Salt Lake:Official development news thread

[delts145]

Originally Posted by SmilingBob

This area is definitely upscale. Probably as much or more so than downtown customers, but the question is how to develop it differently from Fashion Place. When I was there Cottonwood was owned by Price Development who are only slightly better than Woodbury Corp. at managing malls and tenants. General Growth is a much better company regarding mall development, and it will be a nice project.

I would like to see an open Gateway-type project there. The mall itself is a tear-down and rebuild project. And if you are going to tear it down you don't rebuild an enclosed mall. So you are left with an open Mall or Strip Mall. The area is too high end for a simple strip mall, like the ones which surround it.

Cottonwood Mall is on a very small piece of land. Parking is a huge issue. At Christmas employees had to park on the east side in a parking lot uphill from the mall. The stairs to go down were at least 3 stories high meaning the parking lot was up above the roof of the mall. Macey's has a nice parking garage, and you are looking at more parking garages regardless of what you do. You couldn't build Cottonwood Mall today because the parking requirements would prevent it. My guess is that you would need 500 more parking spaces and that only works if you go up. You would need to encircle the mall with parking garages to provide adequate parking. Gateway has some of that, but it is more open than Cottonwood would be.

With the small amount of land, I don't know how you build a very big project. I always felt that a boutique shopping plaza was the way to go. Everything very upscale. Jewelry, clothing, gifts, shoes, etc. The market area could support high-end products and now would definitely be the time to move forward. Should have been working on it earlier and be able to grab more of the ZCMI Center/Crossroads Plaza dollars.

Thanks for your very helpful thoughts. That certainly is a challenging location in some ways, but would be well worth the effort if executed properly.

I guess something a long the line of Gateway,"perhaps even more densely developed." They could certainly better utilize the properties across the street on Higlhand also.

I have always appreciated a well designed, multi level parking garage. It would seem that property would require it. I think something a long the same scale as The Grove in L.A. It is located in a similar type of location,"Good surface streets,but not on a freeway interchange." The Grove utilizes a large multi level parking structure, with a Euro-theme style of village main-street. It's extremely popular and has even become a major tourist attraction.

I agree with you Smiling Bob, that it should be upscale. Holladay is an area with a lot of Brentwood,Bel Aire style estates and incomes. I guess Macy's would be the anchor,which is fine. In L.A.'s very upscale Century City out-door Mall, Macy's performs very well. At the Century City Mall,all parking is under the complex itself.

The Grove, Los Angeles. This project is on a fairly compact footprint, but accomplishes a lot in a densely packed area. The only complaint would be that all residential is off premises. It would be wise to include condo's within the complex. There are a lot of condo's surrounding across the street.

[delts145]

The building that once held the Children's Museum of Utah may be in for a major renovation that would bring the Wasatch Springs Plunge building closer to its original purpose. (Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune )

Former bathhouse may become recreation center
By Heather May
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/08/2007 04:23:46 PM MST


It would cost at least $18 million and there's no pot of money in sight. But Salt Lake City has a plan to renovate the Wasatch Springs Plunge building - when the time is right.
A city-backed study calls for returning pools - though not fed by natural springs - to the former warm springs resort, along with a gymnasium, jogging track, climbing wall and community meeting rooms.
While once a popular bathhouse, the building, at 840 N. 300 West, is better known as the home to the Children's Museum of Utah. But with that center's move to The Gateway in 2006, the city decided it was time to find a new use.
In 2005, the city hired consultants to study the building's existing condition and offer re-use possibilities. The study, issued last year, calls for returning it to a recreational destination - one resembling one of the centers funded through Salt Lake County's Zoo, Arts and Parks program.
The study calls for converting the main level into a gym, surrounded by meeting rooms. The second level would include a jogging track and fitness/aerobic spaces. A new building would be constructed behind the historic structure and would include a new pool and locker rooms. And a courtyard between the two buildings would house an outdoor mineral spa.
The estimated cost last year was $17.5 million. If it were built this year, it would cost $18.5 million. Prices are projected to jump 6 percent each year.
"The city supports the plan," said Nikki Bown, a spokeswoman for the city's Public Services Department. However, she added, no funding plans exist.
Although several of the plunge's original structures are gone - including soaking pools, guest rooms, a cafe, barbershop and hairdresser - the consultants believe the Spanish Colonial Revival-style building could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places.
It was built by the city in 1921 and was originally known as the Municipal Baths. The pools were fed by the same natural spring water that had attracted American Indians, and later Mormon pioneers, because of their supposed healing qualities.
LDS Church President Brigham Young in 1850 dedicated a now-demolished bath house on the property, which also served as the city's first dance hall, according to an article written by the University of Utah's Energy and Geoscience Institute.
In 1949, the city was required to chlorinate the pools by the state Health Department, according to an article by Nelson Knight, who works for the Division of State History. The baths were closed in 1976 as the complex fell out of favor.
The children's museum leased the space in 1981. It will continue to use the building for storage through October, Bown said.

[SmilingBob]

Since when did Tooele become a crowded city? I know it's growing, but it's not like Salt Lake or Utah Valley.

Here's an article about a development south of Tooele and west of Stockton on the west side of the Oquirrh Mountains. This sounds like another Eagle Mountain in the making. Far away from any cities or major transportation corridors.
In 20 years they will be screaming for a freeway to go around the Oquirrh Mountians and connect onto the Mountainview Corridor Freeway.

Building boom pushing southward
Written by Mark Watson Tuesday, 13 February 2007
[photo:Joshua Sutter and Brandon Quigley (l-r) work on a home on Deer Run Road in the new South Rim development located in the foothills of South Mountain. Residential expansion is on the rise in this area as people look to leave more crowded areas in Salt Lake and Tooele valleys behind./photo by Troy Boman]

For many, Tooele Valley is still a rural haven far from the maddening crowds of the big city. However, as the valley undergoes a residential building boom, some people nostalgic for a more peaceful rural setting have chosen to build new homes farther afield.
They are finding room to roam, lower land prices and lower impact fees by building south of Tooele Valley instead of continuing to dwell in the growing communities of Tooele, Stansbury Park and Grantsville. County planners have labeled the entire area "Rush Valley," which consumes a huge section of the county between Stockton and Vernon.

The largest new residential development planned for the area is known as the Benches at South Rim, where 40 new homes ranging in value from $160,000 to $355,000 have sprouted up since 2003. Real estate agent Laura Hogan said Tooele and Grantsville people are moving out to South Rim, but a majority are coming from Salt Lake County.

Barry Formo, chief building inspector for Tooele County, said that unincorporated Tooele Valley has grown by about 10 percent in building construction each year for the past 20 years, but after years of little to no growth, the area south of Stockton is finally seeing explosive development.

Over the past three years, 165 lots have sold at the Benches of South Rim, according to development owner Joyce Hogan. The owners plan to limit the development to 343 houses on 1,000 acres.

[SLCforme]

wow! I used to drive through that area once a week during the summers and it is definitely rural. I'm kind of suprised it's growing so fast. I wouldn't want to live out there, with the chemical weapons depot and all, but hey, to each thier own.

[i-215]

Originally Posted by SmilingBob

Here's an article about a development south of Tooele and west of Stockton on the west side of the Oquirrh Mountains. This sounds like another Eagle Mountain in the making. Far away from any cities or major transportation corridors.
In 20 years they will be screaming for a freeway to go around the Oquirrh Mountians and connect onto the Mountainview Corridor Freeway.
[/B]

And if we were smart we'd at least put a no-build moratorium for the corridor NOW before the growth comes. It could be for freeway and rail.

[Makid]

And if we were smart we'd at least put a no-build moratorium for the corridor NOW before the growth comes. It could be for freeway and rail.

That would be very good and smart. Sadly, I don't think they will ever think about that.

[Happy Valley Freak]

yay building boom YAY!

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by Scraperdude801

35.Possible addition on Marriot downtown (west temple) addition of 500 rooms.
36.New 5 story LDS History library behind temple sqaure on North Temple.
37.Residential tower at trolley sqaure ontop of there Parking Garages. 260 + units.
38. Gateway Tower 5. 5 Stories.
39. Gateway looking to build Hotel.

Does anyone know if the Downtown Marriot is still planning on adding on to their building?

And what about the Gateway Hotel? Is that still in play?

[Makid]

I think that Boyer gave up on the hotel and is going to focus on more 8 story mid rises at the north. I heard they also gave up on adding a Target or Wal-Mart.

I haven't heard anything about the marriot expansion in a while though.

[urbane]

Originally Posted by Happy Valley Freak

yay building boom YAY!

Yay suburban sprawl Yay!

They do not deserve a freeway and they will never get light rail.

[SLC Projects]

Here are some updated pics of the Metro Condo project in salt lake...

















Looks to me that five out of the seven floors are done. This building could be top out by the end of this month. Great work so far I think.

[alphawolf]

I didn't expect it to be wood.

I was in Salt Lake City when the bottom floors of this project very formed. I was excited for the city. Now, looking at these pictures I a horrified. Why are they building the upper floors with wood framing? Why not finish with concrete and steel like they started? How many floors are they going up? I think about 5 is the structural limit. How much per sq. ft. are these going for?

[DevdogAZ]

I was surprised to see wood also. I'll bet the units are not nearly as quiet, especially between the floors and ceilings, if it's stick framed rather than concrete. That's a bummer.

Wood framing is a really cheezy way to build a mid-rise. Once you get the the outer covering on it, most people dont know the difference. They dont understand that stick framing has everything bad going for it, compared to concrete and steel. ie. noise transferance, fire hazard, crocked wall lines, on and on. This is how you build cheap sub-division homes, not downtown mid-rises. I hope people understand what they are getting and pay accordingly. Most people that I know who are looking at mid-rise buildings, give you a stupid blank look when you ask them is the building they are looking at is concrete, or wood frame. Then they usually say that it doesnt matter to them, as long as they like 'the look' of the units and bldg. Commercial buildings are built by savy people who dont usually fall for the 'wood is good' multi-story building.

[alphawolf]

It is the cheaper way to do things. Unfortunately developers see it as the only way to keep prices of units low.

[i-215]

Reminds me of the ghetto tenaments that were built in the 1910's ... high rise stick framing, eh?

[delts145]

Utah bucks recent national housing slump
Tribune Staff
and Wire Services

Article Last Updated: 02/15/2007 11:20:07 PM MST


The slump in housing deepened in the final three months of last year with sales falling in 40 states and median home prices dropping in nearly half the metropolitan areas surveyed. Utah was the only state to show no change in activity.
Formerly red-hot areas were among the hardest hit as the five-year housing boom cooled considerably in 2006.
Although some economists think the worst might be over for housing, others predicted more price declines to come until near-record levels of unsold homes are reduced.
The National Association of Realtors said the states with the biggest declines in sales from October through December, compared with the same period in 2005, were Nevada, down 36.1 percent; Florida, down 30.8 percent; Arizona, down 26.9 percent; and California, down 21.3 percent.
In all, the Realtors said sales declined in 40 states and six states showed gains. Utah remained steady in the final three months of last year. There was not enough information from Idaho, New Hampshire and Vermont to make a comparison.
Nationally, sales declined by 10.1 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with the same period a year ago. The national median price - the point where half sell for more and half sell for less - fell to $219,300, down 2.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005.
In all, median home prices fell in 49 percent of the 149 metropolitan areas surveyed, the largest percentage of areas showing price declines in the 27-year history of the Realtors' price survey.
The Salt Lake metropolitan area's real estate market continued to run counter to national trends.
Median home prices in Salt Lake County were up 21.3 percent, to $225,000, year over year (quarterly statistics were not available), according to statistics from the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. In fact, double-digit increases from 2005 to 2006 were the norm for the Wasatch Front. And not one Zip code area in Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber and Tooele counties declined.
David Lereah, chief economist for the Realtors, said he believed the report would represent the low-point in the current housing slowdown. ''When we get the figures for the spring, I expect to see a discernible improvement in both sales and prices.''
But Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, predicted that home prices in many parts of the country would continue to be under pressure for the rest of this year as the market works through still large inventories of unsold homes.

[SLCforme]

this seems to be the norm in mid-rise multifamily housing here. Emigration court, liberty metro, liberty mid-town, and metro to name a few recently completed and under construction projects. I'm sure it's all about the bottom line, but I agree, it's cheesy and reduces the quality of life for the tenants.

[SLCforme]

this seems to be the norm in mid-rise multifamily housing here. Emigration court, liberty metro, liberty mid-town, and metro to name a few recently completed and under construction projects. I'm sure it's all about the bottom line, but I agree, it's cheesy and reduces the quality of life for the tenants.