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Who is Taking the Sugar from Our House?
by Richard Markosian
Questions Posed to Salt Lake City Council Representative Soren Simonson Regarding the Sugarhouse Granite Block Redevelopment. Check out the answers to these questions and more at UtahStories.com
Along this block there is something very unique. You almost always see people walking along here and they are spending their dollars not on chain stores like Gap, Old Navy or Footlocker. People who come are shopping at local retail spots, owned by local merchants, who in turn live here locally in Sugarhouse and spend their money locally. Do you know of any other place that is such a truly local spot than this block where are sitting on?
So my question for you is how is it when the City Council decided to rezone this block to allow for a Gateway-type development there was virtually no community involvement. There was no notice given to the tenants here that this might be coming down the pipe? There was no real debate. Why?
I guess the big question I have is this: shouldn’t a community that is supporting its local merchants and enjoying such a great little charming retail spot be able to have a say in what the retail landscape around their community should look like?
I ask this because you and I both know that when this development is completed these local merchants won’t be able to move back in, the rent will be too high— we will see bed and body works instead of Orion’s Music here, we will have Victoria’s Secret instead of Blue Boutique we’ll have Gap instead of Pib’s Exchange we will have Starbucks instead of Sugarhouse Coffee and this corner will be just like any other Anytown, USA corner, does that really sound like a nice exchange to you?
35 years ago Main Street Salt Lake City was full of local retailers that had been there for many many years. Locally owned places like Aurbachs, Baker Shoes, Keith O’brien. Then 35 years ago the city council voted to allow the building of two giant shopping malls one right across the street from the other. These malls attracted many shoppers, they economically revitalized downtown but killed nearly all the local merchants. Today 35 years later we are tearing down these malls because everyone shops at Gateway. Because the malls have gone out of style. Do you think that city planners making decisions merely in the interest of economic vitality and retail shopping trends are ruining our sense of ownership in a place and reason for involvement?
Here at Sugarhouse people really care about what is happening, people find meaning in this place because we can call it ours, what is going to happen when all we have are Wall Marts and Gaps as far as the eye can see? Do you think people are perhaps so apathetic today because they don’t feel like they belong when there is no sense of meaning and provincial locality?
Do you think that there is anything that can be done to stop this trend. I know we live in the strongest economy in the world, our GDP is enormous, but like you point out on your website so much of our landscape is soo ugly because more and more big boxes are popping up and people would rather shop at Wall Mart than a locally owned and operated shop. I don’t see anything changing and I’m afraid that things are going to get uglier before they get prettier, what do you think?
Posted by windley on March 26, 2007 12:19 PM
Comments
Im pretty sure the City Council discussed this last year and allowed for public input. Where were you?
Posted by: Some guy at March 26, 2007 01:06 PM
Natives know that Sugar House takes two words to spell, poser. ;-)
Posted by: Sugar House at March 28, 2007 06:17 PM
You lazy slugs will not struggle and save to build your own real estate empire but you seem to want to tell others what to do.
Quit being a liberal fag and go buy your own block. Only problem: you'll become the greediest slumlord ever. you'll hate utah legal services for enslaving the poverty class so that do nothing liberals can have a cause.
good for sugar house development. it is about time.
Posted by: Unitary Anne at March 29, 2007 08:10 PM
Choosing to buy your merchandise at boring chain or big-box store over unique local stores is the real Utah tradition.
It's the mentality of the majority of the people in this State. It's unfortunate, but it's the truth. Most people in Utah want big, boring and secure establishments to serve them dinner, cloth them and to provide furnishing for their home.
It's unfortunate that Craig Meecham has decided to kill the uniqueness of Sugar House for good. It's been bad enough with all the traffic an emergence of all the chain stores.
However, it is his property and he should develop it any way he pleases. I for one will be putting my house up for sale in Sugar House.
Posted by: Jason Vance at April 20, 2007 07:36 AM
This is sad. But I guess it's time somebody finally came up with a plan to run the last holdout of diversity out of Utah.
Posted by: Bryan Catherman at May 3, 2007 01:15 PM
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