Land Grab
When Salt Lake City's mayor and City Council struck a deal with real estate developer Hines—a global company valued at more than 90 billion dollars—we were promised significant benefits in exchange for giving up our unique, historic, one-of-a-kind Utah Theater.
But those promises have still not materialized, years later.
We have recently learned that Hines now plans to pave over the site. I, for one, am asking—with little to no performance on the agreement, why does Hines still own the site at all?
We were promised a residential tower with affordable units, a mid-block walkway, a publicly accessible park on the parking garage and the reuse of historic theater artifacts in the new development. We were promised all this in a deal that cost Hines zero dollars.
What we have received is the demolition of the theater, damage to landscaping and planters on Main Street, small businesses evicted and a vacant lot that is reportedly now destined to be a parking lot.
Hines has claimed they can't find the money to fulfill the terms of the deal they made. However, it seems clear to me that Hines is simply focusing on other projects, like converting the University Club Tower into residential units on South Temple. Hines can obviously find financing for big projects, so why can't they find it for the theater site on Main Street?
There's growing concern about how the wealthiest individuals and corporations are receiving benefits that the rest of us can only dream of: Hines with the Utah Theater site; Ryan Smith with a sports district; and others. Why do they get so many advantages while the rest of us don't? Words like "favoritism" come to mind.
It's time for our mayor and City Council to terminate this failed deal. The historic theater artifacts like the grand stained-glass skylight—worth many thousands of dollars—should be returned to the city. We should issue new requests for proposals and if Hines wants to submit a new proposal, they are welcome to do so.
With the city budget increasing, frequent calls for new bonds and rising property values, Hines has missed their chance. It's time for Salt Lake City to seek new opportunities for the Utah Theater site and the many millions of dollars of value returned to the residents of Salt Lake City.
CASEY MCDONOUGH
Salt Lake City
"A Stitch in Time,"
Aug. 22 Cover Story
Wasatch Crochet Collective just started up as a monthly crochet/knit meetup in Salt Lake City.
K_bon_bon
Via Instagram
Best of Utah Voting
Editor's note: The ballot for City Weekly's 2024 Best of Utah Awards closes at midnight on Aug. 31. Go to cityweekly.net/bestofutah for more information and to cast your votes for the state's best people, places, dishes, drinks, nightlife, shops and more. Award winners announced in November.
Care to sound off on a feature in our pages or about a local concern?
Write to comments@cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media. We want to hear from you!
More by City Weekly Readers
-
Feedback from September 5 and Beyond
- Sep 11, 2024
-
Feedback from August 29 and Beyond
- Sep 4, 2024
-
Feedback from August 15 and Beyond
- Aug 21, 2024
- More »
Latest in Letters
