City Creek on schedule, only shopping center opening in U.S. during 2012

SALT LAKE CITY — The clock is ticking
toward the highly anticipated opening of Utah's top retail
development.

Less than 60 days remain until the
scheduled March 22 grand opening of City Creek Center, a $1.5
billion downtown project that is expected to revitalize Salt
Lake City's central business district.

Upon completion, City Creek will
feature approximately 700,000 square feet of shopping and
dining space, along with 536 new condominiums or apartments.
Among the unique features of the 23-acre development are a
30,000-square-foot fully retractable glass roof, a sky bridge
over Main Street and a re-creation of City Creek, the snow-fed
stream that once meandered through the city.

City Creek general manager Linda
Wardell of Taubman Centers Inc. said the project is on schedule
for its planned March opening.

"The construction of the core (retail)
building is really already complete," she said. "We've been
(testing) all of our systems and know how they are going to
operate."

She noted that the individual retail
stores are in their "crunch time" as they work to meet their
own deadlines for the impending opening.

Experience is a big part of shopping today. Shopping really
is entertainment for a lot of people, so it has to be an
experience every time they visit.

–- Linda Wardell

"Usually, everything is simultaneously
constructed," she said. "With City Creek, because of its
mixed-used nature, the core part of our building was built
first and then the stores were built in."

Taubman will operate the retail portion
of the project, which will contain approximately 80 stores and
restaurants. Wardell said one-third of the stores at City Creek
will be unique to Utah, which will "keep bringing people back
over and over again."

Headquartered in Bloomfield Hills,
Mich., the company currently operates 26 retail shopping
centers across the country, with six others in development —
including properties in Asia and Puerto Rico.

To date, Taubman has invested about $76
million into the project.

The International Council of Shopping
Centers has said that City Creek Center will be the only retail
center opening in the U.S. in 2012, meaning the opening will
likely garner national and even global attention, Wardell
said.

Inquiries have come from media
worldwide to attend the grand opening as well as other retail
developers from around the globe. One local industry analyst
said the new development would likely help bolster the overall
strength of the entire downtown retail sector, including The
Gateway.

"Retail growth will be slower at the
beginning, but overall both projects will in time will become
thriving destination projects in the downtown area," said J.R.
Moore, vice president of retail properties with commercial real
estate firm CB Richard Ellis in Salt Lake City. "They'll fuel
each other and make downtown an even more attractive place for
shoppers and retailers."

Meanwhile, the finishing touches are
being made on one of the more fascinating retail centers of its
kind, she said.

"Experience is a big part of shopping
today," Wardell explained. "Shopping really is entertainment
for a lot of people, so it has to be an experience every time
they visit."

She noted, however, that providing the
"right collection of stores" is also essential to the overall
shopping experience. In addition, the project will also include
some of the best residential properties in the region — making
City Creek a destination for visitors from across the Mountain
West.

"You can come to this one central part
of the city and be engaged with the city in such a unique way,"
Wardell said.

Email:jlee@ksl.com

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City Creek on schedule, only shopping center opening in U.S. during 2012