Although it is enclosed in galleria style, the main walkway features an open-air design with an award-winning retractable roof.

[10] They took inspiration from the area's original City Creek to create a 1,200-foot (370 m) long waterway, complete with waterfalls and boulders (meant to mimic streams in the surrounding Wasatch Range), traversing the property in the center of the main walkway.

It weighs 320,000 pounds (150,000 kg) and includes roof panels that can be opened, along with etched glass walls and interior benches.

[16] The development is served by the City Center Station of Utah Transit Authority's TRAX light rail system.

The food court is located near the northeast corner, in the lower level between KeyBank Tower and adjoining World Trade Center.

[24] Several existing office buildings were incorporated into the development, these are: There are approximately 700 housing units, consisting of condos and apartments, in CCC.

[31][6][25] The condo towers are: The Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek is the only hotel located on the CCC blocks.

[33] The LDS Church, via its various business interests, has long owned property adjacent to its headquarters campus and Temple Square.

[35] Located only four blocks west of Crossroads Plaza and ZCMI Center, The Gateway drew business away from Main Street and its malls.

[36] In October 2003, soon after completing the purchase of Crossroads Plaza, the church presented preliminary plans to significantly remodel that mall and the neighboring ZCMI Center.

TCI had been brought in early during the development process to serve as a consultant to PRI during the planning and to manage retail leasing.

[41][42] The destruction proceeded across the site from west to east, with several businesses remaining open until a short time before their scheduled demolition.

In January 2007, Crossroad Plaza's parking structure was torn down[43] and in August of that year, the mall's Key Bank Tower was demolished via implosion.

[45] Preliminary approval from the city's planning commission allowed subsurface work to begin in early 2008,[46] and the first concrete pour for a building occurred in March 2008, on what would become 99 West.

The critics included merchants from nearby parts of the city, who expressed concern that the skybridge would divert traffic from street-level stores adjacent to the development.

They stated a similar result had occurred thirty years prior, after the construction of ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza, during which longtime businesses such as Auerbach's and The Paris Company collapsed.

They argued that the high investment in consumerism and promoting conspicuous consumption neglected religious principles, and instead suggested that funds would be better spent on community resources, welfare services, or humanitarian outreach.

[67][68] Others disagreed, saying the development brought jobs and beauty to the downtown, and the church had a duty to uplift properties near Temple Square and invest its private, commercial revenues.