalized, would allow for up to $900 million in bonds that could be repaid through a 0.5 percent sales tax revenue collection over the next 30 years.
Unlocking federal funds also would offer the city and state an opportunity to complete many of the other projects by 2034, noted KSL.com. Both City Councilman Puy and Gov. Cox said requests would pick up once the bid was completed.
Brewer said he believes the strongest cases may be the proposals for the city's parks, the Green Loop, and the transportation efforts, such as the downtown TRAX expansion or the Main Street Promenade, the latter of which is because Main Street's aging sewer infrastructure needs to be replaced anyway.
Should it all come together, people arriving for the 2034 Olympics may find a downtown that has grown taller with more pedestrian plazas, transit and green space than today. Additionally, they could see more people living downtown and more businesses and buildings tailored to community needs, including restaurants, stores, and possibly a school.
If that is the case, Brewer said he hopes existing businesses are given an opportunity to grow.
"We were already on that trajectory," he said. "[We need to make] sure that these investments are made from a holistic perspective that lifts up the entire downtown area."
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