A rebirth for South Salt Lake?

 (Salt Lake Tribune) What does a beleaguered suburb saddled with a pinched tax base and a bum image do? Erect a downtown, of sorts, anchored by a train, a streetcar, an entertainment zone and, hopefully, a new identity.

That's the strategy in South Salt Lake, which has designated a new redevelopment area along 2100 South called the Central Point Project.

New Mayor Cherie Wood and the city's first-ever economic-development director hope the property-tax investment will transform the corridor from Main Street to Interstate 15 into a new hub, complete with shops, restaurants and theaters.

"We have to change what the perception of South Salt Lake is," says Garth Day, hired as the city's economic-development boss in January. "This is our chance for a downtown development that the city doesn't have."

Last month, South Salt Lake's City Council, acting as the redevelopment board, approved a blight study, which is the first step in creating a redevelopment area. RC Willey, at 2301 S. 300 West, would not be included because the furniture store is part of a previous RDA.

If ultimately approved, the Central Point formula would provide tax breaks to businesses and developers within the new RDA. The boundary extends from 2100 South to Interstate 80 between Main Street and Interstate 15. Property taxes would be captured from any schools or other public agency in the project area.

Day notes the suburb is hamstrung by a host of publicly owned properties that do not provide revenue. About 40 percent of South Salt Lake's taxable real estate -- including the rails, freeways, school district parcels and a sewage-treatment plant-- is off the tax rolls.

Original Article