City Creek, the Great and Spacious

[_The Dude]

Was told by a fervent Mormon today that if I go to Utah this summer I have to see City Creek. The church contributed 1 billion dollars to help Salt Lake City build a shopping center in down town.

Is that accurate?

Sounds like they were just being good neighbors and doing some charity for the city.

[_moksha]

The actual cost is currently undergoing revision. Upon opening, the Deseret News gave the projected cost from 2001 as the ending cost, $1.5 billion. That number may actually be lowered by November.

However, as for now the genetically engineered trout still weigh in at $155 million.

[_moksha]

Doing a little research lead me to more on two figures. $1.5 Billion is indeed the estimated cost for the mall, and the $5 billion figure is for the estimated cost of the entire redevelopment plan.

Ran into some more figures that might be interesting:

Mall of America in Bloomington, MN and City Creek Mall in SLC, UT:

Mall of America
4.2 million square feet
$650,200,000 in 1992
$997,288,392 in today's dollars

City Creek Mall
700,000 square feet of retail space, plus more in the residential section.

Canada has the largest mall in total square feet in North America and a mall in Dubai is the "largest" in total sq ft. The Dubai mall is the most visited of all malls.

So perhaps we can become the Dubai of the Great Basin.

[_Drifting]

The Church funded the entire project (using cash not loans), including condominiums and office towers. The Church brought a partner (Taubmen) in to run the retail letting side of things and pays them a commission on the rents received.

[_harmony]

The Church funded the entire project (using cash not loans), including condominiums and office towers. The Church brought a partner (Taubmen) in to run the retail letting side of things and pays them a commission on the rents received.

Not that I don't believe you, because I do, but it would help my cause considerably if you could provide documentation for this information.

Thanks in advance.

[_Drifting]

The Church funded the entire project (using cash not loans), including condominiums and office towers. The Church brought a partner (Taubmen) in to run the retail letting side of things and pays them a commission on the rents received.

Not that I don't believe you, because I do, but it would help my cause considerably if you could provide documentation for this information.

Thanks in advance.

Harmony, this information is collated from news and articles readily available on the Internet. The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News have had numerous stories validating this. Whilst the total amount for the whole project is hard to establish (but is clearly somewhere between 1.5 and 5 billion dollars depending on which parts of the project you include) the other facts are out there. Hinckley himself explained early on that the Church was using liquid funds.

Just have a search through the articles produced.

[_Drifting]

Harmony,

SALT LAKE CITY — The Mormon church is attempting to remake downtown Salt Lake City by opening the shopping mall portion of a $2 billion mixed-use space that spans two city blocks.

Church partner and retail operator Taubman Centers Inc. expect 50,000 visitors on Thursday, when City Creek Center's nearly 90 stores open.

City Creek Center has outdoor walkways, retractable glass roofs and a winding creek. Waterfalls, fountains and a trout pond are part of the village-like development, which includes condominiums and is joined by a pedestrian bridge over Main Street.

The residential towers were built by City Creek Reserve Inc., a for-profit firm owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church is a multibillion-dollar organization with tentacles in business and real estate.

The church paid for City Creek Center with cash and says no member tithing was used. For the most part, it will be like other shopping malls, except that the stores close on Sundays — the church wanted the day of peace for its nearby Temple Square.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7655 ... ntown.html

[_Drifting]

Harmony,

At 700,000 square feet, City Creek is special for several reasons. Burton and his secular counterpart William Taubman developed the megamall at a time when retail projects of that size aren’t often constructed anymore.

What’s more, the project, estimated to cost up to $2 billion, was bankrolled by the development arm of the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which did not use outside financing or draw on tithes made by its worldwide membership. Finally, the massive project provided close to 2,000 construction jobs at a time when the economy was in a deep recession.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/5382 ... e.html.csp

[_Phaedrus Ut]

I visited the mall last weekend and I have to say I was really underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong it's a nice mall but for the price tag I was expecting something quite remarkable. The luxury goods stores were quite nice but I didn't see them doing much business. However, the Disney Store and the Cheesecake Factory were packed!

The development was 2 times the cost of the Burj Khalifa with 1/4 of the square footage. The economics just don't make sense.


Phaedrus

[_sock puppet]

The development was 2 times the cost of the Burj Khalifa with 1/4 of the square footage. The economics just don't make sense.


Phaedrus

Especially inasmuch as they are conceding all downtown mall sales on Sundays to the Gateway Mall.