Millcreek residents might have access to a new skating rink this Thanksgiving if construction goes according to plan for a new plaza in the center of the city.
Ground was broken Tuesday for the rink, which is just one component of the city’s vision for the Millcreek Common, on a 6-acre area off 1300 East and 3300 South. Mayor Jeff Silvestrini said Millcreek ultimately hopes to build a “European-style” plaza there, surrounded by shops, restaurants and housing. Part of the lot will also be an open green space with grass and trees.
“I’d like to welcome all of you here to Millcreek Common, which is just a pile of dirt right now, but someday this is going to be an amazing city center,” said Silvestrini at Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said at the groundbreaking that every city deserves to have “a heart and a gathering place.” She said the commons will be that place for Millcreek. She said she had previously encouraged Millcreek to stay unincorporated in the county and is happy to have been wrong.
Silvestrini told The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday that the new common area will provide the gathering place that residents have told the city they want. He said the city, which was incorporated four years ago, is trying to become more walkable and livable.
The first phase of the project is the skating rink, which includes an “ice ribbon” that will extend out into the plaza in a loop around the rink. The ice ribbon was funded by a $500,000 grant from the state, and will be open when temperatures are below 50 degrees.
According to the city’s plan, mixed-use buildings up to 74 feet tall will border the plaza, with retail on the ground floor and housing or offices above. Outlets and parking spaces for food trucks are also part of the plan. Millcreek might get a brand new city hall as part of the development, as well.
Silvestrini said the city is working with other cities and the Utah Transit Authority to try to implement better public transportation options to connect the area to Sugar House and the TRAX light-rail system.
The whole project is anticipated to cost about $21 million, according to Silvestrini. The city created a $20 million bond for the project. Silvestrini said local agencies including the school district and fire department have agreed to give the city 80% of the additional revenue generated by increased property values in the redeveloped area over the next 20 years to pay the bond off. He said those agencies recognize that the redevelopment will lead to more long-term tax revenue.
“Everyone recognizes that after 20 years they will get more revenue,” he said. “The park area is the sugar that will draw the honeybees to the development.”
Other events like a farmers market and a Christmas market might take place in the commons. Silvestrini told The Tribune that he had been interviewing candidates for an events director position to plan activities at the plaza.
He said the area is ripe for redevelopment, pointing out an empty storefront on 3300 South that was formerly a JoAnn craft store.
The city had previously looked into a blight study for the area, but that idea was abandoned in 2018 after outcry from residents and business owners who feared it might lead to the city declaring eminent domain over private property. Silvestrini said the blight study was misunderstood, but the city abandoned it anyway since people “hated it.”
