Salt Lake:Official development news thread

[Dallas Snob]

A couple of items:

#1) The Marriot has another very nice property downtown also I beleive on State Street that they built a few years back. I remember when the older one was built on West Temple that they touted it as their flagship. It is just so very ugly, but it also resembles many of the ones built at the time. If they do add another 500 rooms I wonder if it would just be an addition to form an "L" shape. I doubt it would be added height of the existing structure.

#2) I hope SOMEONE will be taking lots of photos tomorrow and posting them RIGHT AWAY!!!!! I am practically peeing my pants hoping for several highrises over 25 stories. Pleeease?!

#3) I heard that the Old Salt Jall was demolished? Is that true? Did they build condos there?

#4) There use to be a Hardee's or Dee's on the corner of 1st south and State Street I think. I can remember going there when I worked at the old original HUGE Deseret Book company that use to take up three floors of space in the old ZCMI Mall. I would go to Dee's because the burger's were like 10 cents or something outlandish and it was all I could afford!

#5) Are we going to be getting updated photos on any of the LDS church temples being built in the valley? I think there is at least one if not two?

#6) I very much like the redesigned Broadway. It adds a scale that is much better for people. Those that have had exposure to exciting and vibrant cities understand this as a fundamental truth. This is one of the resaons that Bower is so popular and the new LDS Mall plans will include the same scale. While the wide empty streets may have been great to turn your horse and wagon around in, those days are long gone. For reasons that only marketing people understand, people LOVE close, crowded street scapes with trees and a tight urban environment. The successes of Boston, San Antonio, Seattle, San Francisco, et al speaks volumes. Salt Lake should seek more streets like this.

#7) Did I already mention about several highrises over 25 stories? Pleeeeease?!

[jedikermit]

Originally Posted by Dallas Snob

#4) There use to be a Hardee's or Dee's on the corner of 1st south and State Street I think. I can remember going there when I worked at the old original HUGE Deseret Book company that use to take up three floors of space in the old ZCMI Mall. I would go to Dee's because the burger's were like 10 cents or something outlandish and it was all I could afford!

#5) Are we going to be getting updated photos on any of the LDS church temples being built in the valley? I think there is at least one if not two?

#4 -- I think you mean the corner of 200 South and State--used to be Dee's, then Hardees, and now it's a Carl's Jr. I worked in the Salt Lake Tribune building for 7 years, and that whole corner is just a surface lot with that little fast food joint on the corner. I would LOVE to see a big ol' building built there.

#5 -- The only one that's had a groundbreaking is in Draper -- you can see site/construction photos here: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?draper&announced

The other two include one in Daybreak (11400 South + Bangerter Highway) and one that hasn't been officially announced yet, probably in Herriman in the far south end of the valley. That website ( http://www.ldschurchtemples.com ) is probably one of the best at keeping track of what's going on.

[Viperlord]

A little construction update for you guys.....

I watched today as they unloaded an excavator at the Angelina's corner site today, could this be a sign that they will be knocking down the current buildings, and beginning construction, yes, it is. So, look for Angelina's corner to start soon.

Also I drove over to the liberty midtown apartments. The crane is up, and work is being done there as well.

Plus, the stratford hotel is being renovated into studio condos. They have scaffolding up around the building.

I'm really surprised that people have missed these projects.lol.

BTW, has anyone ever thought of the potential for that Sears downtown? I was thinking that if sears turned the area into a mixed use developement that would be sweet. Throw in some retail with the Sears as the anchor, and bodda bing, bodda boom.

[BuiLDing GuRL]

Originally Posted by Viperlord

BTW, has anyone ever thought of the potential for that Sears downtown? I was thinking that if sears turned the area into a mixed use developement that would be sweet. Throw in some retail with the Sears as the anchor, and bodda bing, bodda boom.

If the Sears goes where are the guys with the taco carts going to go??

[Viperlord]

there are plenty of other locations... all along state street, and hell, just about everywhere downtown. They are everywhere. even over by the gateway.lol

[delts145]

Down with those stinkin ugly utility lines on 600 south.

[jedikermit]

Here's a great PDF map that was in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning showing current and recently completed projects: http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/me.../20061002_111714_Downtownslcprojects.pdf

[Joe Gardner]

Originally Posted by delts145

Down with those stinkin ugly utility lines on 600 south.

I really wish SLC would invest A LOT more money into 6th south. The majority of cars coming into down town use that road, and it is UGLY.

We need something that makes SLC more welcoming in that area.

[Viperlord]

alright guys,.... angelina's corner is being cleared for construction as we speak.... yay!!!

[Viperlord]

Salt Lake pursues Paris flight

Group goes to Atlanta to meet with Delta CEO

By Brice Wallace
Deseret Morning News
A group of leaders pushing for direct Delta Air Lines flights from Salt Lake City to Paris took a direct approach to the matter Monday, meeting with Delta's top executive at the company's Atlanta headquarters.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. led a contingent that spoke to Delta Chief Executive Officer Gerald Grinstein and three other Delta representatives about Utah's commitment to making the flights a reality.
"It was just an ability for them to tell us how they do their planning, their routing, what it takes to add a flight, and we went around the table and talked about the support coming in from the community and listened to what each other's side of the equation would be," said Leigh von der Esch, executive director of the Utah Office of Tourism.
"There will be more work for us to do, but we're cautiously optimistic that we will eventually get what we want — if not to Paris, certainly to Europe."
Others in the Utah group were Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon; Roy Williams, executive director of the Salt Lake City International Airport; Barbara Gann, spokeswoman for the airport; Salt Lake City Councilman Carlton Christensen; and businessman, Salt Lake City mayoral candidate and former City Councilman Keith Christensen.
The airport, the Utah Board of Travel Development and the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau have committed to use a total of $650,000 to develop a marketing plan for possible Delta direct flights between Salt Lake City and Paris. The airline has said the flights could become reality as soon as next summer but has added that marketing assistance and other assurances are needed to make sure the flights would be profitable.
"We need to move forward in building the French product, because for an airline, they want to know how many you're sending out from your airport but also how many are interested in coming back the other way. We've been doing that with representation in Germany and the U.K., but we haven't had a marketing effort going on in France, and I think we need to show some commitment to that going forward," von der Esch said.
Delta, she said, will look at how many tickets can be sold and how strong the market will be. "The (Salt Lake) chamber of commerce did a great job in calling in letters of support, but we know we didn't hear from every company that is capable of putting people on that flight. I think we need to do more research on what the need is.
"Delta will do their due diligence as well, but we certainly know that we have companies and corporations and what kind of partnerships we can put together to show that that would, in fact, be a terrific thing for the state if we can get this international direct flight."
The Wall Street Journal last week noted that international air travel has become a hotbed of competition for airlines because of potentially high profits. The Journal said the number of trans-Atlantic passengers is expected to be about 54 million this year, up about 29 percent from four years ago. Delta has added 12 new routes across the Atlantic since March and has three more scheduled this fall.
"They've got other international routes they're working on and all the work attending to that," von der Esch said. "We're trying to do our part. We're very optimistic and excited about it. In the meantime, we've got work to do in the tourism office getting this French product up and going."

[Viperlord]

Office space getting scarce oct 3 2006

By Dave Anderton
Deseret Morning News
Office vacancies are dropping and lease rates are soaring as Salt Lake area businesses occupy more space, according to a new report.
Deseret Morning News graphic For the three months ended Sept. 30, the office vacancy rate in Salt Lake County — excluding sublease space — was 10.76 percent, down from 11.25 percent in the third quarter of 2005, according to a report released Monday by Commerce CRG.
In downtown Salt Lake City, premium office space is hard to find, with vacancy rates for so-called "class A" space at 1.36 percent, down from 1.8 percent in the previous quarter, according to Mike Richmond, associate broker for Commerce CRG.
"I don't see that changing," Richmond said. "The challenge is we need the space today."
Even with new office buildings planned, like the 21-story tower that Hamilton Partners is expected to build at 222 S. Main, the construction lag time does little to solve today's tight market.
"You used to just be able to look at buildings that had vacancy," Richmond said. "Nowadays you're actually having to look ahead of tenants making moves in anticipation that their space will be freed up."
Gary Mangum, managing director and principal broker for Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, said the lack of downtown office space is forcing tenants to move to the suburbs, like Millrock Park in Holladay. Millrock has one building completely occupied. Two other buildings under construction also have been 100 percent pre-leased, Mangum said.
Older buildings, like the Walker Center at 175 S. Main, are undergoing renovations to turn old space into premium space. That project is expected to add roughly 35,000 square feet of class A space to the downtown market by next year's second quarter.
As quickly as some downtown businesses give up their space, others are lining up.
Fidelity Investments is expected to vacate 175,000 square feet of downtown space by next summer, when it moves into a new eight-story office tower, encompassing 230,000 square feet, at The Gateway.
New York Life is expected to vacate 13,000 square feet of space at 170 S. Main.
Richmond said several proposals already are competing to fill both spaces.
"The new product isn't there yet to take care of the demand," Mangum said. "We're seeing the lowest vacancy rates that we've had in a decade in the downtown market."
The report noted that downtown lease rates on premium office space this year have ranged on average from $23.62 to $24.36 a square foot.
"Owners are raising rates," Richmond said. "We're looking at about close to a $2 a foot increase from the beginning of the year to where we will end the year in downtown class A."
On an annualized basis, Richmond said, office lease rates for class A space are up 10 percent, class B space increased 6 percent, with class C space flat.
The report also noted that industrial vacancy rates fell to 6.83 percent in this year's third quarter, down from 7.39 percent in the same quarter in 2005.
Retail vacancy rates were at 10.97 percent in the 2006 third quarter.

[Viperlord]

man, is SLC ever going to change in the next couple of years.

[jmonkey]

Wow, I am actually getting excited about development in downtown again!! City Creek Center, Utah WTC, entertainment district, continued residential growth, very low office vacancy rates. Banner years, my friends. Enjoy them while you can!!

[Viperlord]

thought i'd post these...

[i-215]

Amazing ... just, like 2 days ago, we were being made fun of because Salt Lake City was a ghost town then............... ZAMMMO!!!! We have the most exciting city in the region!

[i-215]

It's now past midnight .... I just keep hitting refresh trying to see what new pops up on this project. I wish the demolition was rolling tonight! C'mon City Creek Center!

[Viperlord]

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site297/2006/1004/20061004_022420_citycreekcenter.pdf

[delts145]

I just moved from L.A. several months ago. Los Angeles is a huge city and many exciting things are happening.While I like L.A. alot and will be there often,nothing beat's the Wasatch on many levels.
Metro growth of Salt Lake City keeps outpacing the predictions of all those experts. Many small cities like Lehi are becoming big and larger cities, such as West Valley even bigger. Alot of these many towns making up the greater Wasatch Front are among the fastest growing in the nation. I also like the way each community such as Alpine, Highland, Sugarhouse,Farmington, or Draper,etc. have so much home town pride, and hands-on community involvement in town politics. Each Valley whether Salt Lake, Heber,Utah, or Weber have endless projects going on.
There are many great cities in North America, and I've seen most of them. The thing that sets The Wasatch apart from other large metro areas is the proximity of its beautiful mountain chain and spectacular canyons. No major metro area can even come close to the topography and residential building lots like Suncrest,Olympus Cove,and on and on. Just about every state has a city named Alpine in it. Show me one that even comes close to the typical vista an average resident of Alpine,Utah enjoys. Yet the residents of Alpine are smack dab in the middle of two and a quarter million people. Have you seen the views from the top of Suncrest lately? It is positively surreal and yet only minutes from downtown. When you live in a neigborhood with a typical name such as Grandview or Palisades in Provo/Orem,that's not unusual in America. But you look out the often large windows in these homes, or step out the door, and your jaw drops at the sight of the giant wall of mountains directly in front of you.
Someone, in another region said this is Salt Lakes year. I disagree. Some of you won't like this, but the secret of Salt Lake City's topography is out. This is at the very least, Salt Lake's decade.

[rodan]

Hmm. This is pretty cool. But I got to admit I am not very excited about this at all anymore. Tearing down some really cool buildings, getting rid of a tower and replacing it with the same size tower, and no new tallest in the making. Yeah not that cool IMO.

I do like the way they are handling the mall part and the river tho. The new residential is good too, but I'm just not too excited it feels like I won't be seeing much difference in the way slc's skyline looks. Maybe they will come up with something better before it is finallized.

[leebuddy]

Originally Posted by rodan

Hmm. This is pretty cool. But I got to admit I am not very excited about this at all anymore. Tearing down some really cool buildings, getting rid of a tower and replacing it with the same size tower, and no new tallest in the making. Yeah not that cool IMO.

I do like the way they are handling the mall part and the river tho. The new residential is good too, but I'm just not too excited it feels like I won't be seeing much difference in the way slc's skyline looks. Maybe they will come up with something better before it is finallized.

Rodan,

funny i was just thinking that same thing the more i come to thinking about this whole project. i mean think about it salt lake is losing Key bank, Inn @ temple Sq and the Deseret building to only make way for three new towers? Losing three to get three? Our skyline will look the same.