Salt Lake's "city within a city" opened its doors to the public Thursday as 60 of the project's 84 retailers celebrated their grand openings.
Among the major retailers opening their doors were Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic and Galyan's Sporting Goods, the center's largest retail tenant, occupying 94,000 square feet.
Other retailers, like Abercrombie & Fitch, are scheduled to open in the coming days.
Salt Lake's newest centerpiece also will be home to the Children's Museum of Utah and the Hansen Planetarium, scheduled to open after the Olympics.
The $375 million Gateway project, built by Salt Lake-based The Boyer Co., includes 400,000 square feet of office space, 675,000 of retail and entertainment space, and high-end condominiums and apartments available next spring.
Thursday's ballyhooed grand opening was to feature appearances by Gov. Mike Leavitt, Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson, former Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini, Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Mitt Romney and former professional baseball great Steve Garvey.
Early Thursday, construction workers were hauling away debris, washing windows and welding guardrails around walkways as they scrambled to complete work in preparation for the grand opening.
The Boyer Co. did manage to speed the pace at the Salt Lake City building inspector's office. Usually it takes five to seven working days to obtain an occupancy permit for a commercial building, "but with the urgency of Gateway, we're trying to turn them around in an eight-hour workday," said Pam Thomas of the building licensing office.
Late Thursday morning, Thomas said only two Gateway structures had their permits: Building A-2, which houses 10 retail stores and seven restaurants, and the 12-screen movie theater.
However, she said she expected an afternoon rush of Boyer Co. officials, who would need to show that their structures had passed fire-safety tests by the end of the workday. Twenty-five occupancy-permit applications were piled on her desk at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, awaiting proof of fire safety and approval from city building inspector Larry Wiley.
Twenty-seven of the retail shops will open later, anywhere from Nov. 15 through Feb. 1. For example, Victoria's Secret will open Nov. 8, and Starbucks is set to have coffee ready for patrons Nov. 15.
Thursday's activities are the culmination of years of planning by Boyer, which unveiled plans for the center in December 1999 that included new construction and a $15 million renovation of the historic Union Pacific train depot.
The depot will serve as the main entrance to the complex, hailed as the city's largest commercial development ever.
The strategically placed Gateway — near the Delta Center and the end of the TRAX light rail line — is expected to generate $20 million annually in sales taxes and another $5 million in real estate taxes. The idea is that it will become a place for people to live, work and play, extending into the evening hours shopping, eating and entertainment options for visitors and tenants.
Among those options is a new movie theater operated by the Larry H. Miller Group, called Megaplex 12, and a food court. Adding to the ambience are about 235 trees, 120 planters and 155 street lamps sprinkled throughout the project.
Randy Bush, general manager of the Galyan's store, said visitors to Gateway will have plenty to do, including several activities — such as those at the museum, planetarium and his store — that don't fall into the category of what is offered at traditional shopping centers. His store features a 70-foot-tall climbing wall, supposedly the tallest in the United States available to the public, and it is available at no charge.
"My impression is the center is going to do well," he said. "I have a fondness for open-air facilities like this. . . . I think it's a good place to gather. It doesn't have to be a shopping destination. It can be a recreation destination."
The 2002 Olympic Winter Games are expected to generate plenty of visibility for the new center. Gateway will be only a block away from the nightly awards ceremonies for the Games and also will be close to the 10,000 or so media that will be working from the Salt Palace. It also will house the Olympic Legacy Plaza, with pavers, a wall of honor and a fountain honoring the athletes.
Four major construction companies — Big-D, Bud Bailey, Layton and Okland — have worked feverishly on the fast-track construction project.
One of the major office tenants at Gateway will be the State Board of Regents, which will occupy the three top floors at the Gateway 2 office building. The organization will have about 52,566 square feet.
E-MAIL: danderton@desnews.com , bwallace@desnews.com
Contributing: Diane Urbani