Saving History in Sugar House

None by KCPW

SLC Council Considers Options

(KCPW News) A large chunk of the Sugar House Business District will soon be demolished to make way for a shiny new mall. The so-called Granite Block may not look it, but some architects say it's a piece of history worth preserving.

Salt Lake City Councilman Soren Simonsen is among them, and he wants to freeze any more demolition in Sugar house for at least six months:

"Let's give ourselves some time to find out what we have so we can make appropriate decisions," says Simonsen. "It may be in a month we find out there's nothing here to worry about, but there are significant enough concerns today that we have to take precautions."

If Simonsen had his druthers, he'd stop demolition of the Granite Block, too, but permits are already in process for that project. City staffers say it's the only demolition being planned in Sugar House. Which brings Councilmen Dave Buhler and Eric Jergensen to question the need for a moratorium:

"I'm having a hard time understanding what we're doing," says Buhler. "We're reacting to ban demolitions except for the demolition we're aware of."

"I think a moratorium is a hammer where what we need is more of a surgical knife," adds Jergensen.

Simonsen hopes six months will be enough time for the city to complete a survey all of the buildings in Sugar House to determine historical significance. His city council colleagues are hesitant, saying they'd rather wait for the survey to be finished and then designate worthy buildings for preservation.

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