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Old Posted Jan 6, 2008, 6:36 PM
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No doubt the seismic upgrade and rejuvenation of Salt Lake City's iconic Temple Square Campus is huge by any standard. Tradesmen in the know continue to try and guess as to the cost of such a mammoth project. While no exact dollar amount has been officially released to the general public all agree the sum total is in the multiple billions.

Recently, one of Salt Lake's two preeminent newspapers, 'The Salt Lake Tribune' delved into what comes after this latest round of Temple Square redevelopment. Here are excerpts from that article which confirmed many common rumors circulated widely throughout the religious and secular community for many years now. Keep in mind that many of the redevelopment ideas will undergo several reiterations. However, many of the forward-thinking proposals that were presented were a solid foundation upon which Salt Lake City's northern downtown sector will likely undergo a continued major renaissance over the upcoming decade leading up to the 2034 Olympics.

Current Temple Square setup. Note in upcoming plans how the structures fronting the Historic Temple at the north and south will be demolished and replaced in different positions in their relationship to the Temple itself. The more modern structures that previously fronted the Temple on both north and south sides will be removed and new structures with a more historic vibe will be constructed and mover further toward the east and west ends of the Temple. This will open up from the main throughfares the architectural beauty of the historic structures approach. Landscaping and water features will also be redeveloped, again affording the historic Temple improved outward embracing site lines.

Note, a significant part of the redevelopment is subterranean structures and seismic upgrades.

In this aerial below notice the mostly empty 20 acres of parking immediately to the west of the Temple Campus. That is the area that will see most of the major upcoming redevelopment spoken of by the Tribune article as soon as the current focus is completed. Even though loathed in recent years by the community itself those parking lots serve a valuable overflow purpose for the multitude of special events involving the Convention Center, the NBA arena, millions of annual tourist and pilgrim visits, and the L.D.S. Church's myriad of special events. However, if Salt Lake's past and recent history is any indication, the valuable parking space will move underground two or more levels


Rendering of sightline improvement views from the street perspective to the north. Compare renderings below to pre-redevelopment blocked street views of the pre-construction photo of Temple Square above.

Rendering of sightline improvement views from the street perspective to the south. Street views of the prominent historic Temple itself were formerly blocked by a solid wall and modern-day structural additions.

Last edited by delts145; Feb 27, 2024 at 4:06 PM.
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