I wish I still had these photos. They were wiped from the internet many years ago. It would be interesting to go back and revisit the area 16 and 12 years after this update. I remember a great deal of talk about this area being on the cusp of something great in 2003 and then again in 2007 and, as you can see, even continued in through 2013. But it seems like, with most neighborhood-specific projects (outside SugarHouse) there's minor success and, unfortunately, a whole lot of failure.
From memory, I can go ahead and try to piece together these old descriptions to what it looks like today (well, as today as Google Maps shows). It's not a direct comparison, as we'd have no photos, but I guess I can also use the 2007 street view for reference if needed. So, let's attempt to figure this out!
Here is the auto shop I believe I was talking about in 2007 - as by then it was abandoned:
This is the site today:
Future Mayor joked about this development. I'd say, compared to 2003, this corner is definitely
worse since, back then, there was at least a charming auto shop. But by 2007, it was abandoned and, yeah, I guess even a meh Dollar Tree is better than an abandoned building and empty lot.
Kitty-corner to the above was, in 2003, a bunch of abandoned houses and, in 2007, an empty lot waiting in anticipation for the Marmalade Project. This is what it looked like in 2007:
This is now (well, as of 2018):
At least there's been some development. The library is there and we now have some residential units going up off 500 North but the area has failed to live up to its potential to what was initially proposed over twelve-years ago.
Next are the two complexes that were to be renovated into the Marmalade Courtyard. This is what the site looked like in 2007, which remained relatively unchanged from what it looked like in 2003:
This is the site as of July, 2018:
These were supposed to be renovated as part of the project. I am not sure if that has happened.
I believe this was the lounge I was talking about that was for sale in 2003 - and again in 2007:
This is today:
Across the street, back in 2007, was an empty lot:
But now there's at least some residential:
Some homes I spoke to in 2007 and how they looked:
In 2018:
MUCH better.
The area has definitely improved but only at a snail's pace. Most the improvement has happened right on 300 West, as the residential areas around the street look pretty much the same. The retail space Future Mayor spoke of in 2013 as being vacant...was still mostly vacant in 2018:
Though it was an empty lot in 2007.
But, really, the area has mostly remained unchanged in the nearly two-decades. There's been minor cosmetic changes, more residential, but nothing significant. Which is a shame.