A 425,000-square-foot office building near City Creek Center is attracting financial and law firms.
The mall, which opened a little more than a year ago, is the centerpiece of a mixed-use development that was financed entirely by the church, which spent, by any estimate, hundreds of millions of dollars. Although the combination of commerce and religion in this case may seem unusual, business leaders and developers credit the mall with spurring new business and enlivening what had been the faded core of Salt Lake City, home to 189, 900.
“The center has added 2,000 jobs and brought more than 16 million visitors into downtown,” according to the Economic Benchmark Report of 2013, paid for by the real estate firm CBRE. Taking into account the improving economy, the report credits the mall, at 50 South Main Street, with helping downtown retail sales increase by 36 percent, or $209 million, in 2012.
The “mall is the single most important thing to happen to Salt Lake City in 50 years, maybe more,” said Bruce Bingham, a partner with Hamilton Partners, a Chicago-based real estate developer. “It revitalized downtown.”
Mr. Bingham’s company has since completed a $135 million, 425,000-square-foot office building nearby, at 222 South Main Street, leasing office space to Goldman Sachs, law firms, financial services businesses and others. “We’re pushing 85 percent leased,” Mr. Bingham said.
