Salt Lake:Official development news thread - Part 2

[cololi]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

I was wondering how effective you all thought a visual anchor, such as an obelisk, could be if it were located on the South end of Main Street in Downtown.

Configured in a way such as this:

The concept is something that has been around for a very long time and called out in a number of planning documents from the City. I think 800 South is too far south. I think something around 400-500 S is ideal. I really think this is strong concept to implement.

[urbanboy]

800 South is the first intersection free of TRAX, I don't think something like this could work on any of the intersections further north because of the existing rails. I don't think 800 South is too far away, I actually think it would be a great opportunity to stretch development further south along Main Street. Also this intersection is still within the Downtown Boundaries. It's likely that, eventually, Downtown will expand that far south. Therefore It might be nice to have a public space all ready for when that does happen. When Central Park in New York was designated as a public park, many thought it was too far away. Now look what has happened. Perhaps an intersection such as this will end up being a focal point in one of downtown's districts.

[Sight-Seer]

When SL pushes businesses out, they should help them move and subsidize the rent for a year. That's the way to have development and keep local businesses too.

[WeST]

Originally Posted by Sight-Seer

When SL pushes businesses out, they should help them move and subsidize the rent for a year. That's the way to have development and keep local businesses too.

What do you mean "when SL pushes businesses out"? What are they doing to get rid of them? A subsidy for a years rent would be very expensive. I would rather put that into creating pocket parks, rail, RDA, bike infrastructure, or many other useful things. Businesses will comeback if and when the people do.

[Justnslcsugarhood.]

Originally Posted by WeST

What do you mean "when SL pushes businesses out"? What are they doing to get rid of them? A subsidy for a years rent would be very expensive. I would rather put that into creating pocket parks, rail, RDA, bike infrastructure, or many other useful things. Businesses will comeback if and when the people do.

Yeah, our CBD is not saturated enough to "push businesses" out.

[Justnslcsugarhood.]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

800 South is the first intersection free of TRAX, I don't think something like this could work on any of the intersections further north because of the existing rails. I don't think 800 South is too far away, I actually think it would be a great opportunity to stretch development further south along Main Street. Also this intersection is still within the Downtown Boundaries. It's likely that, eventually, Downtown will expand that far south. Therefore It might be nice to have a public space all ready for when that does happen. When Central Park in New York was designated as a public park, many thought it was too far away. Now look what has happened. Perhaps an intersection such as this will end up being a focal point in one of downtown's districts.

I like the idea but only when that area becomes more developed. I think a project like that now on it's own is a little much. If we have a few office towers and residential towers that surround it I might like the idea better.

[i-215]

Looks nice.

Just make sure you don't mess up either of my high-speed viaducts on 5th and 6th. lol

[Viperlord]

Found a rendering of this project.






unfortunatly it looks like this project will sit on the site of the proposed lexi tower.

http://www.jardevco.com/galPlazaCondos.html

[urbanboy]

Here are some photographs I dug up of The Wizard of the Wasatch Light Parade that went down Main Street on the last day of the festival. Note: all floats were powered by the trolley lines, which were powered by a water mill up Big Cottonwood Canyon.

































http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/results...-school%2C%2FUSHS_Shipler%2C%2Fushs-hook

[jtrent77]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

Here are some photographs I dug up of The Wizard of the Wasatch Light Parade that went down Main Street on the last day of the festival.

"Light Parade" reminds me of carnival in Weston-super-Mare, England. Where they have floats every year that have light bulbs all over them. How cool would it be for SLC to have something iconic such as this that would attract a large group of people downtown together on one night?

Some pics of the Weston-super-Mare parade:







Photos by crunchcandy on flickr

[Sight-Seer]

The phrase "push out" was not my words. I was quoting an article a page back. Here is part of the headline.

S.L. Redevelopment Agency pushes deli out of business

I read the whole article today in the newspaper. What I meant was, if Salt Lake values local businesses, it should help them out when they force them out of their place of business. I thought it was sad that a popular local business is being forced to close. You evidently have little interest in the matter or you would have read the article. It's happened a lot during the current redevelopment project.

[Smuttynose1]

Hey everybody, I just moved to SLC from New England on Thursday and I've finally had a chance to check out the city a bit. One question, everybody back home keeps asking me what the lake, and I have no answers because I have yet to see it. Looking on the map, it's pretty obvious that the city is pretty well-positioned away from the lake. But is there any type of waterfront at all? Any river that goes through town? I haven't come across anything.

Also, yesterday I walked from Main Street to the Gateway Center. It was about 4 p.m. and both Main Street and the Gateway were pretty hopping, but the area in between seems like a kind of a no-man's land. The sheer size of the convention center and the ridiculously wide and pedestrian-unfriendly Route 89 seem to do a good job of acting as a barrier between the two areas.

Assuming the city's ordinances are changed, my suggestion would be a development centered around nightlife situated just north or south of the convention center to try to bridge the two areas with a center of activity. A good case study might be the Power and Light District in Kansas City, Mo. - a relatively new pedestrian-friendly nightlife district built adjacent to their sports arena. The center of the development features an outdoor stage surrounded by two levels of bars and clubs that spill out around the stage. I spent a night in KC on my way out here and was really impressed by how successful it seems to be. I've attached some pictures of the district below. Let me know what you think.


Credit: Oregonian newspaper


Credit: Examiner


Credit: KCUR

[urbanboy]

I'm all for helping small businesses establish themselves in Salt Lake City, but forcing the redevelopment agency to help small businesses establish themselves elsewhere just doesn't make any sense to me. Am I just not understanding this issue?

[John Martin]

Salt Lake City is odd in that it really doesn't have a major water feature. Obviously it's nowhere near the lake (luckily) it's named after, and the only thing that really goes through the city is City Creek... which.. for the most part is underground. There are some little water features along the sidewalks around temple square, which are supposed to be reminiscent of City Creek, and there's a little pond-type thing northeast of there, and those are pretty much man-made. There really isn't anything else in SLC. The Jordan River is the biggest river in the valley, but it's not exactly close to downtown, and isn't really "riverwalk" material.

[TonyAnderson]

Yeah Salt Lake's pretty much a desert. There's numerous rivers, lakes, etc. throughout the Wasatch Front though and especially in the mountains.

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by TonyAnderson

Yeah Salt Lake's pretty much a desert. There's numerous rivers, lakes, etc. throughout the Wasatch Front though and especially in the mountains.

Salt Lake is a semi-arid region, not a desert.

[Wasatch_One]

A little FYI, the definition of a desert is < 10" of precip.

Downtown SLC receives around 20" per year. The Airport is prob the driest part of the valley gets ~16.5" but doesn't really represent SLC since no one really lives around there. The Avenues and on the east bench get about 20" - 25"+ on average depending on elevation.

In comparison, Denver gets about 15" of precip a year
San Diego CA gets ~11"
LA ~14"
Phoenix ~8"
Las Vegas ~4.5"
Boise ~12"
Albuquerque ~7"

...Just a little stat for the day

[delts145]

Those stats are an interesting reminder Wasatch. I think even we locals make incorrect assumptions, based on our hobbies and interests. It's pretty easy to forget that there are several different climates within a few miles of each other, depending on the elevation and or location.

Smuttynose, A big welcome to the area!! There are a few things to keep in mind now that you are living here. First, there is no more convenient metro to outdoor sports of all kinds than the Wasatch Front, and that includes water sports. Utah has the fifth most shoreline of any state in the nation. You'll want to start planning your getaway to Lake Powell as soon as possible. If you've never been there and you love the outdoors, water skiing, and lake related activities in general, Lake Powell is a phenomenan unlike any other.

The Great Salt Lake is vast and has many diverse aspects, including a large section for water skiing. There are countless nature watching activities related to the Great Salt Lake, and I'm not going to take the time to cover them. Whether your into one of the world's great bird refuges, or want to take part in bison watching. Just use the internet and investigate for yourself.

As was stated above there are countless spectacular canyons, trails, lakes, streams, rivers and reservoirs, throughout the metro.

Many cities brag about their parks, but none of them could even come close to the beauty of the inumerable hiking and biking trails that intersect through this metro. You don't have to travel several hours to experience wilderness- like beauty, it's right in your back yard.

As far as development between CCC and Gateway. Remember that only a little over ten years ago Gateway was pretty much a dream on the drawing board. Much has happened in the way of residential and commercial development between central downtown and the Gateway district. There's still allot to do, but it is happening and changing significantly each year. Always remember, that if you don't like it now, give it a few months. There is rarely a week that doesn't go by, even in this economy, that something significant is announced relating to development downtown and the surrounding metro. Whether it's a new apartment complex, museum, park, public space, major transportation, commercial space/hangout, etc., there's always something significant being added to downtown, and also the immediate metro.

Don't forget the numerous world class resorts within minutes of the metro. If you're into very cool Main Street experiences, then the metro's Park City is as cool as they get on any weekend, Sundance, or during ski season.

Whatever the activity, whether concert going, restaurant/bar hopping, hiking, etc. etc., just ask the forumers. You'll probably get more suggestions than you'll know what to do with.

.

[Sight-Seer]

Smutty, I agree with you about the streets being barriers. The wide streets and big blocks in Salt Lake are great for traffic, but they're definitely pedestrian unfriendly.

Urbanboy, it would be nice if displaced businesses could set up shop in the new mall(s), but they won't be able to afford the move. Maybe the RDA should help displaced businesses get established in new locations. Increased business would take care of the rent difference after that.

[delts145]

I would much rather have the wide streets and big blocks, which have an incredible slate for exceptional planning, as we are now seeing with Gateway, CCC, Regent, Richards, Gallivan, the ease of TRAX and future trolleys, etc., etc., etc. Much of what has been done here in the CBD over the past few years would be very difficult to impossible in other cities that I frequent or have lived in.

How fortunate Downtown Salt Lake is to have the freedom to choose a wide thorougfare for traffic flow, and at the same time design massive, monumental spaces, such as the Library or LDS Conference center, or the ease of winding light rail and trolleys throughout the entire downtown. The SLC CBD is creating and restoring many intimate and charming thouroughfares. They're emerging all over downtown. How many cities would love to be able to have the limitless creativity that is possible with the carving of Salt Lakes inner blocks or to be able to create massive pedestrian sidewalks, brimming with interesting detail like Main, and yet have plenty of room for outdoor dining, limited traffic flow and TRAX down the middle.

I am continually frustrated by many downtown streets in so many cities like L.A., which are lined by massive towers yet are so small as to allow nothing except a narrow sidewalk. Often, even when a newspaper vending machine is added, it creates havoc with pedestrians. Many streets in most downtowns are sterile, vapid and completely devoid of charm, even though they are lined with towers. Sure there are wonderful streets in downtown L.A., or any numberless other downtowns. The frustrating thing is, they also have too much of the other crap with no potential. They will always be that way, no matter how creative an urban planner is, he or she will never be able to resurrect or create a charming and beautiful street engagement. The dye has been irreversibly cast in too many downtowns. Not so in Salt Lake.