Some Salt Lake City Council members didn’t hide their frustrations before voting to approve a public infrastructure district Tuesday night, capping a turbulent few days for city officials over the redevelopment of the Salt Palace and areas outside of the Delta Center.
After holding a 90-minute closed door session to discuss the matter, a handful of council members voiced their frustrations with state officials who made a late addition to the Convention Center Reinvestment Zone, or CCRZ. The state committee lumped the West Quarter into the zone on less than a day’s notice.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the public infrastructure district, or PID, which is the means by which tax dollars can be used to fund the redevelopment of the convention center and building an entertainment plaza connecting the Salt Palace and Delta Center.
Before the vote, some Council members said they were agitated and felt hamstrug by state officials.
“With less than 24 hours notice, that tax operation was adjusted because very wealthy developers, who are not SEG (Smith Entertainment Group) … bypassed the city, bypassed the county, bypassed SEG, and went to leadership at the state to get themselves added to something,” Councilmember Victoria Petro said before the vote.
Councilmember Eva Lopez Chavez said Block 67, which is also known as the West Quarter, was not a part of the initial deal with the city, and state officials instead made that decision.
“I’m still concerned that it undermines public trust and exposes the city to long-term financial risk,” Lopez Chavez said. “This is not sound public finance, nor is it reflective of the deal we made with our constituents.”
Others — like Councilmembers Darin Mano and Dan Dugan — chose to focus on what they said were positives of the project.
Mano said despite the position the council is in, there will be plenty of choices that have yet to be made on the Downtown overhaul project.
“I just hope that those individuals who get to make those choices will make the correct choices for everybody involved, not just their own projects and pocketbooks,” Mano said.
Last Friday, a state board under the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, or GOEO, approved a plan to add the West Quarter to its Convention Center Reinvestment Zone, or CCRZ, which will receive property tax funds for redevelopment. The board voted 9-4 to approve the new map, despite worries from Salt Lake City officials.
The West Quarter underwent a significant first phase of development, including the development of The Charles apartments, new retail and two hotels. Its later phases, including a possible office high-rise, have been stalled under the weight of high interest rates and labor costs, along with high office vacancy rates.
Salt Lake City leaders weren’t told about the West Quarter addition until a day before the state board meeting, according to Blake Thomas, Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s senior advisor on real estate and capital projects. He told state leaders Friday that the city wanted more time to assess how the additional land would impact the city and future budgets.
Dugan also attended the Friday meeting, and he told state leaders he thought the move was a disservice to Salt Lake City taxpayers, saying, “this is the same money that we would usually spend on public safety, on our parks, on our roads and our other infrastructure.”
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