Despite recession, downtown Salt Lake is rising

(Deseret News) The yellow and red banners hanging on streetlights and buildings make the claim, but the proof is in the construction crews and cranes, the coming soons and the grand openings.

Downtown is rising.

"It feels different; it feels alive," said Jason Mathis, executive director of the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance. "Something special is happening in Salt Lake that isn't happening in other metropolitan areas."

While a slumping economy has halted projects from New York to Portland, Salt Lake City's downtown is experiencing its biggest boom in decades, officials said.

At the lead is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' $2 billion City Creek Center, a mix of retail and residential development. But downtown's rising is more than just that, Mathis said.

"Clearly (City Creek) is a big part of that, but there is enormous momentum from that helping to fuel other development," he said.

In recent months, roughly two dozen new businesses have opened shop in the central business district. Among them is Del Vance's Beerhive Pub on Main.

Vance, a New York native, remembers an eerie quiet downtown when he first moved to Salt Lake City.

"You could hear the crickets chirping," he said.

But as he opened the doors to his pub this week, Vance said he believes Main Street is finally coming back to life.

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