Salt Lake City's Gateway
District—Rails to Revitalization
R
Salt Lake City, UT
. ail lines and rail yards have been a fixture of Salt Lake City's
historic Gateway District since the late 1800s. Located just three
blocks west of Main Street, the 650-acre Gateway District was once
home to bustling immigrant communities and thriving businesses.
Although the presence of the railroad initially helped to develop the area,
ultimately it became a hindrance as the district grew and the presence
of three rail yards and rail lines in the streets limited accessibility. When
Interstate Highway 15 was built in the 1960s on the western edge of the
Gateway District, four on/off-ramps were constructed to bypass the
railroad tracks. Shadowed by the off-ramps, cut off by the Interstate,
and potentially contaminated by more than 100 years of rail and
industrial use, the area received little public or private investment.
Today, through a focused effort among the city, state transportation
officials, the railroad, and federal agencies, this Brownfields Showcase
Community area is being revitalized.
Showcase Communities are selected by the Brownfields National
Partnership to demonstrate that through cooperation, federal, state,
local, and private efforts can be concentrated around brownfields to
restore these sites, stimulate economic development, and revitalize
communities. Showcase Communities serve as models for broad-based
cooperative efforts to support locally based initiatives. Showcases
receive up to $400,000 from EPA for both environmental assessments
and to support the loan of a federal employee to the Showcase for up to
three years. Showcase Communities receive additional financial and
technical support from the Partnership's more than 20 federal partners,
depending on the community need and program eligibility.
Despite its proximity to the city's central business district, the Gateway
District might have been shuffled aside indefinitely had Salt Lake City
not been selected to host the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. When the
State of Utah decided to rebuild and widen Interstate 15, Salt Lake City
seized this as an opportunity to revitalize the Gateway District. The city
successfully negotiated with Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), the sole
provider of rail service to industries in the District, to remove its rails
from the streets. The city also convinced UPRR to sell its three rail
yards in the Gateway area. Amtrak, which used UPRR's lines, has
moved to a new station location that will eventually be part of a 10,000-
square-foot Intermodal Transit Hub. The city then turned to the state
Department of Transportation to negotiate shortened on/off-ramps from
continued r
A brownfieldin Salt Lake City's
Gateway District, prior to
redevelopment.
JUST THE FACTS:
• Using EPA Brownfields Assessment
Pilot and Showcase Community
funding, rail yards and several
properties in the District underwent
environmental assessments.
• Perception of the area's
contamination proved worse than
reality—conditions were good enough
that redevelopment could proceed
without significant cleanup.
• A private development group
purchased the largest rail yard, and in
November 2001 began a $375 million
mixed-use, mixed-income
development effort.
Located just blocks from
Main Street, the 650-acre Gateway
District was once home to bustling
immigrant communities and thriving
businesses. More recently, cut off by
Interstate Highway 15 and potentially
contaminated, the area received little
public or private investment. Now,
through a focused effort among the
city, state transportation officials, the
railroad, and federal agencies,
the area is being revitalized.
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CONTACTS:
For more information on EPA's Showcase
Communities, contact Tony Raia of OSWER's
Office of Brownfields Cleanup and
Redevelopment at (202) 566-2758
Or visit EPA's Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.aov/brownfields/
1-15, to allow traffic to flow directly into the Gateway District. In January 2002, the city selected an
architectural team to begin design of the Transit Hub. This team includes a local artist, an historic
planner, a landscape architect, and transportation engineers. Construction on the
hub is scheduled to begin in April 2003.
Despite these successes, unknown environmental conditions in several
areas of the city still stood as a barrier to planning and redevelopment.
Through a Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot grant from
EPA, as well as Showcase Community funding, the rail yards and
several properties in the District underwent environmental
assessments. As expected, there was some contamination, but
perception was worse than reality—conditions were good enough that
redevelopment could proceed without significant cleanup. Gateway
Associates, a private development group, purchased the largest rail
yard, and in November 2001 began a $375 million mixed-use, mixed-
income development that incorporates the historic Union Pacific Rail
Depot. Ultimately, this project will include 2.5 million square feet of space
for retail, entertainment, office, and cultural facilities, including a children's
museum; a public plaza; a 300-room hotel; and 500 residential units. During the
winter Olympic games, 330 of these residential units were used for media housing, and
more than 80 percent of the units have since been leased by tenants.
Once plans were underway, the city focused on the infrastructure improvements needed to support
new development. The city purchased land needed to reconstruct the main street and build a 100-
foot-wide linear park immediately west of the Union Pacific Rail Depot and former rail yard. With an
estimated cost of more than $11.2 million, the project will consist of infrastructure improvements, land
acquisition, environmental assessments, and the construction of landscaped "Park Blocks." The
federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) provided $1.27 million in assistance for project
construction to support the 7,300 to 10,000 new jobs expected to be created in the area. The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided $500,000 in funding under its
Economic Development Initiative to purchase land for a future phase of the project. The first phase
of this project was completed in April 2002, and a ribbon cutting was attended by EPA,
EDA, and HUD. The second section of park area is expected to be finished in
Spring 2003. With help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, there are also
plans to restore a creek and create a greenspace corridor from the new park
area to recreational space along the Jordan River to provide regional
recreational connections. A preliminary study conducted for this project
estimated costs at just over $21 million.
Through the combined efforts of the city and its redevelopment agency, the
railroad, EPA, other federal agencies, and private investors, there is new
hope for jobs for area residents and opportunity for private investment, a cleaner
environment, and a revitalized Gateway community. T^e refurbished Union Pacific
Depot site in Salt Lake City.
Brownfields Success Story
Salt Lake City, UT
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-02-164
December 2002
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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