Japantown institutions weigh opportunities and questions in downtown district plan

FOX 13 reported that Smith Entertainment Group has released its first renderings for a three-block downtown Salt Lake City entertainment district, with housing, shops, offices, hotels and pedestrian connections between the Delta Center and City Creek. Renderings show a reoriented Delta Center entrance, a hotel and a 6,000-seat Live Nation music venue expected to host 80 to 120 concerts a year. ^[1]

Along Japantown Street, SEG chairman Ryan Smith said 400 feet of loading docks would be replaced with retail, office space, streetscape and murals. Rolen Yoshinaga, a Salt Lake Buddhist Temple board member, said the temple, which owns its building and a narrow adjacent parcel, is considering whether to develop the property in a way that generates revenue, and that more foot traffic could help. ^[1]

Yoshinaga said open questions include access to services during construction, parking, vibration near the more-than-century-old Japanese Church of Christ and concert-truck traffic. He said the community also wants the Obon and Nihon Matsuri festivals to continue. SEG said demolition on the core district is expected to begin early next year, with completion before the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. ^[1]