Salt Lake:Official development news thread - Part 2 - Page 148

SLC Projects · #**2941** Posted **Feb 22, 2010, 5:09 PM**

I didn't even know this project has started. Are there any renderings, I don't remember.

CofIKid · #**2942** Posted **Feb 22, 2010, 5:56 PM**

The parking garages on the east side of Regent Street are used for the construction workers on block 75 of CCC.

Jumpur · #**2943** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 2:38 AM**

Completely random, but what ever happened to the tower that green bro was talking about? Was he just pulling our strings with a lie? Or is it real and just hasn't been announced officially yet? Or - has it been announced and I've been in a shell for the last couple of months? I'm pretty sure it's not that one haha.

SLC Projects · #**2944** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 2:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jumpur

Completely random, but what ever happened to the tower that green bro was talking about? Was he just pulling our strings with a lie? Or is it real and just hasn't been announced officially yet? Or - has it been announced and I've been in a shell for the last couple of months? I'm pretty sure it's not that one haha.

Green Bro was full of 🞵🞵🞵🞵. He kept teasing us about a tower coming, but never followed up other then him just saying the same thing over and over again. As much as I hope it's true, I stop believing him the day when he ask us if we wanted to here an update on the tower, but then never said anything else after that.

TANGELD_SLC · #**2945** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 12:06 PM**

I told ya so. He got all defensive/whiny after we began pointing out the holes in his super-secret-insider-info. Dewshnozzel.

WeST · #**2946** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 2:48 PM**

Big convention hotel could bring in mega-bucks

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14450780

" It might hurt, but not for long.

That's the prognosis for private hoteliers if Salt Lake County builds a 1,000-plus-room headquarters hotel near the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center.

While private hotels might lose business and money at first, they likely would rebound within five years and potentially capture more guests and higher room rates than they would without a convention hotel, according to a report released this week by Denver-based STR Analytics. "

" Although the study found most convention markets improved with a headquarters hotel, some didn't. Private hotels didn't bounce back in St. Louis and Tampa, Fla., after convention hotels were built.

So from Mundel's perspective, there should be some caution in moving forward. "Every market will react differently," he warned.

Mundel isn't alone. An "undercurrent of anger" exists within Utah's lodging community toward the idea of a headquarters hotel, according interviews conducted by STR Analytics. Hoteliers worry about losing business and argue that government would be using its power and influence to build a competitor that would be larger than the state's now-largest hotel, Little America, which boasts 850 rooms.

"This hotel -- if and when it would be built -- causes the private sector to really be at an unfair disadvantage," said Bruce Fery, general manager of the Grand America Hotel, who urged government to 'let the free market work instead.' "

i-215 · #**2947** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 3:41 PM**

Agreed. The gov't shouldn't be in the hotel business. If the convention center needs more rooms, let some chain come in and build another tower. Maybe we'll get another 20+ out of it.

Future Mayor · #**2948** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 5:06 PM**

I'm torn on the issue. There is obviously a need for a convention hotel and we would most likely get more conventions and some additional large ones if we had the convention center hotel. However for some reason the private sector hasn't come in yet to build one (could be that they don't see the need or it could be similar to this, that the other large hotels in town are pushing their weight around to the private sector also) We have seen the increasing need for the Salt Palace to expand, and the desire for conventions to come here. I see the building of a hotel as a win win for the city, and it's hotels. Obviously SLC, downtown and the valley and state are growing and will continue to grow and I only see in ever increasing demand for downtown hotel space.

Maybe rather than the county building it they could jointly pursue it being built. Maybe the county purchases the land and leases the land to a private sector hotel for a cheap rate, say a $1 a year, or something like that. This would allow a private sector hotel to come in a build without as much risk.

As for the location of the hotel I like the post office block to the west, I would like to see the hotel sit on the NW corner of 2nd and 2nd with the predominant side facing 200 S. I like this location because it will widen the skyline, create a nice connection between downtown and the gateway area, can create some street level sidewalk assessable retail along 200 S, and it allow for a direct connection to the Salt Palace through a skybridge (yes a skybridge). The convention hotels I've seen or stayed in, while not a lot, have all had a direct connection to the convention center. It basically allow for an extension of the event from the convention center to the hotel convention space.

So if county leaders are reading this, talk to the feds about relocating the post office, purchase the land from Royal Wood Associates, talk to Hyatt, W, Wyndham, Westin, Inter-Continental or one of the many others and lets get this think built. Plus we're going to need it for the 2022 games anyway.

Makid · #**2949** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 6:35 PM**

Quote:

Plus we're going to need it for the 2022 games anyway.

We will also need the larger hotel if we want to land the larger conventions. As it is now, I don't know if we have the rooms close enough for the 2012 republican convention or not. Getting a larger hotel started may increase the likelyhood that they would select SLC if not now but in the future.

urbanboy · #**2950** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 7:26 PM**

I agree Future Mayor, lets get this thing built! Do we even have enough time to build a 1000 room convention hotel before the 2012 republican convention?

Quote:

Originally Posted by urbanboy

Future Mayor · #**2951** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 7:36 PM**

Apparently there were 45,000 in attendance for the 2008 convention in Minneapolis, using about 16,000 hotel rooms, that's 2.8 people per room. I doubt they all shared rooms, so where did the rest stay? I would guess that the attendance was over the course of the convention and not all 45,000 where there the entire time.

According to the SLCVB, the Salt Lake City area has 17,135 rooms in the Salt Lake City area. I'm not sure what they consider "The area" So unless nobody else was visiting we would have enough. Obviously we need more and the 1,000 room hotel would be ideal.

Future Mayor · #**2952** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 7:41 PM**

I love the location, the height and the connection to the Salt Palace. I like the idea of having the connector walkway above the exhibit hall, it would give a really cool perspective on the space if it had a substantial amount of windows in the design of it.

urbanboy · #**2953** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 10:20 PM**

I was thinking the same thing about the windows looking down on the exhibit hall.

John Martin · #**2954** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 10:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

Green Bro was full of 🞵🞵🞵🞵. He kept teasing us about a tower coming, but never followed up other then him just saying the same thing over and over again. As much as I hope it's true, I stop believing him the day when he ask us if we wanted to here an update on the tower, but then never said anything else after that.

Oh trust me they're building it, but it's invisible. You just have to believe that it's there. Either that, or just send greenbro a check and he'll show it to you

urbanboy · #**2955** Posted **Feb 23, 2010, 10:57 PM**

Yes, I can verify that too. For those of you who want to know for yourselves, just pray about it, and you'll be able to receive confirmation (usually comes as a burning in the bosom) that the invisible tower exists.