Salt Lake:Official development news thread

[Urban_logic]

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

"Men's Fitness magazine has named Salt Lake City the nation's fittest city"


I'm not one of them.

Here's what Miami would look like if it were a person (the fattest city):



And here's Salt Lake if it were a person (the fittest city):



And here's America in general:



Lol

*I found these on the web via Google Search*

[skierforlife17]

In regards to your picture viporLord, I dont think most people (including myself) realize how prominent our skyline is from east to west in retrospect to our north south skyline in which 3 or four buildings cannibalize the majority of the sky line making it hard to see other other buildings... I am rather impressed with our east west skyline especially from that camera angle..

[SLC Projects]

Thanks for those pic updates Urban_logic, but maybe those should of gone in the MSA Thread.
Crazy how fast daybreak and the areas around it has grown these past few years.

[delts145]

Developer agrees to fill in Sugar House crater

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705277968,00.html

...Salt Lake City planning officials say developer Craig Mecham has agreed to fill in the hole on the corner of 2100 South and Highland Drive over the next 45 days, complying with terms of the latest city-granted deadline extension.

Financing for the 4 1/2-acre residential, retail and office development has been secured, but construction isn't expected to begin for another six months to a year...

.

[delts145]

^^^
As I've said in the past this is a no brainer development as far as financing goes. Obviously, even projects with an outstanding promise of return are going to have to wait out the current economic slump.

[delts145]

Becker wins green award

Recognizing his commitment to "green" policy, Our Green Cities Initiative has named Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker one of the country's top 20 mayors for sustainability.

"Mayor Becker's 180-day plan makes clear the depth and breadth of his commitment to sustainability," said Kent Portney, Our Green Cities co-founder. "The decision to include him on this year's list was an easy one."

The award was based on formal sustainability policy, mayoral leadership and the existence of a goal-oriented action plan.

The Becker administration is working to create the nation's first comprehensive sustainability ordinance. The mayor credited hardworking city employees and their "fresh" ideas for the award.

.

[TimeSaltlake]

I did not realize how great a loss Sugar House suffered after the demolishing of the stores.

Oh well. So does anyone know what the plans are for Odds building?

[WASDEN]

My money says they don't even try and move the Oddfellows building- and it gets demolished on site (under such excuses as 'it won't survive the move, to fragile,' ect. when really they're just trying to cut their losses cuz they can't find a buyer). And I thought it wasn't possible for me to hate the Borge Cube more than I already did...

[utahboozer]

Originally Posted by delts145

Developer agrees to fill in Sugar House crater

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705277968,00.html

...Salt Lake City planning officials say developer Craig Mecham has agreed to fill in the hole on the corner of 2100 South and Highland Drive over the next 45 days, complying with terms of the latest city-granted deadline extension.

Financing for the 4 1/2-acre residential, retail and office development has been secured, but construction isn't expected to begin for another six months to a year...

.

Is it okay for me to express my opinion by saying "fuck this guy?" Every time I drive by that crater, I cringe. I remember beatboxing at Blue Kats coffee shop during open mike night. That bastard Mecham should be tied to a tree, stripped naked, and shot with a potato cannon in the balls a few times.

An now we won't see anything substantial on that corner for another 12-18 months.

Sorry, I got all worked up. I'll edit my post if I offended anyone.

[Justnslcsugarhood.]

Originally Posted by utahboozer

Is it okay for me to express my opinion by saying "fuck this guy?" Every time I drive by that crater, I cringe. I remember beatboxing at Blue Kats coffee shop during open mike night. That bastard Mecham should be tied to a tree, stripped naked, and shot with a potato cannon in the balls a few times.

An now we won't see anything substantial on that corner for another 12-18 months.

Sorry, I got all worked up. I'll edit my post if I offended anyone.

I have to admit I kind of agree. The city should have confiscated the property after he failed to landscape the land so many times and after the market heated back up they could have sold the land to a more responsible developer, one whom doesn't claim that the city is "bullying him" when they just want him to take responsibility for his actions.

I do realize that would increase the amount of time we would have to wait for the land to be developed but I fill that, in sugarhouse, we need be more qualitative with our approach then quantitative oriented.

[cololi]

Originally Posted by Justnslcsugarhood.

I have to admit I kind of agree. The city should have confiscated the property after he failed to landscape the land so many times and after the market heated back up they could have sold the land to a more responsible developer, one whom doesn't claim that the city is "bullying him" when they just want him to take responsibility for his actions.

I do realize that would increase the amount of time we would have to wait for the land to be developed but I fill that, in sugarhouse, we need be more qualitative with our approach then quantitative oriented.

yeah because that is constitutional. Just take the land and then sell it to someone else. That is called illegal my friend, and the City can't do it.

The City also cannot prevent someone from demolishing a property and letting it then sit vacant. that takes away a substantial property right. There are exceptions (like if it is a local historic district or site), but unfortunately none of the protection measures are in place in Sugarhouse and you can't delay a project a year or two to get those in place.

I do wish that Mecham would have waited until he had final approval and funding in place before he evicted and demolished the buildings. A lot of people put the blame on the City, but Mecham created this situation and forced the City to react. The only blame the City has is that they put the zoning in place that allowed for this level of development intensity in the sugarhouse central business district. This promoted the conversion of the area into a secondary downtown.

[utahboozer]

Originally Posted by cololi

yeah because that is constitutional. Just take the land and then sell it to someone else. That is called illegal my friend, and the City can't do it.

The City also cannot prevent someone from demolishing a property and letting it then sit vacant. that takes away a substantial property right. There are exceptions (like if it is a local historic district or site), but unfortunately none of the protection measures are in place in Sugarhouse and you can't delay a project a year or two to get those in place.

I do wish that Mecham would have waited until he had final approval and funding in place before he evicted and demolished the buildings. A lot of people put the blame on the City, but Mecham created this situation and forced the City to react. The only blame the City has is that they put the zoning in place that allowed for this level of development intensity in the sugarhouse central business district. This promoted the conversion of the area into a secondary downtown.

None of this prevents me from egging his house and besmirching his company in online chat forums.

[Comrade]

Didn't the Supreme Court rule that governments can take private property to develop without the permission of the property owner?

Not saying it's something that could be used here, but if it can, it's most certainly constitutional.

[arkhitektor]

Originally Posted by skierforlife17

In regards to your picture viporLord, I dont think most people (including myself) realize how prominent our skyline is from east to west in retrospect to our north south skyline in which 3 or four buildings cannibalize the majority of the sky line making it hard to see other other buildings... I am rather impressed with our east west skyline especially from that camera angle..

Yeah, the view from the N. or S. is rather unimpressive.
What are your favorite angles to view Salt Lake's skyline?

Here are a few screenshots from Microsoft's 3D Model of the city that I'd like to see actual photos from (nevermind the fact that most of these could only be achieved if you had a helicopter or could float in mid-air:

From above the State office building on N. Temple:


From about 3rd East and 3rd South:


From the Avenues:


From the block north of Trolley Square:


I like this angle the best. It shows almost the full width of the skyline, from the City & County Bldg. to the State Capitol, the library is shown prominantly and not having the Wasatch mountians in the background allows the buildings to pop out against the sky beyond. It would be taken from above Barnes Bank on 400 S. If I were producing a newscast, this is the skyline shot that I would use:


From West H.S.:


Does anybody have actual photos from any of these locations?

[skierforlife17]

You are right... the one just above the salt lake library is stunning What a daytime picture of our skyline that would make. Sadly you cant see 222s main all that well so i would say a different shot would be needed for a night shot, that way we could see that glowing crown 222s main is expected to have. Thanks for those 3d renderings

[i-215]

Originally Posted by Comrade Reynolds

Didn't the Supreme Court rule that governments can take private property to develop without the permission of the property owner?

Kelo v. City of New London (to which I am opposed).

The most horrible part - after demolishing all of those homes, and destroying an entire neighborhood:

The promised economic benefits fail to materialize

In November 2007, it was reported that the economic benefits that had been promised by supporters of the Kelo ruling had failed to materialize. Corcoran Jennison, the developer, had failed to obtain financing by the promised deadline, and was said to be technically in default.

By the end of 2008, the site of the Fort Trumbull redevelopment project (where Suzette Kelo's and her neighbors' homes once stood), continues to be an unused wasteland. No redevelopment has taken place in spite of government expenditures of some $80 million. Only one building is being renovated for a Coast Guard museum.

[arkhitektor]

Originally Posted by skierforlife17

You are right... the one just above the salt lake library is stunning What a daytime picture of our skyline that would make. Sadly you cant see 222s main all that well so i would say a different shot would be needed for a night shot, that way we could see that glowing crown 222s main is expected to have. Thanks for those 3d renderings

You can't see 222 Main because the model doesn't include it, but from that angle, it would be visible between Wells Fargo and One Utah. You'd also be able to see Tower One at City Creek Center pretty well.

Anyone can play around with this on the Microsoft Live Search site:
http://maps.live.com

[Urban_logic]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705277662,00.html

Utah 13th in nation for '08 foreclosures.

The number of Utah households with a foreclosure filing jumped 99.5 percent from 2007 to 2008, according to a report released Wednesday, and the state's foreclosure rate is expected to jump even higher this year.

The data from RealtyTrac, an online market researcher based in Irvine, Calif., showed that Utah ranked 13th in the nation for its 2008 foreclosure rate, which was 1.65 percent, just below the national average of 1.84 percent. For the month of December 2008, the number of Utah foreclosure filings increased 126 percent compared with December 2007, although they dropped 6 percent from November 2008.

St. George registered as the Utah city with the highest foreclosure rate in 2008, at 4.08 percent, with Provo/Orem at 2.12 percent, Salt Lake City at 1.72 percent and Ogden/Clearfield at 1.47 percent. Salt Lake ranked 46th among the top 100 metro areas nationwide for its foreclosure-filing rate.

Jim Wood, director of the University of Utah's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said Utah's foreclosure rate could nearly double in 2009. The Utah rate could hit 3 percent over the next year if the local job market continues to decline and financial markets continue to struggle, he said.

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705278135,00.html

Kennecott Cuts 10% of Utah Jobs

The parent company of Kennecott Utah Copper has announced it is cutting 10 percent of his Utah work force. Rio Tinto said Friday that the company would lower its Utah headcount by 241 people.

A news release stated that the layoffs would include 66 current employees and 175 contractors. The cuts for the contractors have already begun and would begin for employees next week, said Jana Kettering, senior adviser for communications and media relations in Utah.

Reductions are coming from within Kennecott Utah Copper, Kennecott Land, Kennecott Exploration and Rio Tinto business functions, she said.

Kettering cited the slumping global economy as the reason for the company's decision to cuts jobs.

"The metals market has declined significantly over the past several months and we are having to respond to these market conditions," she told the Deseret News. More cuts could become necessary if the "global economic crisis" continues to worsen, she added.

Rio Tinto employs about 2,400 workers in Utah, Kettering said. Rio Tinto, an international mining group headquartered in the United Kingdom, is the parent company of Kennecott Land, Kennecott Exploration and Kennecott Utah Copper, which is the second-largest copper producer in the United States.

[Urban_logic]

S.L. County, state to join geothermal effort

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_11463100

Salt Lake County and the state are participating in the effort by Salt Lake City to investigate the possibility of developing a geothermal power plant, officials said Thursday.

A development team led by the Provo-based Raser Technologies intends to evaluate several potential plant sites in the Salt Lake valley, including the Wasatch Warms Springs area near downtown.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker; Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development; and representatives from Raser Technologies announced the project at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

[skyguy414]

My favorite views of the Salt Lake skyline have always been the ones looking towards the Southeast. This gives the best shot of the buildings downtown as well as the more prominent mountains in the valley, such as Mt. Olympus. The mountains are the greatest part of Salt Lake's skyline if you ask me.

I love this shot (However, I wish it included all of downtown though instead of half of it)
See it here (sorry it won't allow me to post it here):
http://flickr.com/photos/richlegg/388659144/

I am always trying to find places to get shots like this and have concluded a shot like this one is taken either on or near the 600 North I-15 overpass. If anyone has any better clues or ideas on good locations for picture taking, please share.

I have taken several aerial shots of the downtown area, some of which I have previously posted, but I am always higher than I want so I don't get the angle I want.