This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
City Creek Center, one of the largest shopping complexes in development nationally, will be more than 90 percent occupied when it opens a year from now, officials said Tuesday.
"There will probably be some empty storefronts," said Linda Wardell, general manager for Taubman Centers Inc., "but the majority of retailers will be open, and we anticipate all the restaurants will be, too."
With more construction milestones reached every day, Taubman unveiled a clock Tuesday in the downtown Salt Lake City project that counts down the days, hours and minutes to the retail center's March 22, 2012, opening date.
Taubman, a prominent mall owner and developer, is partnering on the retail center with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is constructing the overall City Creek development that spans two city blocks and also includes offices, condominiums and apartments.
Adjacent to the City Creek development will be a Harmon's grocery store that's set to open in spring 2012, although Harmon's officials wouldn't say Tuesday whether it will coincide with the debut of the shopping center.
By any standard, City Creek Center is a large and complex project, with 700,000 square feet of space; room for an estimated 80 specialty stores and restaurants; a stream that will run through it; two 18-foot waterfalls; a sky bridge connecting the two halves of the center over Main Street; and two retractable roofs. It will be anchored by Nordstrom and Macy's
Although Taubman officials released the projected occupancy for opening day, Wardell wouldn't divulge the names of any retail or restaurant tenants. Those announcements will begin in May.
The 90 percent occupancy estimate is in line with the challenging economic times and the fact that fewer retailers are expanding, said Brett Palmer, a retail specialist with commercial brokerage Mountain West Retail/Investment Commercial Real Estate in Salt Lake City.
"I think that the 90 percent — if, in fact, that's where they end up — would be in line with what you would expect," Palmer said. "If this was pre-recession, it would be more likely to be totally or nearly filled up when they opened."
A year out, an early version of the food court is already open, as well as a Deseret Book and Blue Lemon eatery. On opening day, the food court will have an indoor play area for children.
On Tuesday, Taubman announced these other milestones:
• The sky bridge over Main Street is about 75 percent complete; the retail portion of the center is about 80 percent complete; and the center's retractable glass roofs are 90 percent complete.
• The re-creation of historic City Creek, which will flow through the shopping center, is under way.
• Most of the restored cast iron of the historic ZCMI store facade, which will be the Main Street face of Macy's, has been installed. Glass installation behind the cast iron will begin this week.
• The 155,000-square-foot Macy's is fully enclosed, and steel framing for the two-level, 125,000-square-foot Nordstrom is complete and concrete flooring is being poured.
The two anchors were part of ZCMI and Crossroads malls, which were demolished to make way for construction of City Creek. Both have been closed in downtown Salt Lake City for more than four years.
"We're very excited we're only a year out from opening the new store and everything is on schedule," said Nordstrom spokewoman Brooke White. Hiring is likely to start late this year or early in 2012, she said.