And I meant no harm to Projects.

The aquarium doesn't have to be downtown, but it would be an ideal attraction for a "walkable zone." If Sandy wants to make a concentrated effort to create a section of town where people can comfortably walk around and walk to TRAX, then sure, the aquarium would be fine in Sandy.

But I don't see Sandy making a huge effort to do that, so that would make downtown Salt Lake a more ideal location. But in the end it's economics: If downtown can offer the aquarium the best deal, it'll move there. If they think they can get a better deal in Sandy, they will.

Group wants Willow Creek to remain unincorporated, start community council

By Rebecca Palmer

Deseret News
Published: Monday, Jan. 25, 2010 4:18 p.m. MST

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Rather than annex their bedroom community into 5-year-old Cottonwood Heights, a group of residents in Willow Creek neighborhood wants to start a community council that would operate under the unincorporated Salt Lake County system.

The residents already have formed an ad hoc committee and started making decisions such as requesting a traffic study, but formal elections won't be held until November.

The group banded together after a handful of neighbors began knocking on doors to gather petitions for a proposed annexation into Cottonwood Heights, which has long had its eye on the wealthy neighborhood.

That led to opposition efforts to gather the whole neighborhood, which lies between Sandy and Cottonwood Heights near Highland Drive and Alta Canyon Drive.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...y-council.html

Feds taking bids for Utah NSA data center

http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/1329/132967/13296759.jpg

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The federal government is soliciting construction bids for an intelligence-gathering center in Utah.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released details of the super-secret electronic data center on a government Web site and set a Feb. 18 deadline for bids from a general contractor.

The so-called Utah Data Center will be self-contained with its own water supply, sewer system, backup power system and will have special "anti-terrorism" defenses.

The 1 million-square-foot building will be protected by security rings on a 200-acre parcel at a Utah National Guard camp about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City.

The Corps of Engineers is supervising construction for the National Security Agency, which has refused to disclose the full purpose or function of the $1.7 billion center.


http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9471105




Corps of Engineers takes bids for Utah data center

SALT LAKE CITY — An electronic data center the National Security Agency plans to build in Utah will be self-contained with its own water supply, sewer system, power backup system and anti-terrorism defenses, a government bid document states...

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world...es-283862.html

:previous:

Just pulled the bid for a radio story I did on it. That's one crazy (wasteful) place. The entire building must meet the Army's highest code, prepared for a head-on assault with Bin Laden himself. The contractor bond alone is $750,000,000.

750,000,000 :eek:

Yup. In my story I said something to the effect of "this is going to make some winning bidder very happy. Albeit, it's not a project for your average contractor. Bonding is set at $750-million." Hope I understood the document right.

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportun...=core&_cview=1

Out of all the sites I have worked on, $750,000,000 bond is by far the largest.

Happy GC and happy subs = jobs for Utah.

Utah NSA Data Center
 

rs o

I-215: After two years if reading and posting on this forum, I finally found a topic that I actually have some first-hand knowledge of (sort of). My business is developing proposals to the Federal government, much like the Utah NSA construction job. The problem is that we seldom do construction proposals because they are usually pretty cut and dried, and there is not much opportunity for us, at least that's my excuse for letting a $750M RFP drop, and I had no idea of the program.

That said, I went into one of our databases and pulled up some information that might be interesting. Here's a listing of the likely bidders on the job:

Likely Bidders
Company Name Current Prime Current Sub Likely Prime Likely Sub
AECOM Yes
American Systems Corporation (ASC) Yes
Balfour Beatty Construction LLC Yes
Bechtel Group Yes
Big-D Construction Yes
Bryan Construction, Inc. Yes
Caddell Construction Co. Inc Yes
Clark Construction Group, LLC Yes
Fluor Corporation Yes
Hensel Phelps International LLC Yes
HNTB Corporation Yes
Johnson Controls, Government Systems Yes
Kiewit Construction Yes
M.A. Mortenson Company Yes
McCarthy Building Companies Inc Yes
NJVC, LLC Yes
Okland Construction Yes
Perini Corporation Yes
RTKL Associates, Inc. Yes
Siemens Corporation Yes
Skanska Yes
Turner Construction Company Yes
Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, The Yes

If I had to bet, I would pick either Kiewit or Fluor as the front runners because they have extensive experience in building large data centers.

This is a two-step procurement, meaning the first-phase is for Architectural and Engineering services (design, design, design). The construction phase will follow.

Love to see a local company, like Big D, play in this game, but I suspect they would be way in over their heads because of all the technical stuff required, such as cooling all those super-computers.

Finally, please note that the RFP says there will be 900K of floor space for admin and technical support. If we say 20K is the average sq. footage of a floor in 222 So. Main and if this building were a high-rise, it would be 45-stories, WITHOUT the computers. Of course, this building is going to be wide, not tall. But 900K sq.ft. of admin and tech support floor space tells me there are going to be lots and lots of jobs associated with this center. I thought the original estimate was only about 100 jobs. My guess is that you can times that figure by 10 or more!!!!:banana: :banana: :banana:

:previous:

Great info. I also wish a local company could get the bid if possible.

I've also heard that initially there may only be 100, but the number would increase with time and establishment of the center.

100 people???
 

TonyAnderson: If I were one of the 100 people working at the Utah NSA center spread out over 900K sq. ft. of office space, I'd get pretty lonely.

I think what happened is that the employment is much higher, but that fact was kept quiet because of the extremely sensitive nature of the work. The NSA did not want states actively competing for the center, creating a big public hoo-rah. They needed to figure out where was the best place to put this thing, then get it done. NSA is now only processing 30% of the data it receives. There is a big rush on this project. This is the future of the fight on world terrorism.

When the NSA building was announced to the news it said that it would bring up to 10,000 construction jobs to the area and then once completed, it would have 100-200 employees staffing it, with the potential to add more later.

Way more people at the NSA site
 

T-Mac: What I don't understand is why the building plans call for 900K sq. ft. of admin and tech support space??? I realize this site is where the data will be held. They can be analyzed from anywhere.

My guess is that if the true number of employees were known, this site would have been such an economic plumb it would have never been placed anywhere because the fight for it would have been vicious. Politics would have put the construction into limbo forever, like what happened with the Air Force's location of their Cyber Command. I'm guessing but I think there is much more here than meets the eye. Also, this site is going to have a contractor support logistics tail that will be huge, meaning it will take many more employees to operate and run the site than will ever be Government employees. Let's hope I'm right and all that extra space in the buildings at the site is for contract employees, which is why the Government only reported a 100-200 employees.

I thought it was already stated the center would eventually have 2,000+ employees which includes a large number of interpreters analyzing communications.

Unofficial plan lays out potential county makeups of 2040

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...ah-growth.html

SALT LAKE CITY — Do you plan to live in northern Utah in 2040?

If you do, then the Wasatch Front Regional Council — a transportation planning group made up of municipal and state political types — wants you to study a map it has created showing Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties in 30years.

The map, called Wasatch Choice for 2040, is color-coded to signify different population densities. Salt Lake City is blue, signifying a metro area with 20 to 200 housing units an acre. Places like Ogden and Sandy are considered "urban centers" with 20 to 100 housing units an acre. There are town centers and main streets and on and on to describe areas with fewer residents. A few spaces are designated for open space, industrial parks and commercial districts.

The map has more mixed-use developments made up of office, retail and residential space. One example is land around the 3900 South TRAX station, an area of vacant lots that can be developed for mixed-use buildings with houses, offices and stores, said WFRC Executive Director Chuck Chappell.

The map was made after WFRC staffers visited dozens of city and county planners and looked at future development plans.

"We always hear people saying they wished years ago that (municipal planners) had visions and people were planning," said Michael Jensen, WFRC chairman and Salt Lake County Council chairman.

However, a lot of things could change between now and 2040. The map isn't set in stone, and the WFRC can't control how cities and counties zone.

The map is in draft form and can be changed before the WFRC formally adopts it, Jensen said. People have from Feb. 1 to March 12 to comment.

The map can be found at www.wfrc.org/cms/index.php or by calling 801-363-4250.

Pitching Utah business during Sundance

http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_14272546

Mike Dowse, president of Amer Sports that manages the Salomon, Atomic and Suunto brands, says he shaved 35 percent off his operating costs by moving his company to Utah.
Those savings made the business even more profitable despite the recession and slumped sales. It's also a state where his employees enjoy living and are able to afford homes...

...Leaders of international business, prime ministers, cabinet members and other important people come to ski, watch movies and enjoy the town. It's a great chance to make connections, said Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Zions Bancorporation. Several have moved offices and locations here because of those connections.

...Herbert rattled off the debt-load of other state governments - exceeding 20 and 30 percent of their total budgets in some cases. In Utah, debt is low, attendance to National Parks is up, unemployment is relatively low, the workforce is healthy and surveys reveal people are happy, he said...

..."You want to keep government off your backs and out of your wallets," he said. "We understand nonsensical regulations will kill you dead just like over-taxation."

Anderson said the Utah Legislature makes the state "a great place to work and live." The way it brings people, money and technology together accomplishes great things.

Evidence of that is the large manufacturers that have come, and will come to Utah, said both Eccles and Herbert. Manufacturing is an underappreciated sector of the state's economy that is growing, Eccles said. Herbert said he plans to announce a major company that will build a plant here in his next "State of the State" address.

.

:previous:
I don't even know what I'm during in 2011. :haha:

I have no idea what I am doing tomorrow. :P

Relative to NSA bids, Clark and Layton will be a joint venture.

NSA Data Processing Center Construction Bids
 

Shakman:

You raise a good point. A bid this size, Phase 1 (Design Engineering), $750M, will mean all the companies will team, to spread the risk and capitalize on unique strengths within each company. Don't know much about Clark, although they are DC-based and have pretty good A&E capabilities.

I would guess that local companies, like Big D, will wind up one of the big-boy teams. Big D, and other local companies, bring the local subcontractor networks, which are critical.

Also, take note small business owners. If you are not already registered in the CCR (which is the database of registered Federal contractors), you need to be, especially firms that are women-, minority-, or veteran owned. It's very easy to do and cost nothing. It can be done on-line with certification taking place in less than 24 hours. Then to get in on this, you must have experience (Preferably on Federal jobs, but that is not a requirement). I think if you are a small business with less than $6.5M in annual revenue, you don't even have to be bonded. From this point, all you need to do is then contact the subcontracts managers at each of the construction companies I posted above.:previous: You will likely stand a good chance of getting added to one of these teams bidding this project. If you meet one of the small business preferred categories (e.g., women-owned), it's a slam dunk. Great way to boost your business for the next couple of years and get a start in the Federal business.

NSA Data Processing Center Construction Bids
 

Shakman:

You raise a good point. A bid this size, Phase 1 (Design Engineering), $750M, will mean all the companies will team, to spread the risk and capitalize on unique strengths within each company. Don't know much about Clark, although they are DC-based and have pretty good A&E capabilities.

I would guess that local companies, like Big D, will wind up one of the big-boy teams. Big D, and other local companies, bring the local subcontractor networks, which are critical.

Also, take note small business owners. If you are not already registered in the CCR (which is the database of registered Federal contractors), you need to be, especially firms that are women-, minority-, or veteran-owned. It's very easy to do and cost nothing. It can be done on-line with certification taking place in less than 24 hours. Then to get in on this, you must have experience (Preferably on Federal jobs, but that is not a requirement). I think if you are a small business with less than $6.5M in annual revenue, you don't even have to be bonded. From this point, all you need to do is then contact the subcontracts managers at each of the construction companies I posted above.:previous: You will likely stand a good chance of getting added to one of these teams bidding this project. If you meet one of the small business preferred categories (e.g., women-owned), it's a slam dunk. Great way to boost your business for the next couple of years and get a start in the Federal business.

Farmington approves mixed-use development on west side
The Salt Lake Tribune


The Farmington City Council on Tuesday approved a 33-acre mixed-use development to be built north of the city's FrontRunner station.
The first phase of the Park Lane Commons project would be a 17-acre, upscale apartment complex, Park Lane Village.
In a discussion that lasted around three hours, landowner Rich Haws and Salt Lake City-based builder Willmore Development pushed for some concessions from the city.
Council members allowed the 324-unit Village to have 635 parking spaces. That ratio is nearly 40 percent more than the maximum the city designated for mixed-used zones, which incorporate retail, commercial and residential uses. But developer Ernest Willmore told the council and mayor that people are not divorced from cars -- even with a commuter rail stop nearby, Farmington isn't downtown Salt Lake City, but suburban Davis County.
But city officials didn't budge on another issue: the amount of fees to be paid. Farmington typically requires applicants to pay impact fees upon receiving a building permit. The Park Lane developers wanted that fee amount to be set at its current cost. The city plans an increase to transportation impact fees soon, largely due to increasing needs on the city's developing west side.
City staff estimate there is a $155,000 difference between the current fee rate and the new one. The council said the money is needed for roads, such as the $7 million one that will provide a connector for Park Lane Commons to the existing Park Lane.

http://www.sltrib.com/davis/ci_14326798