A few months ago, some friends from out of town came to visit and, as we drove past the still-unfinished Zion’s Bank building, they wondered aloud why such a quaint town would erect such a large eyesore. Though I got defensive (we need the jobs, I thought — and besides, they were outsiders), the underlying assumptions of their statement were worth taking seriously: bigger and newer isn’t always better.
This year, Provo will be putting that idea to the test. A few days ago, The Daily Herald broke the news that Nu Skin will be expanding its downtown facilities and operations. The article provides a number of details, but the most important are probably that the expansion would involve Nu Skin purchasing and replacing a number of older buildings in the downtown area, and that the Provo City Council is pretty enthusiastic about the idea.
In many respects, the Nu Skin expansion will indeed be a positive thing for Provo. I’ve mentioned before in Rhombus how dismal downtown Provo has become, and anything that puts more people on the streets has to be seriously considered. Even though the expansion looks like it won’t create a lot of new jobs beyond some temporary construction work — it appears to be more of a consolidation of existing workers into one place — it should still theoretically benefit fantastic places like Sammy’s, Stumpy Burger, and Gurus. All in all, the expansion should put more people, money and activity into the struggling area. According to the Herald article, Nu Skin also seems genuinely interested in creating a usable, aesthetically-pleasing community space.
Yet before the city rushes to raze large swaths of Center Street, it’s worth considering what the trade-offs will be. Though I truly believe Nu Skin is well intentioned, I’m not necessarily thrilled about the proposed construction plans. An atrium? A large, six-story building? Maybe these structures will be beautiful, but Nu Skin’s current headquarters has a distinct sleek-but-kitschy aspect to it. They’ve also somehow managed to get their logo painted in the middle of downtown intersections without getting busted for vandalism. Of course, in some areas both the logo and the building would feel right at home; however, Provo has hitched its wagon to the idea of an “Historic Downtown.” Won’t fancy glass buildings look kind of garish among the older structures? Don’t they already?
What causes me the most ambivalence about this whole thing is that no one seems to have even asked questions about the symbolic and historic implications of this expansion. Instead, everyone has indicated progress means tearing down the past to make room for the new. I was astonished, for example, to read Kim Anderson of Provo Art and Frame say “we really need to invest in downtown Provo and get rid of the old nasty squeaky floor buildings and get something that’s sellable and rentable.”
We should certainly invest, but why does that mean destroying all the old buildings? The fact is that Provo has thus far demonstrated an abysmal track record when it comes to historical preservation. In 2004, Hotel Roberts was torn down — in the middle of the night, no less — after it had been allowed to become dilapidated and unsafe. In 2007, St. Francis Roman Catholic Church suffered the same fate. Progress is typically messy and controversial, but these building were landmarks and when I heard about the Nu Skin expansion I couldn’t help but wonder if Provo was setting itself up for another, similar travesty at some point. If the prevailing attitude is that old, “squeaky floor” buildings cannot co-exist with revitalization, then it’s only a matter of time before “Historic Downtown” becomes history.
Ultimately, Provo needs more businesses in the downtown area, and though I’m not particularly a fan of Nu Skin’s business model, I applaud them for sticking with the community. What’s more (and as much as I love charming little bookshops and cafes), attracting companies like Nu Skin might be the only way to keep the city’s center alive (or to resuscitate it). For many permanent residents, this sort of thing also really makes up a lot of Provo’s lifeblood. Still, even if the expansion proceeds, it’s worth asking what the community will have to forfeit. What will be left in a generation or two to remind Provo citizens of the area’s rich history? What of its heritage does Provo want to remember? Will future residents even be able to see why downtown was worth revitalizing in the first place?
Jim Dalrymple is a regular correspondent for Rhombus.
Having gone to junior high and high school in Provo, and maintaining residency since then (a total of 14 years), I can honestly say I never considered the Hotel Roberts or the St. Francis Roman Catholic Church as landmarks. I do remember the church though, and how it looked unoccupied year after year. There are parts of ‘downtown’ Provo that have done well at maintaining the historic look. But drive down 100 North and it’s a different story. I applaud your desire to keep the rustic/vintage look of the city live, but you said yourself, Provo is lacking. It seems the historic aspect isn’t working, so maybe trying to update the area a little bit will help. I liked the article though, not terribly negative like a lot of the stuff around here, and it actually begged some good questions.
I always wondered how NuSkin was allowed to paint their logo on the street too. I wish more local residents would invest in downtown rather than the big businesses.
I second what “Resident” says. “Historic” downtown Provo isn’t working because it is not drawing area residents or businesses downtown. I think the NuSkin expansion and the new county convention center will be major pluses for downtown. I agree that the Zion’s Bank Tower is not the nicest building to look at, but it is a step in the right direction to creating a more vibrant downtown and establishing downtown Provo as the place to do business in Utah County.
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Having worked on Center Street for the last 10 years, I must say I’m enthusiastic about this renovation. There are some great businesses already operating there, but there are also too many buildings and spaces that have been vacant for years and are an eye-sore, and instead of vintage or historic, they come across to the city’s visitors as just dilapidated and maybe even a little scary. Creating more convention space will definitely attract more audiences and events to the area on a regular basis and eventually, I do believe this will create more jobs, if not at Nu Skin, opportunities for other businesses to move into Center Street and grow! I know Nu Skin usually has at least one weekend a month that several hundred guests come in from around the country and provide patronage to many of our local businesses, so it would be interesting to ask the other restaurants and stores how they fair during those times, and imagine their revenue if that happened nearly every weekend instead of once a month because of other conventions or events? And you know these visitors are not just going to stay on Center Street, we have lots of great eating establishments and shopping areas that are quite close by, and any increase to the local population, even short term, then would benefit many!
P.S. It’s probably likely that Nu Skin obtained permission from the City to paint their logo in the middle of the intersection for a few months during their 25th anniversary last year, just as BYU has obtained permission to paint giant Y’s all down University Avenue intersections all year long, don’t you think?