SALT LAKE CITY — True Salt Lakers know the weather forecast by reading the beacon on top of the Walker Center, but soon they’ll know air quality conditions through another downtown building.
Astra Tower, located about a block east of the Walker Center, is slated to feature a first-of-its-kind air quality forecast lighting system, according to the Utah Clean Air Partnership, commonly known as UCAIR.
“We are proud to partner with Kensington Investment Company and Astra Tower. Improving air quality requires all of us to act, and this lighting system is a striking visual tool that highlights the importance of our collective efforts to help clear the air,” said Lindsie Smith, the partnerships’s director, in a statement on Friday.
A formal ceremony is planned for Feb. 20, which is when air quality forecast will begin.
Its system will run differently from the Walker Center’s weather tower. The center’s lights are typically blue when conditions are forecast to be clear; blinking blue when it’ll be cloudy; red when it’s supposed to rain; and blinking red when it’ll snow. It’s also lit in different colors for holidays and other special occasions, which is a feature added when owners switched the sign to LED lights three years ago.
The LED lights on top of the 451-foot Astra Tower, on the other hand, are connected to air quality sensors. Ideally, it’ll remain white, which signals good air quality. However, it’ll turn orange, red and purple as air quality index levels rise to unhealthy levels during inversions, wildfire smoke events or anything else that pollutes the air.
As Utah Clean Air Partnership was locking down its plans for the tower last month, Smith told KSL-TV that the goal of the beacon is to raise awareness about things people can do to reduce air pollution.
“I have not seen anything like this elsewhere,” Smith said at the time. “It’s an incredibly visual reminder. Roughly, 70% of the emissions that are problematic in the Salt Lake Valley come from our cars and our homes and our businesses.”
Astra Tower opened last year as the tallest building in the state, soaring over the rest of the downtown towers. Residents began moving into the high-rise in August, while some of the building’s final features were being completed.
Officials from Kensington Investment Company, the building’s developer, said the building was designed with environmental standards in mind when construction began in 2022. In a statement on Friday, Ed Lewis, the company’s CEO, said that he believes the building’s new lighting feature will take those efforts a step further.
“We are taking meaningful steps to improve air quality and promote healthier living in Salt Lake City,” he said. “Our commitment to sustainability ensures that the buildings we develop contribute positively to the community, setting a new standard for environmental stewardship in urban living.”