Public and private collaboration praised as 111 main opens its doors.

• Author: Christensen, Lisa
• Position: Around Utah

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Salt Lake City -- Four million pounds of framework might provide the backbone for Salt Lake's 111 MAIN, but the collaboration between public, private and religious entities to build it has laid the foundation for a brighter downtown area, said organizers of the building's ribbon-cutting celebration.

Held in the newly completed building's 35-foot, floor-to-ceiling glass lobby, speakers praised the collaborative efforts that helped the 24-story building rise.

"It's an example of how people from very different backgrounds and talents can work together to create a magnificent monument of utility and beauty," said Gerald Causse, Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "We are happy this project is completed, yes, but we are also grateful for the bonds of friendship that have been forged and will continue to be strengthened in the future."

The LDS church was instrumental in the process, said Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski. Biskupski said the 440,000-square-foot office building, which is anchored by Goldman Sachs, along with Bonneville Mortgage, CBC Advisors, Clarity Capital, Dorsey Whitney, Durham Jones Pinegar, Jones Lang LaSalle and the U.S. Attorney General, is part of the continued effort to keep downtown rising.

"Thousands of employees will work in this building. Thousands of employees will walk through this lobby every day. This will translate into thousands of restaurant orders, lots of GreenBikes--and lots of riding-and thousands of shoppers for our retail stores," she said. "When done right, buildings have the power to bring energy to an area."

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams likened a city to an ecosystem, where office space, retail stores, entertainment venues and...