Salt Lake:Official development news thread

[delts145]

By Dave Anderton
Deseret Morning News
Negative perceptions about Utah still linger — strict liquor laws, a conservative monoculture and the dominant influence of a single church.
However, a new survey of more than 100 businesses that have relocated or expanded in Utah during the past five years shows that those perceptions may be turning.
In fact, Utah's success in attracting new businesses and erasing old perceptions could backfire, according to a report commissioned by the Real Estate Professionals for Economic Development.
"The question is not can we and have we done a good job of recruiting businesses to Utah — because we certainly have — but have we done too much? Is the engine heating up too fast?" said Antonio Lima, an account manager at the Summit Group, a Salt Lake-based public relations firm that prepared the report.
According to Lima, the study revealed that site selectors are less interested in Utah's polygamous past and more concerned about finding enough employees.
Many respondents in the report expressed concern over Utah's record low unemployment rate — 2.6 percent in December.
"It's clearly a widespread problem," said Tom Bingham, president of the Utah Manufacturers Association. "Part of it is just simply that people are not there. Another part of it is there are folks out there, but they don't have the skills to take some of these jobs."
One respondent in the report said, "When we started looking in the Tooele area, the unemployment rate was around 8 or 9 percent. Now, the unemployment is in the 3 percent range. I don't know why any real estate guys would be trying to drum up more business in Utah. I mean, you don't have any workers to work. If unemployment is at 3 percent it might as well be zero."
Others expressed disappointment about trying to find quality employees. Some said that the state was sold to them as having a "ready, willing and able labor pool," but that no longer exists.
"Sure it's not easy to find workers, but it's ludicrous to ever think that we somehow won't have this ongoing pipeline of labor," said Kelly Matthews, executive vice president and economist with Wells Fargo in Salt Lake City. "I don't think there is any state in the country that even remotely can match our labor force growth year after year after year."
Bill Martin, managing partner of Commerce CRG, said another concern expressed by out-of-state employers was the lack of interest by Utah workers to work overtime.
"We have a great employment base," Martin said. "But they tend to like to work only eight to five. They don't like to work overtime because that is cutting into their outdoor activities."
Tauni Everett, director of communications for Economic Development Corp. of Utah, a private organization contracted by the state to bring new jobs and capital to Utah, said in the 2006 calender year, EDCU recruited 30 companies to expand or relocate here. That includes Amer Sports Corp., a sporting goods equipment company that announced in October it would put the headquarters of three major ski-equipment brands in Ogden, creating 230 new jobs.
"We certainly are doing a lot more business than we used to," Everett said. "Each week we are generating an average of seven new projects, companies that are interested in considering Utah as a potential site for expansion or relocation."
Robert Spendlove, chief economist to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., said companies still are attracted to Utah because of its labor pool.
Utah has the highest household size in the nation, the highest fertility rate of any state and the lowest median age. In 2006, the state recorded 52,368 births. Net migration totaled nearly 29,000 people.
"What that turns into is a state with a very strong natural population increase," Spendlove said. "That turns right into a strong labor market. However, the low unemployment rate is starting to create labor pressure on the state's economy. We're really seeing that in areas like engineering, education, extraction industries and trucking."
Despite those pressures, Matthews said it would be a mistake to ever stop "selling" Utah.
"As long as we're going to have these kids, the only possible way that we can make this work is to grow our economy as fast as we possibly can," Matthews said. "In the end, every job that can be possibly created in Utah is a good job."

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by Viperlord

not too shabby..

I was wondering if that's what those rendings were. I agree, I like the design much better also. For some reason the building looks even taller. I counted about 12-13 stoires on that blue print one above. This building will improve the south end of the city's skyline.

[delts145]

Yeah, I would have liked to have seen them keep the historic structure built in 1912. At least this will be an attractive project.

[delts145]

Finally, I've been looking for an update on our magnificant Capitol building. Can't wait to tour the finished product.



Glimpses, following photo's by Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune

Amid dust and protective sheeting, artisans in hard hats scurry to finish
By Rebecca Walsh
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Launched: 01/23/2007 01:10:28 AM MST


Construction crews begin to lay down the new floor on the first level rotunda which will eventually become the governor portrait room.


The governor's ceremonial office keeps its original ceiling as numerous other renovations continue at the Utah State Capitol


Looking East toward the supreme court, construction crews begin to dissasemble the scafforlding that once filled the entire space within the Utah Capitol. With the upper rotunda nearly completely repainted, definite changes are taking place with the project scheduled to be completed in one more year.


A recent Capitol tour reveals the progress that's been made along with areas that still have a ways to go, including the house of representatives undergoing painting and restoration.


A construction worker applies plaster to the ceilings near the East atrium as work continues at the Utah Capitol currently undergoing seismic reinforcements and updates.


Facing West toward the house of representatives, construction crews begin to dissasemble the scaffolding which once filled the entire atrium at the Utah State Capitol. The seismic updates are scheduled to be completed in one year with the grand opening on Jan. 4, 2008.


Nearing completion, the supreme courts paint and gold leaf details have been updated as work contiunes on the Utah Capitol.


Restoration of decorative pillars, seen here in the house of representatives and seismic updating of the Utah Capitol continues with a planned grand opening on Jan. 4, 2008.



A gold leaf ornament is intricate and detailed. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune)


David Hart, Capitol architect for the state, points out the ceiling elements of the gold room as its renovation nears completion. The grand opening of the state Capitol is set for Jan. 4, 2008. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune


Details in gold leaf have been updated on top of the Supreme Court's entrance at the Capitol as work continues with a year left to go. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune)

The changes inside Utah's Capitol are subtle.
Glimpses of the freshly de-grimed murals that circle the Rotunda are visible through a network of scaffolding. Watery winter sunlight filters through cleaned skylights in the east and west atriums, highlighting new baby blue and pink paint. Plaster patching snakes over all the ceilings like a spider web.
Lower levels of the building still look like something out of "The Lord of the Rings," with puddles of standing water, the occasional flare of a welder's torch and fluffy piles of concrete dust kicked up in the frigid air.
But upstairs, hints of the Victorian gilt that adorned the seat of state government when it first opened in 1916 are starting to reappear.
After three years of demolition and Port-o-Potties and Visqueen sheeting, the Capitol is starting to look more like itself - albeit a more mahogany and mauve version of itself.
"You'll see colors you've never seen before," says Dave Marshall, general superintendent for Jacobsen-Hunt, the construction firms overseeing the rebuilding project.
In one year, the building will reopen to elected leaders and the public. In the meantime, the work of filling in the gutted granite shell is starting in earnest.
"It's changing so fast that every time I come in, something's different," says Capitol Architect David Hart.
To the eye, the transformation is more gradual. Windows still are blocked with plywood and plastic. A village of 70 subcontractors' trailers clusters south of the building in the dirt. The center of the first floor is a precarious hole.
The Capitol closed in the summer of 2004 to allow construction crews to shore it up to withstand an earthquake and, at the same time, reverse years of utilitarian and historically clumsy remodeling projects, returning the building to its genteel glory.
The $200 million seismic retrofit and restoration project is at its peak, with 350 workers toiling in the building, screwing in metal lathe and Sheetrock, slathering plaster mud on new walls and delicately filling divots in the marble-veneered walls with a mixture of rock dust and cement.
In the basement, crews are installing the last of 280 base isolators - giant sliders that will allow the building to sway two feet side to side, but intact, in a temblor. In March, the building will be cut free from its old footings and allowed to rest on the isolators.
Until then, the most delicate work of the entire project - decorative painting and restoration of the murals - goes on in a fine cloud of dust.
"Right now, dust is the enemy," Hart says. "I'll feel much better when the scaffolding is down and the dust is gone."
Art restorer Carmen Bria climbed up and down 12 flights of scaffolding in 90-degree heat for six weeks last summer as part of a crew that de-grimed, "in-painted" and repaired water damage and a hole in Father Escalante's ear - at times lying on their stomachs - before revarnishing the murals that encircle the Capitol rotunda.
Preservationists, including Bria, from the Denver-based Western Center of the Conservation of Fine Arts will return to Utah in February to restore a mural in the Senate gallery. Artists from the center have worked in the Colorado and Oklahoma capitols as well as several post offices.
"We've never worn hard hats before," Bria says. "It's just an incredibly complex project to try to coordinate."
The whole building smells of paint. Painting and mural restoration is about $2.8 million of the project budget and nearly every surface in the building will get a new coat. The Supreme Court Chamber's gold paint and leafing have been replaced. The walls are a deep plum color - rather than the blues and taupes more modern tastes dictated. Trim in the historic Gold Room is being painted a light lavender - it looks creamy against the surrounding color scheme.
Work in the Senate and House chambers is on a different schedule. The House's old pink and green color scheme is evident. And water damage still mars the ceiling of the Senate. Crews are stripping the iron scrollwork railings in the galleries and applying gold leaf. And painters are beginning decorative painting of the plasterwork.
While work chugs on inside the building, furniture restorers, carpenters and artists have been commissioned to create the trappings that will fill the chambers and offices.
Two Utah artists have been selected to paint murals for pendentives above the doors in the House and Senate chambers. Both Cache Valley painters have been sworn to secrecy about the subjects, but they are expected to be scenes from Utah's history. Legislative leaders want to unveil the paintings during public open houses next fall.
David Koch is painting two 8-by-10-foot murals for the House in his parents' garage - the only space large enough to do the work.
"It's the biggest painting that I've done to date," Koch says. He's thrilled at the idea his art will join works by Utah artists Lee Green Richards and H.L.A. (Harry) Culmer.
"To be included in that group is just a little bit daunting to me," Koch says. "It would be a milestone for any artist to have a work in a government building. It's historically significant."




At the Utah Capitol, a seismic fault adjacent to
the site motivated a major effort to reinforce this
iconic structure. Base isolation, allowing
approximately 30 inches of lateralmovement
(and the consequent stiffening of the building),
in turn provided the excuse for a complete overhaul. Photo courtesy of Schooley Caldwell Associates

[Viperlord]

U students pick TRAX
Skyrocketing mass transit use cuts costs, saves space
By: Dustin Gardiner
Issue date: 1/23/07 Section: News



The seats and aisles of a TRAX car are filled with people as the train rolls into the Rice-Eccles Stadium station.

The doors open and a horde of students carrying newspapers and coffee cups pour out and begin making their way to early morning classes.

For the more than third of the U population that rides the light rail or buses to campus, this is a daily scenario--for the U, it is a sign of a mass transit plan gone right.

Almost five years ago, 6,500 students, staff and faculty members rode public transportation to campus, but after the completion of TRAX in 2003, that number has jumped to more than 13,000, according to the Utah Transit Authority.

"It's exceeded even our expectations," said Dave Huber, Salt Lake regional manager for UTA.

With a hefty portion of the campus using alternative forms of transportation, administrators said the U is beginning to reap the benefits.


Fewer cars, more parking

Since the completion of TRAX, U administrators said traffic to campus has declined and opened much-needed parking spaces.

"There was a very obvious and constant problem at the U to find parking--now there's an excess," Huber said.

The average number of cars using Foothill Boulevard near the U has steadily declined by about 5,000 cars since the late 1990s, according to numbers provided by the Utah Department of Transportation.

"Foothill used to be a mess," said Norm Chambers, associate vice president for auxiliary services. "We're helping a lot to get cars off the road all over the valley."

While there are more students at the U than there were five years ago, there are more open parking spaces, said Alma Allred, director of commuter services.

Allred said there are generally several hundred unoccupied parking spaces on campus at any given time during the day.

Dennis Marshing, a U staff member, said after working at other jobs where he was required to drive everyday, riding TRAX or biking to work was a breath of fresh air.


"It's kind of nice just letting somebody else drive," Marshing said.


Saving space and money

The benefits of TRAX extend beyond open parking lots--administrators said it's saving the U and students money.

The U has been able to avoid building large, expensive parking structures largely because of the popularity of TRAX, Chambers said.

He said parking garages would have cost millions of dollars and caused the prices of parking passes to "skyrocket" because donors wouldn't likely provide funding for a parking garage.

"You're not going to find the Eccles parking garage," Chambers said.

The decreased demand for parking is also helpful to U planners who want to save space for new buildings.

"I don't think anybody wants to have a parking garage anywhere," Allred said. "We don't want to take up green space."

Riding TRAX is saving students money, too.

Josh Rosenthal, a sophomore in business, said that by riding TRAX, he saves about $30 each month in gas money and $120 per year because he does not have to buy a parking permit.

"It's less stress (not) having to park and good exercise," he said.

Now that the U is choosing mass transit by the masses, Huber said he must work with administrators to make way for more riders.

"We're constantly adding (more TRAX) cars," he said.

[delts145]

What fantastic news!! That kind of article just makes me all the more excited for all the great Trax projects coming on line. I hope that 400 so. from downtown to the U of U will follow suit with a lot more attractive mixed-use,multi level housing.

[SLC Projects]

Huntsman Cancer Center Prepares to Open at New Hospital
January 23rd, 2007 @ 2:51pm

<Ed Yeates Reporting

Tractors and cranes are still building the multi-million dollar Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, but one specialty building on that huge campus opened its doors today and will begin seeing patients in two weeks.

The Jon and Karen Huntsman Cancer Center, one of what are called five Centers of Excellence that will make up this 100-acre medical campus, one of the largest in the western United States. This first building will become a specialty center for cancer patients, complimenting the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Hospital at the University of Utah.

It will have a new CAT scanner with a bigger, more comfortable orbit for patients. This little device actually coordinates the scanning with the patient's breathing. Then a Linear Accelerator will turn on and off in sync with that respiration, surgically tracking tumors no matter where they move.

A Gamma Knife surgical system soon to be installed will become only the second of its kind in the country for pinpointing tumors in the head and neck.

Another unique feature, instead of the patient having to go out to seek out a doctor or specialist on one day, they come to this one location and can meet with all of them at the same time.

Dianne Kane, Oncology Nursing Director: "Their cases are discussed in a multidisciplinary tumor conference by a panel of experts. Those experts bring that information to the patients at the clinic."

During ribbon cutting ceremonies this afternoon there were a lot of thanks to those who made this 48-thousand square foot facility a reality. For Jon and Karen Huntsman this is yet another battlefront in their war against cancer.

Jon Huntsman, Founder, Huntsman Cancer Institute: "Someday, somehow, we will end this cursed disease. We have to. We have to."

The rest of IHC's Intermountain Medical Center will open this fall.

[delts145]

Murray cancer center christened
New Huntsman center is one-stop shop for patients
By Linda Fantin
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 01/23/2007 03:14:36 PM MST

Cancer Center Entrance


Exterior View


Posted: 3:13 PM- MURRAY - A three-story cancer treatment hospital was dedicated Tuesday, the first of five specialty centers that will make up Intermountain Healthcare's 100-acre medicalopolis at 5300 S. State Street.
The Jon and Karen Huntsman Cancer Center, eight years in the planning, will begin providing outpatient radiation treatment Feb. 5 and add services throughout the year. Surgical services will begin Oct. 29, when the rest of the Intermountain campus opens.
The 48,000-square-foot cancer center will offer patients a complete range of diagnostic and treatment options, allowing patients to see an entire team of doctors involved in their care at one time in About the Jon and Karen Huntsman Cancer Center


Three floors, 48,000 square feet
Outpatient only
Radiation therapy, integrated clinic, medical offices, public resource center
Will offer treatment Feb. 5
Full center opens Oct. 29

one location. In addition, the center will house an array of technological resources, including a new $4.4 million gamma knife that allows targeted radiation therapy for difficult-to-access tumors in the head and neck.
Jon Huntsman Sr. and wife Karen donated $5 million to help build the center named in their honor. In exchange, Intermountain will give the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer (HCI) Institute $25 million for research, access to its insurance plan and a pipeline of research data.
The new center will operate independently from the HCI and its 50-bed hospital, but the facilities will share knowledge and data, and collaborate on cancer education. That teamwork was praised Thursday at a luncheon and ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the occasion and honoring the Huntsmans for their role in advancing cancer research and treatment.
"We have an opportunity to be leaders in the nation on how we deliver cancer care - not just bricks and mortar," said Dr. William Sause, director of Intermountain Healthcare's cancer services.
"Someday, somehow we will end this cursive disease," added Jon Huntsman Sr., who was introduced by his son, the governor. "We have to."

About the Jon and Karen Huntsman Cancer Center

-Three floors, 48,000 square feet
-Outpatient only
-Radiation therapy, integrated clinic, medical offices, public resource -
center
-Will offer treatment Feb. 5
-Full center opens Oct. 29

[delts145]

Utah housing market strong

By Dave Anderton
Deseret Morning News
Housing starts in the greater Salt Lake region rose 17 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006, to 4,570 units, according to a new report by Metrostudy.


Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News
Construction crew works on a home in the Daybreak development. Housing starts rose 17% in the fourth quarter.

The increase in new home starts was surpassed by closings, the report noted, with quarterly home closings totaling 4,613 units, a 30 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2005.
For all of 2006, the greater Salt Lake region had 18,740 new home starts and 15,600 new home closings, representing increases of 17 percent and 5 percent, respectively, compared to 2005, according to the report from the Houston-based real estate research company with offices in West Jordan.
The greater Salt Lake region includes Davis, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Wasatch and Weber counties.
"While much of the nation prepares for a slowdown in new home production, the greater Salt Lake market is experiencing growth," said Eric Allen, director of Metrostudy Utah. "We've seen inventory levels in the Salt Lake area rise quite a bit over the last year, but a lot of the inventory that is out there is getting closed on."
Most of the Wasatch Front's new housing starts were in Daybreak, a South Jordan master-planned community. Daybreak saw 698 new home starts in 2006. It was followed by The Ranches in Eagle Mountain at 665 home starts. Traverse Mountain in Lehi came in third at 475 starts.
The Metrostudy report noted that the unsold, finished, vacant, single-house inventory rose to 1,612 units in the fourth quarter, a 92 percent increase from 839 units in the fourth quarter of 2005. The fourth quarter unsold new-house inventory represents a 1.6-month supply.
Bill Martin, managing partner of Commerce CRG, said while there is talk of a housing slowdown hitting the Wasatch Front, the Metrostudy numbers don't yet show it.
"It is critical that the people that are building subdivisions are building them in the way of progress," Martin said. "The people that are building houses that will get hurt are the ones that are way out, pioneering. In the beginning of a downturn, Eagle Mountain will be the first one to go down."
There were 6,869 new lots delivered to the greater Salt Lake market during the fourth quarter of 2006. Vacant developed lot inventory totaled 19,600 units as of Dec. 31. Based on the annual starts rate, the level of lot inventory represents a 12.5-month supply. A 12- to 18-month supply of new lots is considered average, Allen said.
Allen noted that the median price for a new single-family home in the greater Salt Lake area rose to $303,516 in the fourth quarter, a 22 percent increase from $247,912 in the fourth quarter of 2005.

[Northernlad]

The current Utah housing market is good news, but nothing to get too excited about. Utah and Salt Lake were slow at getting into the impressive housing appreciation/sales gains that much of the rest of the West and nation were already experiencing the past few years. Now that these other markets have had a bubble break or have slowed a bit, so will Salt Lake sooner or later.
As seen with other cities and metros, the large increases cannot be sustained for too long before it slows again.

[i-215]

Good. Just about the time it bottoms out, will be when I'm looking to buy!

[Northernlad]

I have a few friends who sat on their homes in South Jordan and Draper waiting for appreciation the past 5 years so they could sell and cash out and move. That appreciation took longer to happen than they wished, but now they have made $$ and are very happy.

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by i-215

Good. Just about the time it bottoms out, will be when I'm looking to buy!

Good call. Let's hope when the housing market slows down home prices will go down abit.

[delts145]

Cottonwood Mall downplays spate of store closures

By Jenifer K. Nii
Deseret Morning News
Business as usual, it is.
Or is it?
Cottonwood Mall general manager Spence Angerbauer says that despite a spate of recent store closures, which came on the heels of other store closures in December, the mall remains open and ready for business.
"We're just business as usual," Angerbauer said. "Obviously, we're looking at and addressing the future of Cottonwood Mall, but we don't have any announcements at this time.
"We have a few stores that their leases are expiring at the end of January, and they'll be leaving. But the majority of the mall is remaining open and will continue to stay open."
General Growth Properties owns Cottonwood, along with Fashion Place, Cache Valley, Red Cliffs and Newgate malls in Utah. Late last year, General Growth announced a major expansion at Fashion Place, adding a new store for Nordstrom and 150,000 square feet of new restaurants and shops. The project is expected to be complete in 2009.
Nothing has been announced for Cottonwood, though rumors abound about its fate — rumors fueled at least in part by what seems to be an escalation in tenant exits. Among those to close last Saturday were American Eagle Outfitters, Gymboree, Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret. Angerbauer said that prior to those closures, the mall was more than 60 percent occupied.
"We still have our major anchors, J.C. Penney and Macy's," he said. "We have national and local retailers. After January, our occupancy will drop a little bit, but it is nothing major or significant. The impact will be minimal."
Macy's spokeswoman Kimberly Reason said that company's Cottonwood store is performing well.
"Our Cottonwood store has been doing very well, and we have no plans to leave that mall," Reason said. "We plan to stay."
Apparently, however, some retailers don't have a choice.
Denise Mellen, owner of Melon Patch Memories, a scrapbooking store at the mall, said her lease is up at the end of February.
"As far as I know, they're not renewing leases past the end of March," Mellen said. "Though they're not really telling us anything."
For now, Angerbauer reassured customers that the mall is "definitely not closing."
But beyond that?
"All I can say is that we are constantly addressing the future of Cottonwood Mall," he said. "It would be premature to announce anything at this time. Just know that we are actively engaged in those discussions."
Mellen said she's looking for another location but hasn't yet settled on one. Customers interested in updates (along with sales and scrapbooking classes) can be alerted via e-mail.
"That way, we'll definitely say when we're doing what," she said.

[delts145]

Over eighty thousand in town for Sundance and Sportsman Convention and now another record crowd of thousands set to hit the downtown in two days. Would someone please step forward with that mega-convention hotel NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Outdoor Retailer Market attracts record crowd
Winter Market showcases demand for apparel
Dan Bischoff, Of the Record staff



People who love the outdoors, apparently want to bring that style into their daily lives.
"Apparel is a category that is selling really well," said Peter Devin, group show director for Outdoor Retailer. "Outdoor apparel has changed. It used to be all technical wear. Something you'd wear skiing."

Devin said people want to show their lifestyle on their shirt, literally.

"Now what you've got is lifestyle apparel combinations that are also doing technical and not technical. It's something you'd wear to work.

"People going into stores to get a sled or skis also buy apparel. I see apparel being a significant pattern of business," he said.

Devin gave examples of "Life is Good" T-shirts and various outdoor shoes that are universal.

"Stores are doing very well with outdoor apparel products," Devin said. "The consumer gets the benefit of shopping in one spot, and they can get technical jackets and still wear it to dinner.

"In the old days, that couldn't have been done, that's really changed and the market reflects that," he added.

Outdoor Retailer's 2007 Winter Market, which takes place Jan. 27-30 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, also shows that trend.

"There's more apparel at this show than any other show," Devin said. "There are 13 percent more apparel companies than last year. There are nine percent more apparel companies than the summer show."

While apparel has seen a spike in numbers, the success of this trade-only show in its 17th year has also seen a growth in popularity. The merchants coming to the show are multiplying daily. According to Devin, there will be 5,000 retailers representing 3,200 stores worldwide and 800 new exhibitors have been added this year.

"It's 16 percent greater than last year," Devin said. "The attendance at this point of time is projected up both in stores as well as buyers."

Roughly 150 returning companies will have requested expanded booths to offer more space. Some companies like Arc'teryx have enlarged their booths significantly.

"That's a product of companies evolving their strategy," Devin said. "Companies are coming out with new apparel lines and they couldn't fit all the apparel in one booth. It will be jammed with packs and apparel."

Merchants and buyers who attend the show benefit from each other in a multitude of ways. The buyers are buying for next fall and winter seasons.

"Our goal is to provide the outdoor business community with an efficient and compelling marketplace where participants can pinpoint top trends, further business strategies and network with leading industry influencers," Devin said.

Devin added that the show provides "a lot of apparel that's sold throughout world at this time. They are looking for those items that will significantly impact their stores this year."

But, stores such as REI, Cabelas, Jans Mountain Outfitters and Cole Sport may come to see the market trends as well.

"The show is successful from both sides of the aisle," Devin said. "They love getting together and it's beneficial from networking and an awareness standpoint.

Whether it's skiing and snowboarding gear or apparel, "it's an opportunity for them to take a pulse of what's going on in the market," Devin added.

Often forgotten by the layperson are components like zippers, welted seams and buttons. Finding and purchasing those items is a big part of the show. For help finding those products Outdoor Retailer has included a design center.

"It's a resource center for product development people," Devin said. "Larger stores are making their own product and then you have exhibiting companies like or North Face dealing or talking with suppliers. It's a design center that talks about trends and fabric. Buyers that I've spoken to, Cabelas and REI, look at that as a potential help to them."

When building a product, Devin said, this could be beneficial in assisting companies to complete the design puzzle.

"Building a product is really exciting," Devin said. "There's a lot of moving parts, you may put it all together in another country. There's a large significant amount of suppliers that are making products for all those folks, they come from all over the world."

The show will also provide educational tools for attendees to help their businesses flourish. The events and seminars will discuss environmental sustainability, accessories, digital printing, sports trends, and influences to customer service dynamics, Devin said.

"The education opportunities at the show will be the best that we put together," Devin said. "It's a fabulous track for buyers and primarily designed for retailers."

Even though the show will see an increase in apparel, there will be no shortage of the latest winter sports mountaineering gear and backcountry snowboards to technical apparel. Top trends, according to Devin, include "an increase in environmentally-conscious products across all segments."

To help chose what products buyers want in their stores, Outdoor Retailer is holding its fourth annual Backcountry Base Camp on Friday, Jan. 26 at Brighton from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to test backcountry equipment prior to making buying decisions.

The event will feature backcountry-guided tours, a Nordic facility, snowshoe testing area, and a beacon search area among other events. The Base Camp Bash will be held immediately following the on-snow demos at the Alpine Rose from 4 - 6 p.m.

"This is an opportunity for retailers around the world to demo products on the snow," Devin said. "It's been a really successful event, it's a wonderful advantage of buyer. Buyers will often switch decisions based on the demo."


The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market Show will take place Jan. 27-30 at the Salt Palace Convention Center with the Backcountry Base Camp scheduled on Jan. 26, one day prior to the Show. Registration details for Winter Market 2007 and more information on Outdoor Retailer tradeshows can be found at www.outdoorretailer.com

[SLC Projects]

With this many people coming to downtown you'd think salt lake would get a new big hotel.

[delts145]

Thank goodness we have Gateway and all the resorts to keep people entertained during this new building boom.

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by delts145

Thank goodness we have Gateway and all the resorts to keep people entertained during this new building boom.

And I laugh everytime people say "There's nothing to do in salt lake"

[SLC Projects]

Utah's Booming Economy Attracting National Attention
January 25th, 2007 @ 5:02pm

Keith McCord Reporting

OK, you've heard this before, but Utah's economy is booming! And, knock on wood, it's going to stay strong for much of this year, at least that's the forecast of experts who should know.

These are the commercial real estate folks, the people who are largely responsible for our changing skyline of the years. And, it's going to keep changing.

During the summer of 1973, Salt Lake's skyline certainly changed. It grew taller as hotels, banks, and other office buildings jumped out of the ground. Some of those buildings are gone now, but they're being replaced with new structures, as the city, and county continue to evolve.

Coldwell Banker, one of the nation's largest commercial franchisers in the nation, says 2006 set records in Salt Lake.


Gary Mangum, Principal Broker, Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT: "We closed 1,460 transactions, which accounted for a total closed volume of 1-billion, 513 million dollars worth of real estate transactions out of our salt lake city office."

Utah's economy is driving all this, with job growth is as number one in the nation.

Peter Corroon: "Utah, also ranked number 1 in the unemployment rate, at 2.5%, so really things are on fire."

On fire, with the outlook still good. Office vacancy rates are the lowest on record, which means, new developments like the City Creek Center, and the new office tower at the Gateway should have no problem filling up.

And Utah is no longer a "live-in-the-suburbs-work-in-the-city" type of place. People want to live downtown now, and new developments are integrating both business and residential, a trend that will no doubt continue.


And there's talk of even more residential living in the downtown area. Developers of the new City Creek Center are talking about building a 32-story residential tower next to the Marriott hotel.

Residential or commercial, Utah's fiery economy is also attracting national attention.

Brandon Fugal, Commercial Associate, Coldwell Banker: "A lot of national users are looking at Utah more than ever...and we expect this year major announcements from national tenants that will be locating here and recognizing Utah as the crossroads of the west."

Another note about job growth, in Salt Lake County alone last year there were 24,000 new jobs created! Things are booming here. The question is: for how long? We made be riding this wave for a while yet...

[delts145]

Not exactly a building but probably something we will all have a definite opinion on. So, let the opinions fly.



Utah may soon be trading in its decades-old "Ski Utah" license plate for one featuring the state's new slogan, "Life Elevated," as well as red rocks and petroglyphs along with mountains and a skier.
A bill requiring the 2007 Legislature to approve the new design was introduced Thursday.
"I think people will like it. The plate depicts the state, north and south," said Senate Majority Whip Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, the sponsor of SB73, which also makes changes to other state license plates.
Starting in about a year, the largely white "Ski Utah" plate issued since 1985 would be replaced with the new design chosen from about 10 proposals by Eastman and other state officials.
Petroglyph-decorated red rocks are splashed across the top of the new plate along with the state's name and "Life Elevated." The rest of the plate is a blue-tinted photographic image of the Wasatch Mountains with a skier below.
About the only controversy that could surface about the new design, Eastman joked, is that the skier depicted on the new plate is swooshing across a groomed slope rather than the state's famous powder.
The familiar slogan, "Greatest Snow on Earth," will stay on the new plate.
"We think that's an important part of the branding for the state of Utah," said Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development. "Greatest Snow on Earth" has been used by the state since the early 1960s.
So, economic development officials hope, is "Life Elevated," announced a year ago to mixed reviews as the slogan for a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign for the state. Eastman said the new license plate design is part of the branding effort.
It's the addition of southern Utah's red rocks that's attracting the most enthusiasm from tourism officials. Although Nanette Groves Anderson, executive director of the Utah Tourism Industry Coalition, hasn't seen the new plate design, she said she's excited.
"I really like that it's pulling it together," Anderson said of the state's two top attractions. Plus, the Torrey-based tourism official said, the new plates will focus positive attention on the industry.
Eastman's bill also calls for changes in the colorful Utah Centennial plate featuring Delicate Arch that was first issued in 1992 to promote and help pay for the state's 1996 centennial celebration. The centennial will be removed and "Life Elevated" will be added.
Also, the bill would eliminate the Olympic plate issued to mark Salt Lake City's hosting of the 2002 Winter Games. The new plates would be issued once the state's supply of existing plates is used up, Eastman said.
Count Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. among those who are ready for a change. "Utah needs updated license plates," the governor's spokesman, Mike Mower, said. "Now is a good time to promote Utah as, 'Life Elevated."'