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Jackie Biskupski's appointment of a seasoned City Hall employee to lead the urban renewal agency is being welcomed by key City Council members.

The Salt Lake City mayor has tapped Justin Belliveau as chief administrative officer for the city Redevelopment Agency, a role he has been filling since Biskupski fired former RDA head D.J. Baxter in January.

Belliveau, a 41-year-old lawyer with an MBA, served as the RDA's deputy director under Baxter for nearly five years.

In a short note tucked at the end of a press synopsis of her first budget, Biskupski said Tuesday she was pleased to announce Belliveau as her choice and urged the council's approval.

Belliveau said Wednesday he was thrilled and honored by the chance to oversee the agency's "very talented staff." He called it "a tremendous opportunity ... to align the city's resources to influence and drive the development of our local economy."

The seven-member council must sign off on the mayor's appointments to department head positions.

Councilwoman Lisa Adams, who heads the RDA Board, which doubles as the City Council, said Wednesday she was "delighted" with the selection, given Belliveau's solid track record of hands-on management with the agency.

"He understands the RDA really well," Adams said, adding she was "very comfortable" having him officially take over day-to-day operations. Fellow council members Stan Penfold, a former head of the RDA board, and Derek Kitchen, its current vice chairman, echoed Adams' sentiments.

"He will do well for the RDA," Kitchen said Wednesday.

Adams, Kitchen and Penfold also said they are likely to push in upcoming budget hearings to create an additional position of deputy to Belliveau to help handle the agency's workload.

"He can't do everything in running the organization," Kitchen said.

Belliveau oversees 16 project managers, financial analysts and support staffers for the agency, which aims to revitalize blighted parcels, foster economic development and create new housing.

A graduate of Boston College and the University of Utah, Belliveau previously worked as development director and legal counsel for a Manchester, Mass.-based real estate firm and for a developer of affordable housing in Salt Lake City before taking the RDA's No . 2 spot in October 2010.

Among other projects, Belliveau has overseen the RDA's work on the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater on Main Street. With a price tag of more than $119 million of public and private funds, the 2,500-seat theater is among the RDA's most complex recent ventures and a centerpiece of its efforts to remake downtown.

"He really proved himself there," Penfold said.

Acting on a campaign pledge, the new mayor seeks to reshape economic-development efforts and elevate them to a full city department, led by a member of her Cabinet. After conducting a nationwide search, the administration vows to unveil the pick for that job next week. The RDA head would report to the new director of economic development.

Biskupski is also pushing to realign the powers that she and the council share over the RDA, partly to bring the agency into line with state law. Among other effects, the changes would give the mayor added control over daily RDA decisions as executive director and move the council into more of a policy-setting role.

Twitter: @TonySemerad