Map

I decided that it would be helpful if I start adding a map showing the location of each neighborhood that I highlight. Here's the location of the West Temple Gateway area that I've been highlighting, which is part of the People's Freeway neighborhood:

Kalaches

I went in to Johnny Kalaches for the first time a few weeks ago. This is another example of a small business owner fixing up a run-down building and bringing it back to life- not that they turned it into a fancy, high-end place, or anything. What they did, however, is create a fun place to grab breakfast or lunch with some friends or coworkers. Their friendly staff serve these meat-filled buns that are sweet and soft and addicting. 

They describe their food better than I could on their website: http://www.johnnykolache.com/

Definitely worth the visit!

Kids Kampus

Miss Billie's is located on 800 South, just west of 200 West. there's an engineering firm and a t.v. repair shop across the street, and an old auto repair shop to the west. Then, there's Miss Billie's, a fun, safe-looking "Kids Kampus", providing some life to the block.

They've clearly invested some money into making this an attractive place. The wrought iron-looking fence provides protection for the kids, while enhancing the aesthetics of the facility. Chain link would have been considerably cheaper, but they decided instead to not only invest in themselves, but also the neighborhood.

find out more at: http://mbkidskampus.blogspot.com/

Rising up

The West Temple Gateway (north end of the People's Freeway) neighborhood is on the rise, quite literally. The following are housing complexes that are under construction or recently completed:

This housing complex is on 300 West, right across from the Dough Girl. Considering that it's located on 300 West, it's about as inviting as you could expect. It just seems like they only want residents to drive in and drive out, but but very little thought into making it inviting and pleasant for residents to walk in and walk out.

This new condo complex is on 200 West, just south of 700 South. Based on the banner on the side of the building, their target market seems to be young couples looking for an affordable starter home. I appreciate that they are willing to build higher density a block away from a transit station, but I wish that they would have spent at least a little bit of effort on integrating into the streetscape. This area has the potential to be an attractive, walkable community. Put simply, this building is not inviting. It doesn't tell a story. If I was walking on this street, I'd quickly walk right past. It doesn't say "people live here who want to be a part of this community" it says "I am an un-inviting fortress here to protect my residents from this dangerous neighborhood". 

This is right next to the previous condo complex- on the corner of 700 South and 200 West. Kind of funky, but now we're getting somewhere. It's facing the street. The people who built this are showing some confidence in the future of the neighborhood. They are showing that they believe that more and more people will be milling around on these sidewalks.

I have similar issues with this building as the others. What's wrong with putting at least a little effort into making a building look attractive and interesting for a pedestrian to walk past?

Despite my criticisms about the design of the buildings going in in this area, I find it encouraging that they are being built.The recently constructed TRAX station has no doubt helped to fuel some of this redevelopment. This is a model for others to follow, and shows that transit can and does promote development, just as hoped. This may be part of the reason why the RDA is sponsoring a study to look at streetcar in downtown- with a focus on redevelopment. This is a good start, hopefully with more (and better) things to come.

Cookies

I would say that the opening of a gourmet cookie store is a sure sign that a neighborhood is moving up in the world.

I snapped this picture on my way in to the Dough Girl.A buddy of mine told me about this place. His company prints their labels, and told me it was worth the trip. 

This building is on 300 West, just north of 800 South. This building originally housed a small machine shop, but had been abandoned for years. They've done a great job with it- definitely a diamond in the rough. When I walked in, the place was packed with moms and kids enjoying the smells and tastes inside. 

All of the cookies are named after 50's style pin-up girls. The lemon cookie I bought is called Lilly. I enjoyed every bite. 

Check out their website: www.doughgirl.com

West Temple Beauties

I think these homes are beautiful. The problem is that they're located on a completely auto-oriented section of West Temple, right next to a freeway entrance.

The bottom house has been split up into numerous apartments.

What if more of an effort was made to give apartment complexes the more of a look and feel of a large home, rather than being so purely utilitarian? Why can't they blend in better with their neighborhoods, rather than sticking out like a sore thumb?

Jefferson Street

This street, along with Washington Street, seem like they were transplanted from one of the residential neighborhoods to the east and dropped into this industrial area. Check out this cool little house with a white picket fence.

It's for sell, listed at $174,900. The listing says that it was build in the late 1800s. I think it's safe to say that industrial took over a residential neighborhood, and not the other way around. Now, the residential is making a come back, with a variety of higher density units under construction or recently completed.

As for the street itself, it's way too wide (at a whopping 60 feet!), which makes it less inviting:

When you walk down a street, it feels more safe an secure when everything is proportionate and at the human scale.This street should be 15-20 feet narrower. 

A train station with a garden next door

In 2005, UTA completed construction of a new TRAX light rail station on West Temple between 800 South and 900 South, providing residents with a quick 8 minute ride into downtown.

This station was added about 6 years after TRAX first opened. One of the main purposes of this new station was to promote redevelopment of the area, and it appears to be working (more on that in a later post). One of the side benefits was about 500 hundred more riders per day.

For now, the real estate next to the station is being used as a community garden.

It will take some time for this neighborhood to reach its potential as a bustling mini urban center full of shops and housing and people. In the meantime, community gardens such as this one provide a much better view than an empty field full of trash. 

West Temple Gateway

The first neighborhood that I'll highlight the is in the area right around 900 South and West Temple. I believe that this area is part of the People's Freeway neighborhood. The Salt Lake RDA has been buying up land here in hopes of attracting some land developers to rejuvenate the area. On their website, they refer to this as the West Temple Gateway area, so I will too.