This story is part of The Salt Lake Tribune’s ongoing commitment to identify solutions to Utah’s biggest challenges through the work of the Innovation Lab.
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Downtown Salt Lake City has been a model for pre-pandemic recovery.
As recently as June, two studies by different universities using cell phone data found downtown activity was at a rolling average of 139% of pre-pandemic activity.
But not all of downtown is recovering equally based on how one of the universities reworked its study.
The University of Toronto’s School of Cities updated its methodology to use just one data provider and define downtown to reflect the central location with the highest concentration of employment.
The school’s “Downtown Recovery” study found downtown Salt Lake City had about 82% of pre-pandemic activity from March to June using the new methodology.
The Tribune has previously reported that while office vacancy rates are high — around 25% this past summer — new residents and visitors have made up for a lack of worker activity.
Demographic and economic data show the downtown area will continue growing as Salt Lake City’s population booms, and cranes dot the downtown skyline as construction crews build housing for thousands of potential new residents.
The Utah capital’s downtown could welcome more visitors in the coming years through a second Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and there’s talk of another professional sports team calling the city home.
Addressing social, economic and environmental issues to help downtown continue bucking the trend of urban decline will be up for discussion during a panel this week.
Learn more about downtown Salt Lake City and the area’s future at an in-depth discussion from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Thursday at the Thomas S. Monson Center, located at 411 East South Temple in Salt Lake City.
The discussion, titled “Downtown Salt Lake City: The Next Chapter” is the next in the “Storytelling through Data” events, a series of conversations co-sponsored by The Salt Lake Tribune and the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The discussions focus on data-grounded, solution-oriented dialogue critical to quality of life in Utah.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Downtown Alliance Executive Director Dee Brewer and Tribune Innovation Lab reporter Tony Semerad will sit on a panel moderated by Gardner Institute director Natalie Gochnour to discuss the subject.
They’ll focus on the positive economic and demographic indicators driving Utah’s capital city’s success and the challenges leaders must address as the next chapter for downtown Salt Lake City begins.
The event is free, but space is limited. Please RSVP by Tuesday to gardnerinstitute@eccles.utah.edu.
Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.
