Has the Gateway project been a good development for the vitality of the downtown area?

• Position: Brief Article - Editorial

YES: Jake Boyer

The Boyer Company

Over the last several years, the downtown retail market has steadily deteriorated. According to the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, the city's share of retail sales has fallen from 43 percent in 1980 to 28 percent in 1997. This erosion is due to the demographic shift to the suburbs and intense competition from suburban retail development. The Gateway brings people hack downtown.

Completion of the Salt Palace, American Stores Tower, One Utah Center, Grand America and the LDS Conference Center, combined with new transportation systems have helped revitalize downtown. However, the area needed an infusion of retail energy to support the real estate investment that has occurred, the expanding employment base and the growing convention and tourism business.

The Gateway serves as the catalyst to fuel expansion throughout the entire Gateway district. The Gateway has already brought in over 45 new businesses, retailers, and restaurants, which contribute significant sales tax revenues to the city. The Gateway creates hundreds of jobs, providing an economic spark within Salt Lake.

In addition, the Gateway also provides our city with more housing, office and cultural options. The Gateway's Northgate Apartments consist of 320 apartment units, including an affordable component, making it more realistic for people of all income levels to live downtown. Later this year, 152 condominium units will be built within the project, creating "urban living." The Gateway also offers 400,000 square-feet of class "A" office space. A new planetarium and IMAX theater will open this fall, providing unique educational opportunities. Also, the Gateway will be the home of the new Children's Museum of Utah. These cultural elements attract people from across the region back into our city.

Critics have stated that the Gateway will kill downtown. Based on the University of Utah study, retail sales have continued to fall every year since 1997. Downtown retail has been experiencing a slow death over the last decade. The Gateway's unique retail mix gives the project a broad appeal across a variety of market segments. These characteristics have expanded the geographic range from which customers are drawn and increased the downtown's ability to draw retail dollars. The enhanced drawing power of a project like the Gateway is crucial to the success of downtown revitalization. The price of revitalization is more...