It was my first time attending something like this, and I thought the process was fascinating. The architects from Pelli Clarke and Pelli seemed very open to questions and concerns from the community, and encouraged more public input via Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/NewPerformingArtsCenter or their website
http://www.utahperformingartscenter.org/ ...so even if you're an out-of-towner who can't make the face-to-face workshops, there are ways for you to contribute.
It was nice to see Future Mayor and T-Mac in person again, and there were several lurkers who hang out here but don't often contribute. It was a good nerdy time.
There were times that I felt like the conversation got derailed by people with very specific questions that could have been better resolved with a side conversation: things like the size and number and design of black box theaters vs rehearsal space, and what seemed like an endless discussion about semi trucks. But those were the concerns of those community members, so they're not invalid.
I was very pleased with the amount of time that was spent on Regent Street; they did talk about engaging Main Street and creating more porous connections from Main to Regent; but they clearly want to take advantage of the Regent connection from City Creek to Gallivan Center. The Retail Guy for the project was excited about the prospect of some south Regent Street restaurant (or something) that would pull people along that corridor. City Creek has done what it can to direct the eye and people towards Regent Street; now there has to be something there for them to see. In my notes that I submitted at the end of the evening, I said that ideally I'd love to see "small, unique retail spaces," along the lines of the stuff that's happening on the north and west sides of Pioneer Park--where Caputo's and that Belgian place and bike shop etc. are.
The architects seemed more excited about the idea of a Winter Garden as a lobby and walkway from Main to Regent than anyone else in the room, but that may have grown out of discussions at the first workshop. It does sound like they're working toward a shared lobby with the office tower, but they emphasized several times that the tower is a question mark--it's being designed by Hamilton Partners, and although Pelli is working together with them, any design questions are out of Pelli's hands. I tried to underscore that it would add visibility to the UPAC to have a nicely designed tower, with added presence on 100 South, but I think they already know all of that.
The green roof terraces and gardens came up several times, and the picture they kept using was of the High Line in NYC. Participants seemed to like that idea, possibly with an added retail component up there.
The parking situation for that block was described as ideal, with no need to spend money on additional parking; I was surprised that TRAX didn't come up as well, although the station already in place, I suppose that's a given.
For the most part, it seems like the UPAC project is in good hands. They seemed to understand SLC, the site, and the situation as well as any "outsider" could, and it was nice to have at least the opportunity to give our two cents about the process. There were a few times that they'd say something that just doesn't seem possible, like "Orpheum Avenue providing a good entryway to the Regent Street side of the theater," but those were only a few, and on minor issues.
I think that's all I got.
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