Granary Row is the first phase of the Granary District.  The Granary District is a 240-acre “gritty, diverse and grounded” neighborhood revitalization area adjacent to downtown Salt Lake City.

Under the direction of James Alfandre, director of The Kentlands Initiative, MWA led a “crowd-sourced” charrette (whoever shows up and volunteers!).  Project organizers, neighborhood businesses, residents, and allies tackled a number of questions, including how to tame the District’s mammoth streets — which are hard to cross and consume valuable land, yet carry little traffic.  The boldest proposals included using cargo containers in the medians as shops, offices, or residences.

Granary Row, The first phase of the Granary District was launched as a tactical urban intervention that would transform the middle of a street into a night festival, running for 24 weekends.  The festival would not only bring needed vitality to a neighborhood at the tail end of decades of slow decline, but would transform a vehicle no-man’s-land into an innovative shared space, boasting shops, entertainment space, and a biergarten.

On Saturday, June 15, 2013, only a year after the original planning effort, Granary Row launched its inaugural season.  Every weekend through November 2nd, Granary Row opened its doors and welcomed the world to the neighborhood — a little known, lightly trafficked block of Salt Lake City.  Of course, the folks who visited the Granary Row weren’t thinking about community development; they were thinking about doing a little shopping or grabbing a beer with some friends.