Why do SEG and the County want to tear down Abravanel Hall?

We have no real plan from any of the parties involved, so let’s just speculate. The image above (my speculation) is that SEG wants to create a new “street” or plaza in the middle of the blocks that contain the convention center, UMOCA, and Abravanel Hall. This street, if it goes straight through, would plow through Abravanel and UMOCA, requiring their demolition.

The are multiple ideas being cast out by the principals here. We don’t know which is actually the motive, but here is what they’ve said or shown….

1. The city needs the east-west connection to be restored. It’s true that 100 South was blocked when the convention center was built and blocking a street is always a bad idea, particularly in Salt Lake City. The easiest way to connect through is probably to restore 100 South as a pedestrian street. I was able to easily walk through this way the other day, sneaking through the loading dock. There is a slight elevation change, but this is not a difficult project. Loading dock is a huge mess, too, but we don’t see any attention to that.
2. The Delta Center absolutely must be the center of focus and public adoration. Bright lights, big signs, huge pedestrian plaza with thousands of people just wandering around, just like LA Live or Atlanta. All oriented to face the New Delta Center. Where will they get all those people? Why is the Delta Center the new Center of Downtown? What happened to Temple Square?
3. We should demolish our precious concert hall cause it costs too much to repair it. Mayor Jenny Wilson has been showing off a master plan for Abravanel Hall that requires about $200 million. I’ve analyzed this and it seems that this plan has doubled the net square feet of the existing building. That’s no way to treat an irreplaceable treasure. Hmmmm…
4. The cheapest way forward is to demolish Abravanel Hall and UMOCA and to build a replacement convention center addition underground and a new concert hall on top. Does this sound sensible? Anybody? New concert halls cost about $500 million. That’s before you build a ballroom underneath them.

Ok that’s it for now…

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