The renderings of Salt Lake City’s new public safety complex are rudimentary now, but they do suggest a sense of long-needed cohesion between it, the Main Library, City Hall and the Matheson Courthouse.
Under the new plan unveiled Tuesday by Mayor Ralph Becker, the complex would have public space, just like the library and Washington Square. It wouldn’t obstruct views from Library Square, we’re told, and would be green as modern design can make it.
More importantly, it would fill in a gap in a city that’s working hard to reinvent itself.
I do take heed of the worries of some City Council members about the operation’s impact on 500 South, already a clogged artery leading to the freeway. The Leonardo is just down the way, and, on the south side, restaurants and condos rub shoulders with bail bondsmen’s offices.
Councilman Soren Simonsen — an architect and urban designer — worries about the impact of exit and entry ramps on 500 South and their impact on walkability and the building’s visual appeal from that aspect.Kevin Miller is the GSBS architect who presented to the council what he calls a “concept diagram,” not a fixed design. He says he and his colleagues must meet these goals: ensure the building’s usefulness to first responders; be ecologically sustainable; reflect good urban design; and, of course, come in at their $125 million budget.
And, he adds, the concept is brand new and subject to plenty of discussion going forward. “It’s a balancing act.”
It would be nice to preserve 500 South’s trees, which help make Salt Lake’s greater downtown area something of an arboretum.
That’s how it is throughout the city’s center, which not too many years ago was deemed all but dead. When the major malls on Main Street closed, shops followed, and you expected to see tumbleweeds and old newspapers rustling down the road.
But things are cyclical, says Jason Mathis, director of the Downtown Alliance. The City Creek complex is going up fast, and the new tower at 220 Main St. is being occupied by highly paid employees of Goldman Sachs, among others.
He says 30 new businesses opened in the central business district in 2009, and 20 more have opened this year. And all around the library, condos are going up and established buildings are being restored. TRAX moves people in and around downtown, and 300 South is a bit of a bohemian zone, with shops, bars, theaters and eateries open for business.
“We’re on the cusp of a transformational change,” Mathis says. “Now seems to be the time when we’re coming into our own.”
I’ve lived here for 30 years, and I love it. We’ll never be San Francisco, but we don’t have to be. Look up and around, see the mountains and the Great Salt Lake, and you can envision a city that could transform itself into a jewel.
Peg McEntee is a columnist. Reach her at pegmcentee@ sltrib.com.
The new vision for Salt Lake City encompasses ideas large and small, bold and restrained - for shaping downtown's future. 