Posted by:
GQ Cannonball
(
)
Date: March 26, 2012 02:00AM
I took the time today to walk City Creek Center, the multi-billion dollar downtown makeover recently opened by the Mormon Church and Taubman Centers, Inc. My observations:
- Overall, it looks very nice. The use of outdoor design elements, including a flaming water fountain done by the same company that does the Bellagio fountains, and the overall pedestrian feel, all work to boost downtown's appeal in spades.
- Main Street runs right through the middle of it all. The frequent passing of light rail eases access for shoppers and gives it a good urban feel. For the sake of the city itself, I hope the draw is permanent and that non-mall stores further south on Main Street get a boost too.
- The stream that runs through it has trout. We Utahns love trout. Security should be prepared to tell anyone with a 3 weight fly rod to pack it in and head home. Knowing how security runs downtown, I think they're up to that tongue-in-cheek task. Especially if the guy's fishing vest is purple and his polarized lenses are bedazzled.
- It seems fitting to see Utah's most upscale mall with The Cheesecake Factory as its showcase restaurant. Oh, there's valet parking right in front of it too.
- Foot traffic, even on a Sunday, was high. I saw a few people walk up to stores and try to go in, then walking away confused and wondering why none of the stores at such a new, fancy establishment weren't open today. The church is sticking to its guns on Sunday shopping. Will it last?
- The store lineup is pretty comprehensive. Coach, Tiffany, Porsche Design, Brooks Brothers, and Utah Woolen Mills on the high end. Nordstrom and Macy's as anchors. H&M, Gap, Express, and J Crew on the more affordable side, relatively speaking. And let's not forget Mr. Mac, a Utah clothing institution. But it's the high end that sets this apart from Fashion Place in Murray.
- True Religion Jeans is evidently coming soon. <Insert wry comment here.>
I visited the LDS Freedom Forum and found rigorous, thoughtful, and outright crazy comments from that board:
"I saw an ad on KSL TV (local Salt lake station) recently by the church promoting the new City Creek Plaza as if it were owned and operated by some wealthy billionaire or Fortune 500 company (they were talking up all the fancy apparel stores, fine dining and luxury items that will be available for shoppers). I couldn't help but wonder how this would look to members in other states or even countries if they saw the ad or the plaza complex itself? How many stories have we all heard from the pulpit or read in the Ensign about some family in South Africa that saved up for six months just to be able to walk several miles to their temple? Imagine that same family seeing this commercial on TV or the plaza complex itself knowing that $3 billion in church funds was used to construct it - how would that carry over? I don't know why things like this bother me, but it sure looks bad and probably comes across to others as the church being obsessed with worldly image and opinion of itself. And what really bugs me the most is when I hear a church official publicly state that no church tithes were used to build the complex when in fact, the monies used for the investment funds that supposedly generated the $3 billion to construct it originated from tithing donations. Are the Lord and our Savior up there encouraging our church officials to construct things like this while many members in Utah, the United States and other nations are unemployed, hungry, have no health insurance and/or rely on government assistance to survive?"
"I just hope someday we'll see the purpose and the righteous choice behind it. I agree, it looks bad... but who knows, we've been told we're in the storm. Maybe at some point the storm will become so raging that this construction becomes a place of gathering and safety. But of course, that's just speculation. I can see why it bugs you."
"Is this really what the Lord inspired the prophets to do with the monies of the church? When the Lord told the young man to go and sell all you have and give it to the poor and come follow me, did he tell some one else go and take all the interest earned and build a shopping mall and skyscrapers for wealthy people? If you spent $50 million on a temple you could build 80 of them. Since 1985 the Church has given about $1.2 billion in humanitarian aid and $4 billion to a shopping mall. It makes no sense to me. I love the Brethren, I sincerely do, and I trust them but I do not understand this. This is again the one thing I can't figure out. Was down town SLC really so bad that a $4 billion investment was needed? I just trust that it is for the best and the church won't be held accountable for grinding on the faces of the poor or encouraging the material objectification of false gods. The one good thought is that they basically built a city in a short amount of time. Maybe this will come to some good practice to build the New Jerusalem. I just hope we will be allowed to build it."
"The only problem I have with the condos is that I am uneasy with the symbolism of selling luxury condos that were explicitly designed to be above and looking down upon the temple. And those units sold first. It bugs me enough, but I don't know if I have any justification to be bothered."
"The same kind of attention and controversy was given to the construction of the new conference center. I remember it well. People called it a great and spacious building, too. After touring it once or twice, including the amazing roof top, and attending conference once, as well as participating in the men's choir, I can't disagree. It's all perspective. People see what they want to see, but seldom have insight to what happens behind the scenes."
"I believe that the City Creek Complex was of divine inspiration and at some point we'll see the wisdom in the building of it. I do believe it will provide some "protection" of the temple and the Saints at some future time."
"The problem I have with this whole thing is -Who cares if no tithing money was used, that it only came from for-profit investments. We are the Lord's church, not a for-profit business! Any extra money we have, reguardless of where it came from, should be used to bless the poor and needy and to spread the gospel to the world. It is pathetic that we have ONLY spent $1.2 billion in the last almost 30 years on humanitian aid and have just dropped $4 billion in the last 5years on a high end shopping mall and living space! The last time I read the parable of the talents all the returns realized on the money were the Lord's. I'm wondering when the returns on the Lord's tithing became investment money to be used on all kinds of money making projects, instead of going to the poor and needy. Makes me think of what Moroni said about us after the Lord showed us to him."
"From my perspective, the important thing is not what the church does with its money, but rather what we do because of it. If it only takes $3 billion for the Lord to divide the wheat from the tares, then that is money well spent in my book. I have a feeling that as time goes on there will be more and more policies and decisions come down from Salt Lake that will try our faith. This trial can only truly take place when reason is not a possible crutch to lean on. Then it will come down to whether or not we believe that the Lord leads us through his servants or not. And he said unto me: Knowest though the reason they built the mall? And I said unto him: I know that they are the Lord's chosen servants, nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."
"It really is difficult for me to understand the constant "questioning" here by some on the forum. You know, you can "thinK' anything you want, but you don't need to voice your thoughts about everything on the internet. Those concerns need to be taken to the Lord in prayer...and when I say that, I don't mean asking the Lord if the brethren are right...pleading with the Lord to be on the same page with them."
"I have no idea what the purpose of the complex is.....but it could be as simple as the Lord desiring to test who will murmur and who won't. In the past the Lord has tested his followers by asking them to suffer bondage, wander the wilderness, cross plains, and march on a dead end military expedition (Zion's camp). If a shopping mall is the toughest test I have to pass then I will consider myself lucky."
"I am just wondering when the late night cleaning asignments will come. Just like all the other church owned buildings in the downtown area, that we clean. That's a lot more work for those of us in the salt lake area."
"Let's go back to 1999 for a moment...What did the tornado hit or damage during its brief existence?
1. The outdoor retailers summer market (many men in the church make the outdoors a second religion and hunt for sport)
2. Gay bars (no explanation needed there)
3. The Delta Center (many Saints also make basketball a religion and have been known to attend playoff games on Sunday)
4. Hotels (many Hotels in Salt Lake offer porn)
5. Restaurants (fine dining)
6. State government offices (no explanation needed there)
7. The new LDS conference center (was undergoing construction at the time - some consider it to be a 'great and spacious building')
8. The Avenues (ritzy part of Salt Lake where the rich live, including many GA's)
Of those 8, what does the new City Creek Center offer? Retail shopping, alcohol, expensive lodging, fancy eateries, a highly expensive complex constructed by the church (just like the conference center was) and you could say it's also 'ritzy'. Quite interesting. Was this tornado just a freak, random act of nature... or something more? I think that answer is obvious."
This one is a doozy:
"Here's how I see it - One of the for-profit corps of the church spent a lot of money buying up land around the Temple and church headquarters and built some well constructed buildings to go there which they then leased out to a partner who then subleases to stores. The church then collects rent on those buildings to help recoup it's investment while the church waits for all hell to break loose. Once that happens and all the stores close (which they will!!) the church is left with a huge property it can use for it's own purposes which in the millennium would consist of redeeming the dead etc. I think it's genius and shows the foresight of our leaders regarding future events and just how near those events are. But that's my opinion! I don't see it as a shopping mall for long."