Downtown Rising 2035:
Beyond the Games
Overview
Downtown Rising 2035 is a community-informed vision designed to guide downtown investment and shape Downtown SLC’s long-term Olympic legacy. With more than $10 billion in investments coming to downtown over the next decade, a shared vision is essential to ensure that growth strengthens downtown and keeps it authentic, accessible, and welcoming to all.
Building on Two Decades
of Bold Vision
» Downtown Salt Lake City has a proven history of community-driven visioning.
» In 2007, Downtown Rising brought stakeholders together to chart a bold course for our city's core.
» In 2016, The Downtown Plan built on that foundation, guiding investments that have transformed our streets, businesses, and public spaces.
» In 2026, we stand at the threshold of unprecedented growth, it's time to write the next chapter.
A Defining Moment for Our Downtown
Over $10 billion in transformational investment is coming to downtown over the next decade. The Delta Center and entertainment district. A reimagined Salt Palace Convention Center. Temple Square's grand reopening. The University of Utah developing housing and programming downtown. The Power District anchored by a Major League Baseball team. The 2034 Winter Olympic Games!
This is our moment–not just to build–but to build with coordination and intention for our common future.
A Community-Informed
Visioning Process
Downtown Rising 2035 contemplates past successes while exploring opportunities and challenges created by future investments. These opportunities and challenges will be evaluated through the lens of five aspirations used in previous efforts: to make Downtown Beautiful, Prosperous, Green, Community-focused, and Connected.
Through expert guidance, stakeholder engagement, and community dialogue, we will gather input, synthesize and test results, and make recommendations.
STEP 1
Gather
Engage stakeholders from a variety of disciplines to identify key projects and understand opportunities and challenges presented by downtown investments and capture shared values and aspirations.
Activities include conducting:
· Interviews
· Small-group meetings
· Broad community-based surveys
STEP 2
Synthesize
Develop potential strategies based on input gathered in step 1.
Activities include:
· Confer with a Technical Advisory Group of local experts
· Test strategies with Downtown stakeholder work groups
STEP 3
Develop & Publish
Draft recommendations for optimizing downtown asset development and creating a common vision for a Downtown that is a beautiful, prosperous, green, community-focused, and connected Capital City for years to come.
The Outcome
The final product will:
» Align private developers and public partners around common principles;
» Guide decision making with on-the-ground insights from those who know downtown best;
» Preserve what we love while embracing what’s next;
» Express a vision that reinforces downtown’s role in Utah’s collective future.
“The Downtown Salt Lake City community stands at an inflection point. Transformational investments are on the horizon. The spotlight of international attention will sweep across us in 2034. We have an extraordinary opportunity to shape our shared future. The conversations and agreements that we make today will echo through generations. Downtown Rising 2035 is a communal project to capture our aspirations in order to manifest a consensus of our values.”