Logan city officials have set the ribbon cutting for the Carol and Jim Laub Plaza here for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23. The plaza’s opening will mark another milestone in Mayor Holly Daines’ effort to revitalize downtown Logan.
LOGAN – Logan City officials have slated the ribbon cutting for the long-awaited Center Block Plaza in downtown Logan for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23.
“We are delighted to announce that (the new plaza) will be named the Carol and Jim Laub Plaza, in honor of their very generous lead gift for the project,” said Holly Daines, the mayor of Logan.
The opening of the Carol and Jim Laub Plaza will signal achievement of the another milestone in Daines’ ambitious plans for the revitalization of downtown Logan.
That initiative began with improvements to Center Street to create a theatre/restaurant district, followed by the downtown plaza project and the nearly completed construction of a new city library.
The site of the downtown plaza at 55 North Main Street is directly across from the Logan Tabernacle. Five buildings of varying ages and historic integrity once occupied that site at 41, 45, 47, 55 and 67 North Main addresses.
The old Emporium building and adjacent structures to the north were demolished in January of 2022 to make way for the plaza project.
The remaining structures at 41 and 45 North Main underwent a $1.6 million facelift, with the intent of hopefully making them attractive to private restaurateurs.
City officials say that the Carol and Jim Laub Plaza will serve as a gathering place to draw Logan residents downtown with year-round attractions, events and entertainment.
They add that plaza amenities will include a fire pit, outdoor seating with shade covers, giant chess boards, games, an outdoor stage, an ice rink and other activities which will be rotated regularly.
Since the Center Block Plaza project was approved in spring of 2021, Logan’s redevelopment agency has invested about $5.9 million in the plaza project.
That included about $1.3 million for the demolition of the now-vacant Emporium building and adjacent structures to the north; about $2.1 million for construction of the public plaza; $1.6 million for improvements to structures at 41 and 45 North Main; around $400,000 for the portable ice rink; and about $440,000 for construction of an outdoor stage and an administration building.
A portion of those costs are being defrayed by generous gifts from donors like Carol and Jim Laub, Daines added.
Those donations include $1 million from the Jim and Carol Laub Family Foundation and Cache Valley Electric; a $200,000 donation from the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation; a $250,000 challenge grant pledge from the George S. and Delores Doré Eccles Foundation; a $103,000 donation from Peter and Holly Daines; and a $197,000 gift from the Cache County RAPZ and Visitors Bureau.
More recent contributions included a gift of $100,000 from Apogee Instruments on behalf of founder Bruce Bugbee, his wife Diana West and Apogee’s employee stockholders; a donation of $100,000 from Ellyn “Kookie” Tanner, the widow of Bruce Tanner, the founder of Campbell Scientific; and $50,000 from the Measom Family Foundation.
The ribbon cutting for the Carol and Jim Laub Plaza on Sept. 23 will precede the city’s Giant Pumpkin Festival on Center Street that same day.