Major decisions loom for downtown
Logan City officials are currently in the process of making big plans to change the face of downtown Logan and help the Logan Downtown Alliance realize its hopes and dreams.
“What we’re desiring to do is make downtown the place everybody goes to,” said Bob Marcolese, downtown manager for the Logan Downtown Alliance. “I don’t want people on Friday and Saturday night just aimlessly driving around.”
Last week, developers met with a special selection committee to discuss various plans for transforming downtown Logan. Participants included Logan Mayor Doug Thompson, Jay Nielson, director of commerce and development, Gene Needham III, president of the Logan Downtown Alliance, and other important members of the community, Marcolese said.
The meeting lasted from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., but at its end, participants were unwilling to share any information on what was discussed, and Marcolese said it was improbable that they had made any definite decisions.
Plans for redevelopment of downtown have been in the works for quite some time, but on Oct. 24, the city set a deadline for all developers who wished to participate in the redevelopment project to turn in their proposals for review.
Three proposals were submitted and Marcolese said Thompson, Nielson, and others were behind closed doors the following Monday reviewing the material which had been submitted and were deciding on who would participate in the selection process.
Although he said he was not at liberty to give any detailed information about the nature of the proposals, Marcolese did say, “the proposals will make Cache Valley and USU giddy,” and that some present at the meeting said, “It was like Christmas morning.”
These proposals for development are all rather new, however, for months now the Logan Downtown Alliance has been planning how it could make downtown the epicenter of activity in Logan. According to a letter sent out to downtown Logan business owners, the alliance is a non-profit organization and is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, based in Washington, D.C. Although it is a separate organization, the alliance is closely affiliated with the local government.
“Nothing can happen downtown without the alliance’s blessing,” Marcolese said.
As part of a national effort to preserve the historic districts of cities across America, the alliance has adopted a four-point approach to revitalizing downtown Logan, which is outlined in pamphlets put out by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Main Street Program. This program calls for the implementation of four committees: promotions, design, business development and organization.
According to information explaining these four committees “the job of the promotion committee is to promote downtown as the center of commerce, culture, and community life for residents and visitors alike.”
During the past few months, promotions in Logan included the Mums for Mom event, the Great American Sidewalk festival, with four days of live music and activities and bicycle races in September which also included live music and buffets.
Marcolese said the best of all the recent promotions was the Gallery Walk in September, when Logan citizens crowded the streets to participate in the activities.
“It looked like some of the streets in New York City,” said Marcolese, a native of New York.
Coming up this winter, the promotions committee will sponsor the Fourth Annual Parade of Gingerbread Houses. Last year’s winner will be featured in this year’s Christmas issue of “Better Homes and Gardens,” Marcolese said.
The purpose of the promotions committee is to bring people to downtown Logan, and the purpose of the design committee is to make sure the atmosphere is one they will want to come back to.
“We want them to walk in a beautiful environment,” Marcolese said.
The walls of his office are covered with sketches of plans the alliance intends to implement over the course of the next few years. Among these plans are wider downtown sidewalks with trees, planter boxes and new lamp posts for next spring, and medians with trees in them to slow traffic between 100 South and 200 North Marcolese said he even sees the possibility of a light rail system in the future.
Most impressive of all is a two-part plan to beautify the area surrounding 100 S. The first step would be to make it into a one-way street with reverse-angle parking providing 40 to 50 additional parking stalls for the Ellen Eccles Theater. The second phase would involve closing the street altogether, rerouting the canal to make it into a stream with bridges and walkways, and building an amphitheater in front of the Thatcher Mansion. The area would become a type of park with paths for biking and walking.
The traffic light at 100 South and Main Street would be removed and an underground walkway would provide passage from one side of the park to the other. The old mill at the end of the block would be turned into an underground hydroelectric plant with a restaurant built on top.
The Logan city Web site also lists plans to build a luxury hotel and conference center somewhere in Logan’s downtown area. To go along with this project the Logan-Cache Airport would be revamped to accommodate larger aircraft. The plan is to make Logan a destination not just a point that tourists pass through on their way someplace else, Marcolese said.
Other projects involve the renovation of older buildings such as the white courthouse on 200 North and Main Street.
Marcolese said he hopes that these projects will be completed by 2005, however, he does not know how the nature of the three proposals and the selection committee’s upcoming decision will affect the alliance’s plans.
Although once again he could not disclose any specific information about the proposals, Marcolese said, “The things they are discussing are 10 times better than anything [the alliance] has planned.”
The alliance’s business development committee is dedicated to bringing in exciting new retailers and restaurants.
“I would like to see upscale retailers that anchor and support existing retailers and complement them,” Marcolese said.
He said he would like to see unique restaurants like Tucci’s or the Rodizio Grill popping up in Logan, as well as new and unique retailers, similar to those at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City.
Marcolese also mentioned entertainment, noting that Logan already has excellent facilities, like the Ellen Eccles Theatre. All that needs to be done is to improve the quality and amount of entertainment available.
Speaking of the building itself Marcolese said, “[The Eccles Theatre] rivals any theater on the streets of Broadway.”
The organization committee is in charge of coordinating activities within the alliance and making sure everyone is working toward the same goal, which is to eventually win a national award for having one of the best downtown main streets in the nation. This committee also manages finances and staff for the alliance, raises money and helps promote the
program.
Marcolese also said that these improvements to downtown will be a great asset to the students, giving them a place to go to relax, have fun, and find identity.
“What I want to have is a place where people can hang out, have fun, and there is diversity of entertainment,” Marcolese said. “All this is done with the university in mind.”
Besides the recreation, Marcolese said improvements downtown will help bring better professors to the university and will provide better places of employment for the
students.
Marcolese quoted Caryn Beck-Dudley, dean of the College of Business at USU as saying, “We will not get good professors and faculty unless this downtown becomes more diverse, cultural and exciting to travel in.”
The Logan Downtown Alliance is part of the National Main Street Project which was established b
y the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. as a result of the deterioration of downtown city centers across the nation. During the 1950s and ’60s many shopping malls were built throughout the suburban areas of major cities, leading to the de-emphasizing and eventual dilapidation of downtown areas. The problem later increased as large, specialized retail stores began to replace malls.
In 1987, the National Main Street Project was formed to breathe life back into the many blighted city centers across the country. Utah became part of this project in 1993, and Logan was asked to participate as well; however, real work in Logan didn’t start until recently, said Marcolese.
In July of 2002, Thompson and Nielson, working together with Bim Oliver, state coordinator for Utah Main Street and Pioneer Communities Program, organized the Logan Downtown Alliance.
For more information on the alliance or on plans for future development projects in Logan check www.loganutah.org.
-sjeppesen@cc.usu.edu