The owner of the Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club requested a permit this month to build a parking garage at the Delta Center, but the company doesn’t have the authority to build it. At least not yet.
According to a building permit requested by Smith Entertainment Group, the company wants to build a six-story parking garage with a sky bridge on the second floor heading into the arena’s fourth level.
According to a lease agreement that has been in place since 1990, SEG doesn’t have permission to alter the land that’s home to the Delta Center and is owned by the city’s Community Reinvestment Agency without first receiving approval.
“The lease does not allow the development of a parking garage without oversight and design requirements,” a CRA spokeswoman told Building Salt Lake.
The upcoming discussion about the request could give an indication over whether the city will try its hand at maintaining its remaining authority over development in the area surrounding the Delta Center amid recent moves by the state Legislature to strip the capital city of its land use authority.
The agency initially deferred all questions to SEG, and indicated the large parking structure — which would likely include frontage along a surrounding city street — was allowed and up to SEG to design.
“There’s a standing ground lease agreement between the CRA and SEG that grants them rights to develop the property in accordance with existing zoning regulations,” a spokeswoman initially said. “While we’re aware of what they’re proposing, we don’t have a formal role in the process beyond that.”
After additional questioning by Building Salt Lake, the CRA changed its response and said the city would have an oversight and approval role of the parking garage.
“Significant alteration of the property, including the addition of a parking structure, will ultimately require CRA approval,” the spokeswoman later said. “Improvements made during the lease term become property of the agency upon expiration or termination of the lease.”
The city’s lease for the Utah Jazz to use the Delta Center was signed June 8, 1990, around the time construction started on the stadium, and is a 50-year lease running through 2040.
The lease
According to a copy of the lease, SEG “will in no event, be permitted to construct a building or structure on the premises other than the sport and entertainment arena, without [the city’s] express written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld.”
It’s not immediately clear who would be responsible for long-term maintenance and ownership of the parking structure, and how the revenue would be split, if at all, between SEG and the city.
The permit was requested by Walter P. Moore, an engineering firm whose portfolio includes other mega developments including arenas like T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and the retractable roof at loanDepot Park in Miami.
The permit was requested by Eric Pagan, a principal of structures with Walter P. Moore who specializes in parking structures.
SEG didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment last week.
Given the existing layout of the arena, any parking structure would very likely include frontage along a street surrounding the stadium, including 400 West, 300 West, 100 South or South Temple.
A source said the company planned to build the parking structure on the southwest side of the stadium, as well as underground parking on the northwest end.
The permit is significant as the city grapples with the rapid pace of state changes aimed at directing tax revenue toward SEG’s idea of creating a sports and entertainment district on the western edge of Downtown.
The effort involves billions in public subsidies and will include the reconstruction of the Salt Palace convention center with a goal of opening up space to reconnect the Downtown grid and remove the barrier created by the Salt Palace.
The ultimate goal is to create a more vibrant Downtown area that includes the Delta Center.
It’s not clear if the Utah Legislature usurped Salt Lake City’s authority to weigh in on the street frontage of any parking structure that could front one of its streets, or whether the existing lease would already prevent the city from extracting any public benefits around walkability and street engagement.
The ensuing discussion over the permit request should show whether the city feels it has any say in the future development in the area, or if it feels compelled to cede the surrounding area to SEG and other developers.
0 Comments