Dee Brewer says he hears weekly about how much Utah’s capital city has changed over the last 10 years.
New towers and countless apartment complexes have popped up over the past decade as Salt Lake City is now the most populated it has ever been. The downtown economy also shifted from being driven by traditional office workers to being spurred by bars, restaurants and entertainment.
But Brewer, executive director at the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance, has a new response to that comment these days: Buckle up.
The Downtown Alliance hosted its annual "State of Downtown" Thursday at the Delta Center, focused heavily on major projects being considered for the downtown neighborhood and greater downtown areas ahead of the 2034 Winter Olympics.
Downtown leaders were energized as they talked about the Olympics, the city's recent agreement with Smith Entertainment Group over a "sports, entertainment, culture and convention district" surrounding the Delta Center and plans to build around the Rio Grande Depot.
They say it could build into what downtown Salt Lake City has become, while it could also potentially rekindle some of what it once was.
"The next 10 years is going to be an even sharper ascension with all the investments that are happening," Brewer told KSL.com, standing in a room overlooking a downtown on the cusp of a major makeover.
Salt Lake City now
About 20.2 million total visits to downtown Salt Lake City — or about 55,300 visits per day — were recorded last year, an 11% increase from 2022, the Downtown Alliance reported Thursday. The figure is based on people who spent at least 90 minutes in the downtown area. People who don't live or work in downtown Salt Lake City accounted for nearly two-thirds of all visits last year, coming for leisure, conventions, sports and other events.
Salt Lake County tourism generated $5.8 billion in visitor spending last year largely because of downtown visitation. The average convention delegate spent $950 in the city, according to the report. Brewer said the traffic was the highest when the Salt Palace Convention Center, Delta Center and other event venues were in use.
"Our downtown economy is a social economy," he said.
That wasn't always the case. Downtown Salt Lake City's activity had long been tied to office worker occupancy up until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which is when more leisure-oriented visitation became the primary driver of traffic.
Worker occupancy hasn't fully recovered yet. Salt Lake City's daily downtown workforce grew from 18,788 people in 2022 to 23,673 last year. It's currently listed at 24,001, which is significantly up from 2020 and 2021 but nowhere near the 36,745 daily workers averaged in 2019.
Its slow recovery exists, even though Class A office space — the newest and most state-of-the-art workplaces — is still strong. Over 80% of the more than 1.1 million square feet of Class A office space downtown is occupied, compared to about 65% of 1.7 million square feet of Class B office spaces.
It's a key reason some developers are converting older office spaces into residential housing, like the South Temple Tower and Northwest Pipeline Building.
Salt Lake City on the horizon
Amenities are a big reason businesses are drawn to Class A space. The hottest spaces are close to food, arts, entertainment and shopping. Those types of amenities are being proposed through the proposed Downtown Revitalization District, Green Loop, Main Street Promenade and other projects that could be built over the next decade.
On top of that, downtown is becoming more residential. There are at least a half-dozen new housing projects slated to open by the end of 2025. The Downtown Alliance estimates the greater downtown area, including parts outside of downtown, will reach 27,000 in 10 years, which would be an 87% increase from 2023.
There are so many projects in the pipeline that Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced on Wednesday she's hired Jesse Dean to serve as the city's new senior adviser of real estate and capital projects. Dean — who previously worked in major roles for both the Downtown Alliance and Central Wasatch Commission — will begin his job next week, overseeing the development of projects in or near downtown.
In a statement, he said downtown spaces "require thoughtful and continued capital investment" and that's what he intends to facilitate with his new role.
"I am looking forward to working with both the public and private sectors on these key projects that will enhance our community's liveability, economic vitality and overall appeal for generations to come," he said.
The growth is expected to generate a 34% increase in annual downtown visits by 2034. But can all the projects bring office workers back downtown?
Maybe, Brewer says. He expects more Class A towers will be announced over the next few years as downtown continues to change. It just depends on what office work will look like in the future.
"I don't think anybody expects we're going to have the same kind of five-days-a-week intensity that we used to," he said. "But office space is being reimagined. It'll still be an important recruiting piece and an important socialization piece. ... Office (space) is absolutely a part of the equation downtown."
Its return would be another major change over the next decade.