Millcreek, a suburb of Salt Lake City and Utah’s newest municipality, debuted its City Hall in November after a coordinated effort years in the making.
The six-story, mixed-used building is located near Millcreek Common, 1330 E. Chambers Ave., an entertainment venue offering year-round public activities including ice skating and roller skating. Together, they make up what’s been called a new city center for Millcreek. The project has been selected by a panel of local industry professionals as the winner of the 2024 CoStar Impact Award for redevelopment of the year for Salt Lake City.
The city center replaced several run-down industrial and retail buildings and was recognized for breathing new life into the area between Highland Drive and 1300 East. Millcreek adopted a general plan shortly after its incorporation in 2016 and brought on key staff members such as Planning Director Francis Lilly and City Manager/Economic Development Director Mike Winder to assist in putting the plan into action.
About the Project: Preliminary work discovered that a significant Salt Lake Valley fault line runs directly through the city center development site, so the planning team shifted City Hall to the west.
What the Judges Said: “Redevelopment speaks for itself. This was a great all-hands-on-deck project that will have lasting impact. ... This is exactly what you want a redevelopment project to bring to an area: increased housing, retail and jobs,” Jordan Johnson, senior commercial leasing manager, City Creek Reserve.
“Millcreek City Hall is an exciting mixed-use project, combining public administration spaces, community spaces, and outdoor public spaces for various functions. Once fully completed, the development will also include residential components and provide much-needed housing for the area. The development has revitalized the immediate site and its surrounding neighborhood, and it created a vibrant community gathering space. The architectural design of the Millcreek City Hall also needs to be recognized, since sustainability considerations were paramount in the design of the structural systems, material choices, daylight, and incorporation of renewable energy sources. This development is a wonderful example of what contemporary civic buildings should be,” Ajla Aksamija, architecture professor, University of Utah.
“It’s a very creative use of a new center or “downtown” in a sleepy suburb. Complete with an ice rink and ice cream truck!” James Merrill, partner, cRc Nationwide.
They made it happen: Jeff Silvestrini, mayor; Silvia Catten, councilmember; Thom DeSirant, councilmember; Cheri Jackson, councilmember; Bev Uipi, councilmember; Peggy McDonough, president, MHTN Architects; Matt Haverkamp, president, Spectrum Engineers; Jeremy Blanck, project executive, Okland Construction; Trevor Price, associate engineer, Horrocks Engineering; Stacy Davis, renewable energy director, Rocky Mountain Power.