I always thought it made a lot of sense to put it next to the county jail. That is where it is going to be now assuming it all gets approved. I’m still confused about which location will house which population though. The SLC mayor said the women’s center would be in the city, but it seemed like while trying to appease the populations in the county that may have changed.
It will be interesting to see over the next couple years what happens to the area around the Rio Grande shelter. Will the character of Pioneer Park change? Will The Gateway be able to populate it’s empty storefronts?
I have a suspicion that in the wake of the Outdoor Retailer Show leaving, part of the relocation of the homeless is an effort to make the downtown area and the Salt Palace more attractive for trade shows. Salt Lake seems to have a lot of panhandlers relative to its size. They also seem more aggressive and I have seen them try to run cons on passersby more than in other cities. Panhandlers aren’t necessarily homeless but it’s easy to say that those issues are the same and point to them both as undesireable.
Utah @ 
Baylor 
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