Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[mattreedah]

Move Nordstrom into the Forever 21 space on Main

[ucsbgaucho]

Originally Posted by mattreedah

Move Nordstrom into the Forever 21 space on Main

Problem is that Nordstrom is pretty big, has the cafe, etc.... Can't move it very easily into just any other space.

[RC14]

It would be a shame if we went to all this work to reconnect downtown and Nordstrom remained right in the middle of it. I would like to see Nordstrom moved and a skybridge from City Creek to the entertainment district/Salt Palace. It could make everything from the Delta Center to Regent Street feel like one continuous district.

[Comrade]

Now I'll say one thing about an existing building:

I do love the facade of Nordstrom and would be sad to see it go.

[Blah_Amazing]

Also, something that one of the Mayors mentioned related to the Olympics yesterday was how they don't like that Medals Plaza is just temporary and gets taken down once the Olympics are over.

Potentially hinting that they might want a more permeant structure/place? Like a amphitheater or something?

That would be cool to see downtown.

[Blah_Amazing]

I was thinking, what if the base of the West Quarter Phase II was partially incorporated into becoming an expansion to the Salt Palace instead of simply being a large parking garage under the proposed towers?

If a partial second floor was added as well as a skybridge connecting the two, it could be a way to make up for some of the lost square footage for the entertainment district.

It also could be a great way to get the Second Phase of the West Quarter back on track after it has seemingly stalled.

I think The Richie Group should start actively working with Salt Lake County to see if this would be possible.

[Nebula3lem123]

I am still of the opinion that demolishing Abravanel is a non-option. Many people group it with the Salt Palace during talks of reworks, but I think this is unnecessary. Abravanel was here before the Salt Palace, it has incredible acoustics, and is world renowned among musicians. Much like how many think that no new station could fully replace the Rio Grande Depot, I don't think a new concert hall could ever replace Abravanel.

Reworking the Salt Palace to be less of a barrier between City Creek and the Delta Center on the other hand, would be much easier and would be much more helpful to the city. As much as having a large continuous space is, taking up 3 blocks is ridiculous for such a short building in an area with such high demand. Cutting it down to 2 blocks and making the center 3-4 stories tall would provide almost as much continuous space while increasing room for other events and reducing the impact the Salt Palace has on the area.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Nebula3lem123

I am still of the opinion that demolishing Abravanel is a non-option. Many people group it with the Salt Palace during talks of reworks, but I think this is unnecessary. Abravanel was here before the Salt Palace, it has incredible acoustics, and is world renowned among musicians. Much like how many think that no new station could fully replace the Rio Grande Depot, I don't think a new concert hall could ever replace Abravanel.

Reworking the Salt Palace to be less of a barrier between City Creek and the Delta Center on the other hand, would be much easier and would be much more helpful to the city. As much as having a large continuous space is, taking up 3 blocks is ridiculous for such a short building in an area with such high demand. Cutting it down to 2 blocks and making the center 3-4 stories tall would provide almost as much continuous space while increasing room for other events and reducing the impact the Salt Palace has on the area.

How many musicians even come to Abravanel anymore?

Through the rest of the year, there's seven events and two are comedians (Seinfeld and Wanda Sykes).

More might be scheduled, of course, and obviously the Utah Symphony utilizes it ... but it doesn't seem like there's a lot scheduled for the remainder of the year.

Look: If it can be saved, I absolutely support saving it - even if it means renovating.

But I don't think it's a non-starter.