It took over two months for the public to realize the Legislature dedicated another $300 million for the redevelopment of the Delta Center and surrounding area in Downtown Salt Lake City.
What wasn’t known was what that money would be used for.
UDOT now says it plans to create a “hybrid” between a tunnel and a pedestrian skybridge, with a large plaza spanning 10 feet above a sunken 300 West next to the arena. And the agency says the decision was made by the Legislature.
The money allocated for the project was tucked into SB195, a 126-page omnibus transportation spending bill that also included a last-minute provision that stripped Salt Lake City of its ability to make many of its streets safer.
The 300 West provision was in addition to the $900 million in sales tax revenue that is also going to the development being led by Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith. It didn’t receive a public hearing and went largely unnoticed until the Salt Lake Tribune reported about it in mid-May.
Robert Stewart, UDOT’s region two director, said the logistics of bringing 300 West down 20 feet for a tunnel between 100 South and South Temple was impossible due to grading and engineering difficulties. Instead, the agency will create something in between a skybridge and a tunnel.
“You take 3rd West down 10 feet, but also bring up the pedestrian plaza by 10 feet,” Stewart said. “How that transitions into the Delta Center is what SEG is trying to figure out.”
The width of the hybrid skybridge is “like 300 feet,” Stewart added, which would be roughly half a Salt Lake City block.
While the specific engineering and transitioning is being worked out — including whether the elevated plaza is accessed by stairs or via ramps — is unclear. What is clear, Stewart added, is that this is the plan.
“That is the concept we’re moving forward with,” he said. “Things may change, but the current concepts, the funding that we have, probably supports this solution the best.”
Previously, it wasn’t clear if UDOT would move forward with a full tunnel under a pedestrian plaza above. That type of project would have cost between $700 million and $1 billion, Stewart said.
Sen. Wayne Harper, the Taylorsville Republican who made the last-minute changes to SB195 to add funding for 300 West changes and dictate what Salt Lake City can do with its streets, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In May, Harper told the Salt Lake Tribune conversations about the future of 300 West had been ongoing for about a year before his last-minute amendment.
“It was decided at the very end [of the session] saying, ‘OK, in order to meet all the needs of all the stakeholders, let’s go through and appropriate money that’s been sitting on the shelf and put it in there so we keep 300 West open, we go through and enhance the pedestrian and traffic and the experience of people in that area,” Harper told the outlet. “I didn’t perceive it to be something big, because we talked about it for over a year, and then we just made the decision right at the end.”
Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, told the Tribune she wasn’t aware that the $300 million was included in the bill until she was asked about it by the news outlet.
Jon Larsen, Salt Lake City’s transportation director, said the city was being included in conversations about changes to 300 West.
“The City has been involved in the 300 West discussions, but it’s ultimately UDOT’s facility and they have the final say,” Larsen said. “We support both UDOT’s goal of keeping traffic moving on 300 West and SEG’s goal of creating a better pedestrian connection and experience.”
It’s not clear when construction might begin on the hybrid plaza, though Stewart said UDOT was coordinating with redevelopment efforts at the existing Salt Palace, across 300 West from the Delta Center.
Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) is currently working quickly to make updates to the Delta Center to both modernize the arena and make it more suitable for NHL games.
SEG recently acquired parcels that include a portion of the Salt Palace, immediately across from the Delta Center. Under requirements set by the Legislature, Salt Lake City approved zoning changes to the land that will allow for taller buildings as part of future unspecified redevelopment plans.
SEG deferred comment on the project to UDOT.
“Laws for thee, but not for me!” … So billionaire favorite son sports team owner gets over $1 BILLION in subsidies for his personal play palace while leaving elected stakeholders in the dark. Nice.
Let’s take away some more SNAP benefits from those who need it so we can redistribute those dollars to folks who REALLY need it like Smith and SEG. What a joke this entire process/project has become.