Downtown Salt Lake City is trading office workers for residents
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Jim Urquhart for the Washington Post via Getty Images
Downtown is no longer just a place to catch a Utah Jazz game, see your favorite play or make questionable decisions at Twilite Lounge.
- Instead, people are increasingly choosing to call it home.
By the numbers: Downtown's residential population rose by 9% between 2024 and 2025, according to a new Downtown Alliance report.
Why it matters: Downtown is projected to attract $10 billion in investment over the next decade, driven by the 2034 Winter Games, a new sports and entertainment district, a renovated convention center and other projects, per the report.
- It describes the coming years as the neighborhood's "most consequential" decade in more than 100 years.
The big picture: Even more striking, Downtown Alliance executive director Dee Brewer said, is that downtown's residential population grew 63% between 2019 and 2025, reflecting the neighborhood's post-pandemic shift.
- Meanwhile, downtown has 32% fewer workers than it did in 2019.
What they're saying: "For decades, downtown was a vertical office park. Bringing residents downtown is changing it into a neighborhood," Brewer told Axios.
The intrigue: More than half of downtown residents are under 30 and have at least a bachelor's degree, according to the report.
- The vast majority commute less than 10 miles from home to work.
- They're more likely to be single and not own a car compared with other Wasatch Front residents.
By the numbers: Consumers spent $2.1 billion on downtown shopping, dining, entertainment and accommodations last year, up 6.1% from 2024, per the analysis.
Zoom in: One of downtown's biggest challenges is its lack of green space and tree canopy, making it harder for people to linger, said Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who noted that less than 2% of downtown is green space.
- "It matters more and more every year as our summers get hotter," she said.
- That's why renovations to the Civic Center, home to Library and Washington squares, is one of her administration's top priorities, Mendenhall said.
What we're watching: The Salt Palace Convention Center, which hosts about 200 conventions per year, is expected to close for major renovations next fall for three years.
- A portion of the convention center was sold to Smith Entertainment Group, owners of Utah's NBA and NHL teams, for $55 million last April, per KSL.
- Brewer expects the closure to affect downtown, though how much "remains to be seen."