Salt Lake:Official development news thread

[delts145]

SLC Development - Main Street Photo bump - T-Mac

T-Mac
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[delts145]

THE SECOND TIME AROUND - Redevelopment projects revive properties, refresh appeal.


Athens Devco and Montage Hotel & Resorts

Brian A. Lee, Western Real Estate Business

Developers across the West are reviving old or degraded properties into places people want to be. Their first impressions of these second-chance developments will be based on renewed offerings and fresh appeal but at the same old likeable locations.

Montage resort in Park City, Utah

In creating the Montage resort in Park City, Utah, an established western resort developer will take part in the first Environmentally Responsible Redevelopment and Reuse (ER3) project in the nation. Guests and residents will soon be able to ski out from the green property to the white slopes of the adjacent Deer Valley Resort.

Thanks in part to the EPA’s pilot effort to remove liability obstacles in encouraging environmentally beneficial redevelopment projects, The Athens Group will transform the once-contaminated Daly West Mine site and recent mineral waste dump, located in the ski town’s Empire Pass community, into a LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) resort and spa facility. The Montage resort will feature 178 hotel rooms and suites, 94 luxury residences, two restaurants, retail shops, a 35,000-square-foot spa, and 15,000 square feet of event/meeting space.

“The blending of the mountain lodge craftsman style architecture with the spectacular Deer Valley Resort mountain setting and surrounding forest environment will be dramatic and memorable,” says Jeff Mongan, senior vice president at Phoenix-based The Athens Group. “Montage creates memorable lifestyle experiences for families and active, affluent travelers and homeowners.”

In 2004, The Athens Group purchased the property from Talisker Corporation, whose affiliate, United Park City Mines, completed the environmental remediation of the site. The project received the ER3 designation in April, and construction started in June. The luxury resort hotel and residential property — owned by DV Luxury Resort LLC, a partnership of The Athens Group, operator Montage Hotels & Resorts and a group of private investors — is slated for completion in summer 2010.

“One of the biggest challenges is the logistics of building a major construction project near the top of the mountain with the relatively short summer construction season,” says Mongan. “That forces the majority of the construction to be performed through multiple winters and stretches the construction duration to 3 years.”

Mongan says that the Montage resort will complement both Park City’s positioning as one of the premier resort destinations in the country and the city’s commitment to being one of the leading sustainable communities.

“This is a great example of the types of cleanup outcomes that the EPA is increasingly striving to achieve — one where we not only remove environmental risks, but where we work with local interests to create a productive community asset,” says Robert Roberts, an EPA regional administrator.

As an ER3 participant, Montage’s owners will incorporate extensive green features into the development, including a 750-block wind energy purchase through Utah’s Blue Sky partnership; a 2,800-acre open space easement; use of native vegetation; a constructed wetland and groundwater treatment system; and the use of chlorine alternatives for resort pools and spas.

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[Future Mayor]

first opps

[Future Mayor]

second opps

[delts145]

Is opps like oops?

[Comrade]

Black ops.

[Future Mayor]

Oops on the opps. Jerks

Originally Posted by delts145

SLC Development - Main Street Photo bump - T-Mac

T-Mac
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Sandy can hope to develop a new DT core for the south end of the valley as much as it would like, but one simple picture, as is the case with the one above, shows what really makes a downtown CBD just what it is. You have mix of old and new architecture, a street grid that is designed for a CBD and sidewalks that are made for walking not simply there because code says they need to be. It comes down to plain and simple character, you can't create character in one Procrappiuem project, character of a city occurs over time. It is the character combined with the amenities that truly make a DT vibrant.

[RFPCME]

All of us tall-building enthusiasts should find the article below very interesting, especially since most of the high-rise construction in Denver (including the Tech. Center) was based on the energy boom in the 70's.

Associated Press, as publish in the Longmont Times, Apr. 12, 08.

"The area is also rich in oil shale. Federal and industry estimates peg the amount of oil trapped in the rocks in western Colorado, Utah and southwestern Wyoming from about 1 trillion to 1.8 trillion barrels, or three times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia. Of that, roughly 800 billion barrels are considered recoverable.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is writing an analysis of the potential impacts of commercial oil-shale development, not expected for at least 10 years. Companies are still testing ways to extract the oil.

If oil shale development takes off, 9,300 more workers would be needed by 2035, according to projections. About 4,500 more employees would be needed to produce natural gas and build and maintain power plants to provide energy for oil shale facilities."

The area referenced (above) in terms of workers is the Western Slope of Colorado. In truth, however, the majority of the resource oil shale and tar sands are in Utah and western Wyoming.

With oil at well over $100 a barrel and headed quickly to $125, whether these resources will be developed or not is moot. They will. There will be one hell of a environmental fight, as there should be, but it will happen. The economics are too overwhelming. Also, our foreign energy dependence is frightening. Yes, I know we need conservation, but even the most strident of conservation efforts is not going to solve the problem.

Consider this: Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), probably the world's largest private financial institution is essentially controlled by the Dubai Resources Trust, who has over $850B invested with them (And people wonder why we are in Iraq...it's all about the money). When US mortgage rates are essentially controlled outside of the US, it is time to do something. There are more energy resources sitting in the Mountain West (including Canada) than all the Middle East put together.

This will not happen overnight, although a significant piece of it has been going on for at least the last 5 years in Uintah and Carbon Counties. New drilling technology has allowed for the extraction of natural gas from oil shale lands for years. Vernal is bursting at the seams even now. In fact, I'm surprised we haven't seen more impact of energy money in downtown Salt Lake by now. Denver is too distant to support the development, Grand Junction is too small and remote, and who wants to live in Rock Springs (with apologies to the fine residents of Rock Springs, which, in spite of all its charms, is not likely the choice of residence for all the accountants, engineers, IT people, investment analysts, et cetera necessary to carry out this development).

My guess is the Utah World Trade Center, along with a lot of other significant development projects in the CBD, will probably happen sooner than later. But the money will not come from local interests or information technology companies in India, it will come from energy interests, most of which will be outside of the US who want a slice of the pie.

[StevenF]

That made me think of a joke that I heard while living in Jackson, Wyoming a couple years back. Someone once said there are two great things to see in Wyoming and 1 is the Tetons and the other is seeing Rock Springs in his rear view mirror.

[RFPCME]

[IMG]ostseir.anl.gov/documents/maps/osts015_4StateShadedRelief.pdf[/IMG]

Don't know why I've gotten wrapped up in this energy development in Eastern Utah thing today. Probably because I've just recognized what everyone else already knows. The statement below, from the BLM Oil Shale Development site, puts things in perspective:

"The United States holds the world’s largest known concentration of oil shale. Nearly five times the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia underlies a surface area of 16,000 square miles. The enormous potential of this domestic resource is a key to the Nation’s energy security and economic strength, and to the quality of life Americans enjoy today and hope to ensure for future generations.

More than 70 percent of American oil shale — including the thickest and richest deposits — lies on federal land, primarily in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. These federal lands contain an estimated 1.23 trillion barrels of oil — more than 50 times the nation's proven conventional oil reserves."

Let's say that only half the 1.23 trillion barrels of oil come out of the ground over the life-time of development (probably 100 years-plus). With my poor mathematics skills, that still equates (at today's prices) to OVER $500 trillion (yes, that is the "t" word). Good bye national debt and a whole bunch of other nasty stuff. Hello Salt Lake, major international city!

[urbanboy]

Hopefully in a few years, oil shale will be close to worthless because the United States, along with the rest of the world, has moved on to cleaner, sustainable forms of energy.

[SLCforme]

Right on Urban boy!
And SLC can still get in on the proceeds of sustainable energy development. We have great potential for Solar, wind, and geothermal energy production here

[RFPCME]

Urbanboy and SLforme: I hope you're right, that sustainable energy sources (wind, wave, sun, and geothermal--which really isn't sustainable) do provide significant alternatives to fossil fuels. But the cynic in me says if a country is sitting on the world's largest energy resource, that country is going to focus its energies there, especially when the technology is available today to produce oil at under $50 a barrel. What that price does not include, however, is the infrastructure and water necessary to support that kind of development. Please know that at least a third of all gasoline currently sold in SLC today comes from the tar sands in northern Alberta. So this is not science fiction.

I do find it interesting, however, that the Bush Administration is fast-tracking an environmental impact study of the entire region, hoping to get it as far down the road before a new administration takes over. Even when we have a new administration, it is going to be very difficult to walk away from the tremendous international and financial leverage an energy resource of that size has. Politics and economics on a world-wide scale is mind boggling, but since mortgage rates (as I already mentioned) are already largely determined by banks outside of this country, I guess we have to start thinking that way.

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

Oops on the opps. Jerks



Sandy can hope to develop a new DT core for the south end of the valley as much as it would like, but one simple picture, as is the case with the one above, shows what really makes a downtown CBD just what it is. You have mix of old and new architecture, a street grid that is designed for a CBD and sidewalks that are made for walking not simply there because code says they need to be. It comes down to plain and simple character, you can't create character in one Procrappiuem project, character of a city occurs over time. It is the character combined with the amenities that truly make a DT vibrant.

Amen!

[delts145]

No one is more anxious for the main streaming of non-carbon based transportation than me. However, even if all oil-based engines are eventually replaced, there are innumerable products which still must be manufactured with oil as a key ingredient in their chemical make-up. We are many decades away from replacing oil in every aspect of our life. One thing that encourages me when I see the price of a gallon of gas, is that we will be alot more motivated to change our mode of transportation and how it is fueled, or to eventually be able to abandon the car at least part-time, in favor of mass-transit.

[urbanboy]

I don't think you understood what I meant by sustainable. Wind and solar power are sustainable energy sources; they won't run out, and if they do, life will cease to exist anyway. Why base an economy on an energy source that we could run out of in "100 years." That is hardly sustainable and very bad planning. Also, wind and solar power is a clean source of energy that does not pollute the air. Most Americans live in areas of poor air quality. This affects the health of American Citizens and is a major cause of asthma in children. This is not only an economic issue, but an ethical one as well. The government should be concerned for the health, safety, and welfare of American citizens on this one, not just the potential economic gains.

[delts145]

New plans for old factory

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695270269,00.html

A small group of buildings set off from 2300 East will soon regain its position as the heart of East Millcreek.

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[delts145]

High-rises shooting up along Wasatch Front suburbs

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_8917110


Four new Salt Lake City skyscrapers will shoot up in the next three years, fleshing out the skyline and backing up the hype about "downtown rising."
Even more stunning?
The suburbs are following the capital's lead, hatching their own plans to grow up - literally.
From South Salt Lake to Lehi, developers are dreaming of elevated towers unlike any seen before outside of Utah's urban core.

... Steve Aste of Utopia Station Development Corp. had plotted a 27-story condo tower at 2200 S. Main St. as the centerpiece of South Salt Lake's Market Station - until he heard downtown's City Creek Center will have one that's 32 floors.

"Then mine's 33," he says, only "half joking."



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[delts145]

Delta, Northwest airlines may announce merger soon - as early as tomorrow

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_8918678

Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. may announce a merger to create the world's largest carrier as early as tomorrow, following a meeting of Northwest's board today, people familiar with the talks said.


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[Future Mayor]

As the article pointed out downtown Class A has a vacancy rate of only 4% while Sandy has an 11% vacancy rate. While 11% is nothing to mock, it shows that Sandy is currently at it's saturation point in the market while DT has plenty of room to add more. Many Commercial Real Estate professionals consider 95% occupancy as full occupancy, due to tenants that are in the process of moving out or moving in.

With a 4% vacany rate in DT along with the 33% occupancy already on board at 222 S Main, another new office tower in Salt Lake City's core looks very feasible within the next couple of years.

And as for the whole "Then mine's 33," he says only half joking. If we could only get a couple of corporate headquarters/banks to announce they are building in DT then their coporate egos could get the best of them and could push the heights even taller. The mine is bigger than yours, often times benefits a city's skyline. Here's to corporate egos.