By Sara Milano | [email protected]

Inspired by a vision of a walkable, interactive public space, Millcreek City Councilmembers accepted a $200,000 grant to build a climbing wall at the new Millcreek City Hall location.

At the June 13 council meeting, councilmembers voted unanimously to accept a grant from the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation to build an outdoor rock climbing wall at Millcreek Common. The proposed wall would be built on the northeast side of the new City Hall building currently under construction at 1330 E. Chambers Ave. Mayor Jeff Silvestrini estimated that the grant “will cover at least half of the cost of that climbing wall.” Millcreek and the Office of Outdoor Recreation estimate the project will cost about $433,800.

The Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation awarded Millcreek the grant in May, reporting on Instagram that the wall “at its highest point will be 81 feet” and will also include a “speed route on the opposite side, one of the three disciplines of Olympic climbing.”

The climbing wall, once completed, will be the tallest outdoor climbing wall of its kind in the state. Vertical Solutions, the firm tasked with designing the wall, is a local company that offers manufacturing and consulting services for climbing walls and businesses. Previously, Vertical Solutions designed and constructed the signature wood climbing walls found at The Front Climbing Club. The city plans to hear bids from concessionaires for operating the wall once it is completed.

The climbing wall is part of a plan to create a Millcreek Common area located at the intersection of 3300 South and 1300 East. The site, which is still under construction, will include a public market, restaurants, the UPD Millcreek Precinct headquarters, a new city council chamber, a skating area, and a balcony “with commanding views of the Wasatch Front and Millcreek Common below.” Construction crews broke ground at the site of the new City Hall in March, and they plan to complete construction by June 2023.

Silvestrini noted that “not only have we gotten a grant for the climbing wall, but $500,000 for the ice ribbon funded by the same agency.”

In 2020, the city was successful in attracting half a million dollars from the Office of Outdoor Recreation to be put toward an outdoor skate loop. The skating area will be used in the summer for roller skating and in the winter for ice skating and will cover an area of 11,000 square feet.

The skate loop will also be the largest outdoor skating venue in the state once it is completed. City Councilwoman Cheri Jackson previously expressed excitement that “the climbing wall will enhance the activity on the skate loop on adjacent Millcreek Common,” and lauded the council’s staff for their success in procuring state grants for the construction of both projects.

Councilmembers and residents are hopeful that the Millcreek Common project will become the heart of Millcreek where the city’s motto, “Connected by nature” can be realized. The climbing wall is slated to be in operation by fall 2023.