City Creek Center Celebrates One Year In Business

Paper white ladies decorated the City Creek Center sky bridge for the one year anniversary celebration.
Paper is the traditional one year anniversary gift.

City Creek Center was thankful to the community yesterday as they celebrated their anniversary of one year in business. All those that shared a birthday with them were invited to visit City Creek Center and receive a $25 gift card to shop at City Creek Center.

A celebration ceremony took place upon the sky bridge that overlooks Main Street. Along with the tradition of paper as a one year anniversary gift, the sky bridge was decorated in beautiful white paper ladies. The general manager of City Creek Center, Linda Wardell, expressed her thankfulness to the community and shoppers that embraced City Creek Center in the last year.

“I absolutely say thank you to our shoppers,” Wardell said. “We’ve had local shoppers who’ve been here frequently. We have tourist shoppers who make City Creek part of their Utah itinerary. There’s one thing that our diverse audience of shoppers knows for sure, and that is everyone is welcome to shop at City Creek Center.”

Governor Gary Herbert, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams and other dignitaries in the community and from City Creek Center spoke at the celebration ceremony. Governor Herbert said that the one year mark of City Creek Center is an example of what we’re doing. He said that we’re not just sitting back, but that we’re actually engaged in something.

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams noted that the celebration of City Creek Center isn’t just about celebrating a shopping center, it’s about celebrating a community and a state that is rising.

“We came here today to celebrate the successes we’ve seen over the last year of City Creek,” McAdams said. “We are also here to celebrate a Utah that is rising from the depths of a great recession and moving forward as we see people returning to shopping, returning to work, and returning to investing and growing in our beautiful state of Utah.”

Over the last year City Creek Center estimated 16.2 million visits, served more than 200,000 slices of Cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory, and sold about 450 engagement rings at Kay Jewelers. There were at least 50 engagements that took place at City Creek Center.

Wardell reflected back on over one year ago when she moved here to open City Creek Center. Before City Creek Center, she opened two other shopping centers around the United States.

“I think the thing that surprised me the most about opening City Creek Center is the way that the community has so warmly embraced us,” Wardell said. “When I opened the other centers, I’ve never really felt an outpouring of community the way that we have here.”

City Creek Center was named “Best Retail Development USA” in the prestigious International Property Awards for 2012, in association with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and Yamaha. City Creek Center, co-developed with Taubman and City Creek Reserve, Inc., won for the Americas region, which includes the U.S. and Canada, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

City Creek Center also placed in the top three for the global, or “World’s Best Retail Development” category. More than 2,000 entries from 89 countries competed in the categories of retail, residential, office and mixed-use properties, among others.

Looking around City Creek Center, you will notice shoppers, families, joggers and tourists. It has truly become a place for all to enjoy, and we look forward to many more years enjoying City Creek Center as a main gathering place in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City.