Salt Lake Chamber, Downtown Alliance Explore Merger

A marriage may be in the works between two of Salt Lake City’s most prominent business advocacy groups — the Salt Lake Chamber and the Downtown Alliance.

BY SHERRI C. GOODMAN
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

The groups released a joint statement Thursday that said they are exploring new ways to collaborate and consolidate efforts to promote downtown.

Craig Peterson, acting president of the chamber, said the two groups are in "strong negotiations" for a possible merger or collaboration.

"We’re looking at it to be more effective — for the chamber to be more effective, for the Downtown Alliance to be more effective and to make sure there is no duplication of efforts," he said.

The announcement came on the eve of a chamber-organized field trip to Portland, Ore., to meet with Portland Business Alliance officials.

The trip initially was billed as a visit to learn more about Portland’s downtown retail and business recruitment strategies. However, Peterson said the group, which includes representatives of the chamber, Salt Lake City and the Downtown Alliance, also will study the Portland group’s organizational structure.

In 2002, the downtown-focused Association for Portland Progress and the Portland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce merged to form the Portland Business Alliance.
"They are considered a model merger, and they are being carefully monitored" by other groups as well, Peterson said.
The Downtown Alliance and the chamber have each formed committees to study the Portland model and discuss current issues that affect downtown, he said.

Downtown Alliance executive director Bob Farrington said his organization wants to look closely at the benefits and risks of collaboration and consolidation.
"As an organization we feel we’ve been effective and have a good brand and are in a good financial situation," he said. " We don’t want to do anything that will jeopardize the assets we have."

"There are some very interesting details about how [the Portland merger] came about which are worth understanding," he said. "As with most things, the devil’s in the details."
Salt Lake Chamber spokesman Michael De Groote said the interest in the Portland Business Alliance’s structure does not mean the chamber and the Downtown Alliance will follow the same course.

"Whether it will be a full merger, or a partial merger or a different kind of collaboration remains to be seen," he said. "It’s pretty much certain there is a desire to have a much closer collaborative relationship [between the two groups]. The extent of that collaboration and the details is more of a question right now."

The chamber’s increased interest in downtown’s health manifested itself last year with the formation of a committee charged with recruiting new retailers to the city core. However, Farrington said he knew nothing about the committee until it was released to the news media.

"Those are the kinds of things when you’re trying to work closer together that you don’t do," he said.
Peterson said Farrington was out of town when the chamber board of governors — of which Farrington is a member — decided to create the committee. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Presiding Bishop H. David Burton, who also serves on the chamber’s board, said he would support the idea of merging the two groups, especially if it resulted in reduced duplication of efforts and overhead costs.

However, such a merger could be problematic because of the different natures of the groups. The 1,800-member chamber is privately funded primarily through dues; the Downtown Alliance, which works on behalf of 2,500 businesses and property owners, receives part of its funding from property assessments.

Peterson said if the two groups merged, funds from the Central Business Improvement District would be kept separate from chamber funds.
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Tribune reporter Lesley Mitchell contributed to this story.

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jan/01242003/business/22879.asp

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SLC Gets Nibbles on Its Main Street Business Grants

BY LESLEY MITCHELL
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Dozens of Utah businesspeople await a chance to apply for one of at least five grants of up to $20,000 each to help defray the costs of opening businesses on Salt Lake City’s struggling Main Street.

"I’ve been flooded with calls since people started hearing about it last week," said Dave Oka, executive director of the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City.

The agency still is drafting an application for the grants, which will be available under an experimental program designed to revitalize the area between South Temple and 400 South.
The grants, which can be used for building improvements and equipment purchases, are designed to attract businesses that will make the street appear more alive.

The city has plenty of conditions that businesses must meet before they can get the money, however. For example, recipients must have been operating their businesses for at least four years, with two years of profitability.

They must commit to a minimum lease of five years, locate outside the malls and cannot directly compete and hurt any existing Main Street businesses. And they may not use the grant money for operating capital or employee salaries.
"We want to make sure we are giving money to established companies," he said. "It does us no good to help people who have no business acumen or who are looking for month-to-month leases," he said.

Oka said because the city does not yet even have an application available, it cannot release names of any interested businesses.

But he said many of the businesses that have called his office appear to meet most of the city’s qualifications.
One businessman who hopes to secure one of the grants is Ted Sweetland, owner of Big City Soup at 235 S. 400 West. He wants the money to help defray the costs of opening a new location at 234 S. Main St.

Sweetland, who has operated his other downtown location since December 1998, said he would use the money to help pay for the cost of improvements and equipment needed to accommodate his restaurants.
"I was excited to hear about the grant money," Sweetland said. "This block of Main Street is a great place for us to be. We’re all about business lunch and with this location we’re in the thick of the business district."

Sweetland is encouraged by the city’s efforts to attract more employers to the downtown area.
In addition to the grants for start-up costs, the Redevelopment Agency also recently began offering grant money to pay for seismic studies on Main Street properties between South Temple and 400 South.

The grant money is available to property owners who have a letter of intent from a potential tenant but are not sure what seismic improvements must be made to meet city codes, Oka said.
The seismic stability of a building becomes an issue during renovations or additions when the use of a building is changed. Buildings must meet current city codes to ensure its occupants are not harmed during an earthquake.

Only one property owner — E&H Properties of Bellevue, Wash. — has applied for the money. E&H, which did not return calls seeking comment, is studying what type of seismic improvements must be made to the basement floor of a building on the southeast corner of Main Street and 100 South that houses Salt Lake Community College, Oka said.
The company originally had hoped to find a restaurant willing to lease the space and at one point said it had a signed lease, although the deal fell through.

Oka estimates the city can pay for 15 to 20 seismic studies, which he estimates will cost less than $10,000 each.
[email protected]

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jan/01242003/business/business.asp