Salt Lake:Official development news thread

[delts145]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

I'd like to say that someone stole my concept for Regent St that I presented in a class 8 months ago, but I didn't show it to anyone besides classmates here in Cleveland. While I am disappointed that I won't be able to develop this street, I do like the fact that my line of thinking was legit. Here to me. j/k

Hey Future Mayor, This just goes to show what a visionary you are Seriously, I think you'll be a 'natural born development star'.

[UTPlanner]

I would be thrilled to have a year round market downtown. If you are ever in Philadelphia, visit the Reading Terminal Market. It is amazing. I was shocked at how busy the vendors are every day of the week. They were selling everything imaginable. Though I don't know if we would get to see a beer garden in a SLC Market. A man can hope, right?

[SLCforme]

yes a man certainly can hope. I for one would shop often at a year round market. during the summer and fall I get most of my produce at the farmers markets (pioneer park and the peoples market on the west side).

I definitely like the ideas floating around for the arts district blocks, but I am sort of tired of ideas, I want to see some action. It is depressing to ride trax down main and see CCC and 222 S. main flanking an incredibly dead main street between 1st and 2nd south. I just don't understand why it is so hard for businesses to succeed on main. Broadway Bistro on 300 S. just closed its doors as well, after maybe 6 months. That is a totally cursed location.

I think a lot of people are just holding their breaths until CCC opens, and will then see if they think main and its proximity are worth investing in. I hope it all turns out well, but it sort of sucks in the mean time.

[delts145]

^^^
Its going to turn out fantastic, but yes in the meantime its going to suck and will continue to suck until about 2011. Most types of business would be crazy to open up in that immediate vicinity right now. A merchant would have to have a very specific niche, that must be meant by day labor, or are given big concessions, or have very deep pockets and can wait it out

[Viperlord]

I ran across a draft of the new Downtown Master plan....

I highlighted some of the most interesting parts in the pic.

http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/CED/planning/documents/MasterPlans/DowntownPlan/DraftDowntownPlan.pdf



dont you just love the massive sprawl of the salt palace.

[RFPCME]

Originally Posted by stevena07

Frontrunner to Park City would be really cool. Probably faster and more efficient than light rail. They would need to plan it now, because the mountain valleys are filling up fast and soon there wont be any room to add heavy rail lines. Light rail would work better once it reached Kimball Junction. Then you could run it down the streets.

Either one would cost alot. I would guess that heavy rail would cost more, because they would need to make the ground much more stable and make wider turns up the canyon.

Good points!

[T-Mac]

Viperlord, whether good or bad, you are always posting great info. Thanks for your posts and input on the threads. I guess its goodbye to Japantown with that massive sprawl of the Salt Palace.

[RFPCME]

Viperlord: Thanks for the SLC Master Plan. I saved it and will try to get to it this weekend.

[SLC Projects]

I don't like that Master Plan. Thanks viper for the info, however this is going to be one of the few things I would have to agree with Urbanboy on when it comes with we need to SAVE Japantown!
The salt palace is getting too big for it's own good and is starting to take up too much downtown space. I remember talking about this a month or two ago about how I would like to see the S.P. build upwards instead of outwards. I'm not saying I wanted a highrise salt palace, but adding just another floor ontop of what we have now would save alot of space. It would cost more, but i'm sure there is a way to do it.

[delts145]

Former City Hall - Out with the old in Sandy? - Officials ponder whether to remodel the 1927 building or tear it down and start fresh

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9050317


City officials and City Council members from Sandy tour South Salt Lake's Columbus Center at 2531 S. 400 East on Tuesday. (Paul Fraughton/The Salt Lake Tribune )

...The old building at 440 E. 8680 South then would be transformed into a community center for the historic Sandy neighborhood.
Council members are waiting for a $35,000 study from Cooper Roberts Simonsen & Associates to decide whether the brick schoolhouse is worth saving. The results are due back in May.
Allen Roberts of the Salt Lake City-based architecture firm said the cost analysis is not complete, but the firm's previous experience has shown it is "always" cheaper to recycle an old structure rather than start new.
Recently, his company remodeled the Maeser School in Provo for a cost of $100 per square foot. New construction typically costs $200 to $250 per square foot.
"It's wasteful to tear down a building that could be renovated successfully," he said. "That's what sustainable design, sustainable living is about."

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[jedikermit]

Not that I don't love the idea behind Japantown, because I do....but it's been dead for years. And aren't most convention centers "sprawling?" I know the ones I've been to in Philly, San Diego and Los Angeles are huge--easily twice to three times the size of the Calvin J. Rampton Commemorative Salt Palace Convention Center & Really Long Name. I think from the time they first planted the seed of the convention center in that location, those four blocks were going to be a part of things.

[jedikermit]

Originally Posted by delts145

An artist's rendition of possible housing on Regent Street between 200 South and 100 South, looking north. (Downtown Alliance)


Conceptual of Salt Lake Art Center

.

I like the look of Regent Street in that rendering...I spent seven years on Regent Street, and I can't imagine anyone wanting to live there, looking out on that enormous parking structure every day. But stranger things have happened. I don't particularly want to look at my neighbors right now either--maybe the parking structure would be a nice change.

And RE: the Art Center...it seems like that parcel of land is much smaller than the current Art Center (that's the one nestled in with Abravanel Hall and the Salt Palace, right?)...and it looks like they're trying to "preserve" that rebuilt remnant of Regent Street/Plum Alley between the Art Center and the parking structure. Interesting. Also, it looks like there's a small apartment building (6 stories or so, but very narrow) on the North end of the parking structure, so that's even more housing.

I love getting housing into that pocket of downtown--I hope people want to live there. That could do a lot to revitalize both Main Street and State Street, and bring people further South into the Gallivan Center and other areas, bringing Gallivan more into what it was intended for--a gathering place.

Nice plans--can't wait to see what happens.

[delts145]

Originally Posted by jedikermit

Not that I don't love the idea behind Japantown, because I do....but it's been dead for years. And aren't most convention centers "sprawling?" I know the ones I've been to in Philly, San Diego and Los Angeles are huge--easily twice to three times the size of the Calvin J. Rampton Commemorative Salt Palace Convention Center & Really Long Name. I think from the time they first planted the seed of the convention center in that location, those four blocks were going to be a part of things.

Agreed Jedi, and the Salt Palace is a lot better looking than many, especially L.A.'s. I do think though that it would be possible to go 'vertical residential' in certain areas of the Salt Palace. I know its not possible everywhere at the faciility, but I wish they would think about at least some areas for veritical development. As far as Japantown, if not there, then at least get it started somewhere else.

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[T-Mac]

Part of their plans for Regent Street should be to put a facade on the parking structure like the new one they are doing on Social Hall. This would help to make it look a little more appealing if they are going to put housing on that street.

[urbanboy]

I'm sure these plans are old and have been shot down. There is no way the Japanese-American community would allow the County to tear down the Buddhist Temple. Furthermore, the expansion has already occurred and does not follow the planed outline for that phase, which leads me to believe the plans have changed.

[delts145]

Originally Posted by T-Mac

Part of their plans for Regent Street should be to put a facade on the parking structure like the new one they are doing on Social Hall. This would help to make it look a little more appealing if they are going to put housing on that street.

I was thinking the same thing T-Mac. I also thought of a particular parking terrace in L.A., in a nice and upcoming area of the Fairfax district. The front of the garage is in a neo-classic style, "a very kind of upscale Italian." The ventilation openings are all vertical, and ornamental iron is used for the coverings. It's a very attractive parking terrace and blends in real well with the street appeal.

[urbanboy]

It looks as though they've kept at least the facade of the NAC building in this rendering. It also looks like they've replaced the Walker Center parking garage with ground-floor retail and housing as well.

[NYC Rick]

I am sure that it has been asked many times. I just have never seen the answers.

What exactly is the height restriction for a high rise commercial building in SLC?

Is this a written in stone regulation? Since the Wells Fargo building is 2 feet higher than the LDS Church office building then it seems fair to assume that everything is NOT relative to the LDS Church.

SLC has so much potentially usable building space in the downtown area then to me it seems that whomever is calling the shots is satisfied with a lack of height or the need for it.

Someone let me know the real deal.

Thanks in advance!

[blazefirelight]

I apologize if this seems....well, bitchy--but can we PLEASE exclude all articles that are primarily Sandy-based or Airline-merger based? If you have anything like that to post, there ARE other threads intended for those types of articles. Unless you are using them in direct correlation with something to do with Salt Lake, do not post them in this thread, PLEASE!

And about the airline mergers--yes, they're cool. But how about instead of writing massive articles about them or posting massive articles about them, you blurb them and mention how it effects Salt Lake directly.

I get really annoyed when I come on and try to read stuff about Salt Lake but mainly see things about airlines and Sandy--especially with the pictures.

Sorry for complaining, it just aggrivates me.

[DMTower]

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