Salt Lake:Official development news thread

[Sight-Seer]

Actually, this is development related. I'm really getting at the outside view of Salt Lake. Things pass Salt Lake by, from Broadway shows to concerts. That impacts the proposed Broadway-style theatre and ultimately everything else. If they think SL'ers won't go to a Broadway show aimed at adults because parents can't take the kids to it, it won't come here. As far as sex and violence, it's often necessary to the story. Trying to tell a story about prostitutes in New York without sex and violence will not be interesting to anyone, even those who don't like sex and violence. And because kids can't see it doesn't mean the story shouldn't be told. Now back to the subject of development. Why has it been so difficult to get big businesses to establish headquarters here. Mostly because the employees don't want to move here. Denver is 500 miles away and look at the difference. I stopped over at the Denver airport last year and it's enormouse. Why can't Salt Lake have that? Even Boise is hipper than SL. There's a lot of people here who think that's a good thing.

[T-Mac]

Pics from around town plus a few bonus shots.

Odd Fellows Hall








OC Tanner Building




Alta Club Guest Entrance




Springtime at LDS Church Headquarters




Lion House

[glowrock]

Awesome photos! Thanks for posting them! Wasatch One was showing me the building that was being moved to a new location just a few hours ago, I have no freaking clue how they're going to get it over there, especially without severely damaging it!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[TANGELD_SLC]

I am LOVING the photos your new camera takes, T-Mac! They rock! you Rock! Thanks!

[delts145]

Thanks T-Mac, I love the HDR effect.

[Sight-Seer]

A few months ago I was curious and walked around to the back of the OC Tanner / planetarium. They had torn off the planetarium auditorium and the entire back was open from the cellar to the rafters. They had also gutted the building. All that was left was the exterior walls and the rafters. I thought it was pretty amazing. Now they're constructing a new building inside the shell. There will be a parking structure in back. I haven't heard if they saved the interior wood work and are going to use it inside. Recently I saw crates of sandstone(?) blocks to replace the broken ones on the exterior. This is a very interesting project.

[delts145]

I can't wait to take a tour of this baby when it's finished. I think this is going to be the most beautiful jewelry store outside of Paris, France. Prettier than any of the major jewelry shops I've been to in New York or Beverly Hills. Wow, and it's right here in our lovely capital. It reminds me allot of the Ralph Lauren/Polo Mansion in N.Y. on Madison Ave.


T-Mac

[cololi]

Amen to that. This is already one of the most unique buildings in SLC. What OC Tanner is doing is simply amazing. I also love how this building interacts with the Alta Club and the Belvedere. A true collection of greateness along State.

[RFPCME]

Originally Posted by cololi

Amen to that. This is already one of the most unique buildings in SLC. What OC Tanner is doing is simply amazing. I also love how this building interacts with the Alta Club and the Belvedere. A true collection of greateness along State.

Cololi: Great point. The triad of the OC Tanner Bldg., the Alta Club, and the Belvedere are special.

[ski_steve]

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[urbanboy]

I think I would have liked the aesthetic of the Wells Fargo building from this angle better if it looked like this:

[Sight-Seer]

I'm ambivalent about the Wells Fargo building. It's certainly unique. They could have made the footprint half as big and built it twice as tall. Then it would have been over 50 stories. And it would have looked better. And it wouldn't have blocked the view from the American Towers condo's so much, which the owners complained of.

[cololi]

I hate how small the Main St. entrances to the Wells Fargo Building are. Plus the window grids are strange and make it difficult to make out the individual floors. It is difficult for pedestrians to read the building. I guess that is one of my chief complaints about the sleek glass buildings. In my opinion, 222 is head and shoulders above Wells Fargo in all aspects.

[Urban_logic]

Originally Posted by WASDEN

There are some people who would not raise their offspring in an urban setting for fear their kids may become contaminated with urban habits and ways of thought. I respect that because on the same note I would not raise my children in 99.99999% of Utah's suburban neighborhoods for the same reason. This will also explain why I only have 0.00001% chance of reproducing in this state. In short I shouldn't worry about it and continue the single life with the rest of the outliers downtown .

Doesn't that make you just as narrow-minded as the people you try so hard to distance yourself from? Narrowing the places you would consider living based on belief and behavioral differences of other people to "0.00001%" is certainly not reasonable. Of course, it is your every right to this opinion, I'm just saying that you're not a whole lot different from people on the polar opposite end of the cultural spetrum. You don't need to worry about other people "contaminating" your kids' thoughts. Just raise them in a way you see fit as a parent, then let them decide whatever lifestyle they choose to lead. I have been raised in both suburban and inner-city areas and have decided my own lifestyle without being "contaminated" with inner-city or suburban behaviors. I think it is good to be exposed to the most people as possible because it gives you a better feel for how you relate to others and how you want to live. People give you tons of good examples of how not to be and how to be. Just pick and choose, but ultimately define yourself. Same goes for your kids. People are nothing to be scared of.

[Urban_logic]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

I think I would have liked the aesthetic of the Wells Fargo building from this angle better if it looked like this:

Wow!! The rain really brings out all the colors in the down town cityscape! Great pic

We really have a beautiful down town. It has a lot of color and diversity with many different colors, building materials, and architecture. Yet it all blends together, almost like a salad or mosaic. I also love the greenery on the foothills by the capital building!

[Urban_logic]

Well, here we are guys. We're at the end fo the first quarter of 2009 and the commercial stats are out! Looks like we're still doing pretty good with a fairly healthy commercial market.

Salt Lake City’s Q1 Commercial Real Estate Report

Salt Lake City's commercial real estate sector is surprisingly healthy, compared to neighboring markets like Phoenix and Las Vegas, which should allow for a quicker recovery from current economic woes.

The Salt Lake retail market saw a slight increase in vacancies during the first quarter 2009, to 8.69 percent, but is still surprising healthy, according to data released Monday by commercial real estate broker Commerce CRG.

While national retailers announced closures, local and national retailers took advantage of aggressive deal-making by landlords. Meanwhile, asking lease rates declined slightly in the first quarter, but transactions were done at a discount, and retailers have been actively renegotiating rates on existing leases. Lower retail sales numbers resulted in lower transaction numbers-particularly among national retailers.

Office Sector at a Glance:

Vacancies increased slightly over the fourth quarter 2008, with class B and C space seeing the highest rates.
Class A spaces is still performing relatively well, with a 9.46 percent vacancy rate.

The central business district saw a slight uptick in absorption that was offset by a decrease in the periphery and suburban markets. Downtown office space vacancy went down year-over-year from 11.02 to 10.30 percent.

Rental rates are finally coming down, and landlords are being forced to make concessions to existing tenants to keep them happy.

2009 construction completions will be the lowest since 2006, with just nine new office buildings and 773,000 square feet expected. Two were finished in the first quarter, 2009. Salt Lake's downtown will see its first high-rise completion in 10 years when 222 South Main comes on line in November. Subleases rates continue to rise, which should continue through the end of the year.

http://www.utahpulse.com/featured_article/salt-lake-city%E2%80%99s-q1-commercial-real-estate-report

Here is how the Salt Lake metro as a whole relates to other metros throughout the country in office vacancies (I couldn't find Q1 09', but here's Q4 08':

Highest Office Vacancy Rates — 2008 Q4

Riverside, Calif. 24.6
Palm Beach, Fla. 22.5
Atlanta 22.2
Detroit 22.1
North Central N.J. 21.3
Tampa, Fla. 21.3

Lowest Office Vacancy Rates — 2008 Q4

Honolulu 10.3
Washington, D.C. 12.6
New York City 12.8
Charlotte, N.C. 13.6
Salt Lake City 13.9
Houston 13.9

5th lowest in the nation!!

[WeST]

Originally Posted by Urban_logic

Doesn't that make you just as narrow-minded as the people you try so hard to distance yourself from? Narrowing the places you would consider living based on belief and behavioral differences of other people to "0.00001%" is certainly not reasonable. Of course, it is your every right to this opinion, I'm just saying that you're not a whole lot different from people on the polar opposite end of the cultural spetrum. You don't need to worry about other people "contaminating" your kids' thoughts. Just raise them in a way you see fit as a parent, then let them decide whatever lifestyle they choose to lead. I have been raised in both suburban and inner-city areas and have decided my own lifestyle without being "contaminated" with inner-city or suburban behaviors. I think it is good to be exposed to the most people as possible because it gives you a better feel for how you relate to others and how you want to live. People give you tons of good examples of how not to be and how to be. Just pick and choose, but ultimately define yourself. Same goes for your kids. People are nothing to be scared of.

Well said chap!

[Comrade]

I think I might be the lone one who really likes the Wells Fargo Building. The fact its looks change varying on the angle makes it unique in my opinion.

I also think it's the perfect height, which I expressed last year. If it topped out at over 800-feet, I think it definitely would have made the skyline far more lopsided on that end.

[John Martin]

I'm with you on that one. I suppose it could be better, but there's not really anything that I wish were different about the one that's there. I guess the stone would be what I disliked most about it a few years ago; I thought it was an unimaginative pattern and would look bad in a few years, but I've only come to appreciate it more as stone becomes less and less common in urban architecture these days. There are still lots of opportunities in SLC for new and improved styles though, I'm thankful for that.

I have to say though, I love the lights at the top, the whole roof is very clever and unique, I think. Most people I know seem to like the blue neon touch as well.

[delts145]

Well, I guess I've always wished it were a little taller... say maybe 10 stories, but I won't hold that against it. I've always liked the design, the stone and the window arrangements. I think it's extremely photogenic from certain angles. Like John, I've come to appreciate it even more over the last few years. I'm very pleased with the look of every tower that downtown has put up since Utah One/Chase.