| Salt Lake City is betting on the 2034 Winter Olympics to jumpstart a lasting economic transformation. Local governments and agencies issued more than $4 billion of municipal bonds this year, fueling a surge of development across the city, including an overhaul of its sports and entertainment arena, the Delta Center, and the area surrounding it. Some economists, however, question the long-term benefits of hosting the games, decrying potential gains as “exaggerated” or, worse, “nonexistent.” While investment is rolling in to boost tourism, Utah’s housing shortage stands to constrain the region’s economic growth. There are just 30 affordable and available homes for every 100 “extremely low-income” renter households statewide, and in Salt Lake City, the median home price has surpassed half a million dollars, putting homeownership out of reach for most residents, Arvelisse Bonilla Ramos reports. Today on CityLab: Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom --Linda Poon |
