Gateway to Brownfields
Redevelopment J^
O,
Salt Lake City, UT
n November 1, 2001, the first 60 of 84 retailers, restaurants, and
other attractions opened for business at the Gateway, Salt Lake City's new
downtown mixed-use development. Where railroad lines once webbed
across contaminated brownfields, this $375 million redevelopment project
is revitalizing a 30-acre portion of the neglected west side of Utah's capital
city and is the latest project to be completed under Salt Lake's Gateway
Land Use and Development Master Plan. Salt Lake City's multiyear project
targets a 650-acre blighted industrial area known as the Gateway District.
In 1996, the city received a $200,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilot
grant to conduct environmental assessments on the 650 acres. The project
was further aided by a $200,000 EPA Brownfields Supplemental Assistance
grant in March 2000 and another $500,000 resulting from the city's designation
as an EPA Brownfields Showcase Community. The master plan for the
redevelopment of the Gateway District includes 10,000 new residential units,
cultural facilities, commercial developments, and a transportation hub that will
link bus, light rail, and commuter rail systems by the year 2005.
Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and preparations
for this major international event have created a new wave of construction,
development, and renovation projects. This included a major overhaul of
Interstate 15 in the Salt Lake Valley and has been the driving force behind
fast-track cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields in the western sec-
tion of the city. The 30-acre Gateway development is across the street
from the Delta Center, which is home to the Utah Jazz and served as venue
for figure skating events during the Olympics. New apartments that were
constructed as part of the Gateway mixed-use development housed mem-
bers of the media covering Olympic events.
The 650-acre area now targeted for restoration once prospered during the
mining and railroad booms of the 19th century with railroad manufacturing
and maintenance facilities, heavy industry, salvage yards, and warehouses.
This history of industrial use left 50 percent of the parcels in the district
with environmental contamination, which has contributed to abandonment
and the decline of an area now plagued with severe crime and homelessness.
Concerns over real and perceived contamination and the lack of basic in-
frastructure have created a sort of "no man's land" in the western section
of the city around the railroad tracks and 1-15. Property in the area is
undervalued by four times and causing an estimated $1.6 million loss in
annual property taxes.
continued ^
An Abandoned building within Salt Lake
City's Gateway District.
JUST THE FACTS:
• The Gateway District's history of
industrial use left 50 percent of its
parcels with environmental
contamination that contributed to the
area's decline.
• The Brownfields Pilot performed
assessments on all 325 of the
Gateway District's parcels, and the
degree of contamination proved to be
far less than expected.
• The first 30 acres have been
redeveloped by a company that
invested $375 million to create two
million square feet of shops,
restaurants, office space, and
housing; a 12-screen movie theater;
and other attractions, which in the
future will include a children's
museum and a planetarium.
Salt Lake City has a master
redevelopment plan for a 650-acre
blighted industrial area known as the
Gateway District, enabled in part by a
$200,000 EPA Brownfields Pilot grant
that allowed area-wide assessments
to be performed. Reuse plans for
the area include 10,000 residential
units, cultural facilities, commercial
developments, and a transportation
hub that will link bus, light rail, and
commuter rail systems.
-------
CONTACTS:
For more information contact
U.S. EPA-Region 8 (800) 227-8917
Or visit EPA's Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
The Salt Lake City Pilot performed environmental assessments on all 325 parcels in the Gateway District,
and the degree of contamination proved to be far less than expected. The first 30 acres
that have been redeveloped are now home to the Gateway, which recently opened
for business. This site was developed by the Boyer Company, who invested $375
million to create two million square feet of shops, restaurants, office space,
and housing; a 12-screen movie theater; and other attractions, which in the
future will include a children's museum and a planetarium. Adjacent to the
retail area is an attractive housing development that includes 350 apartments
and 150 condominiums. The apartments are completed and filling fast. The
condominiums are still under construction but will soon be available for sale.
Of these 500 units, 156 have been specifically designated for low-to moderate-
income tenants. The open-air design of the Gateway features tree-lined
promenades, park benches, and old-fashioned lampposts and is centered around
the historic Union Pacific Depot, which underwent a $15 million renovation as
part of the Gateway development. Retail sales and taxes are expected to generate
$20 million annually, and property taxes will contribute $5 million to Salt Lake City's
revenue. Approximately 7,300 new jobs will be created in the Gateway, and as of
spring 2003, nearly 4,000 people are employed at the Gateway. Salt Lake City's TRAX light rail
runs directly in front of the Gateway center, and the master plan for the Gateway District includes a
transportation hub that will include bus, light rail, commuter rail, and Amtrak services.
Several other projects are in the works for the 650-acre Gateway District, with the goal of
creating neighborhoods that combine residential, commercial, retail, community, and
open space reuses. This plan includes the 500 West Park Blocks—an $18.6
million effort that includes overall street and infrastructure improvements and
construction of 100-foot-wide, landscaped park blocks. Along 500 West Street,
Artspace, Inc., a nonprofit development company, completed their Bridge
Project in September 2001. This $ 12.4 million project includes 62 affordable
housing units, office space for Tree Utah and Volunteers of America, classroom
space for the Salt Lake City Community College writing center, a public art
gallery, and offices for the Artspace Institute of Art and Imagination. Funding
for this project came from many individuals and nonprofit organizations and included
$1.25 million leveraged through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development. A Redeveloped, now_thm
Salt Lake City's Gatew
•ing portion of
•ay District.
Brownfields Success Story
Salt Lake City, Utah
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-03-014
May 2003
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
------- |