Salt Lake:Official development news thread - Part 2

[scottharding]

Yeah, so do I. Really, it's the same argument we've had over on the Utah County thread about the bridge across Utah Lake to those so called "communities" on the other side. It's not at all nessary, and only delays good change coming to areas that need improvement.
And the last thing Salt Lake County needs is more suburban neighborhoods, I don't care how "planned" they are.

[skierforlife17]

Originally Posted by John Martin

Hmm, well I looked the movie up on wikipedia and it says part of it was filmed in Safdie's library in Vancouver. They look very similar.

Your actually right. I watched it again after going to the library yesterday and they are incredibly similar. Man what a major letdown that our library is in fact much less unque then I originally thought. But I agree with everyone else, ours looks the best

[Orlando]

You know, whether the space in Safdie's buildings is unique to each building does not matter. What matters is that that spatial design is successful. Can you argue that the space in the Salt Library is not one of the best interior public spaces in the city? It is a very good publice space. I really enjoy buildings that have well-designed, dynamic, & spatious interiors. The stairs, the bridges, the study spaces, the glass elevator, the glass roof, the glass entrances, the stores, etc. the curve, the stone floor and the largeness of the space are all part of what I think is a good design. I also enjoy the curved exterior ramp/stair that allows you to enjoy quite a panorama, and then drops you onto a roof garden and into the building.

[Future Mayor]

Here's one of the dilemmas that we face regarding the NW Quadrant. Many people on here 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 and moan that SLC's population needs to big larger, we need to annex SoSaLa, or MillCreek and Highland Park, or Magna. Ok yes this would help the population of the city but are there benefits to having these areas in the city, what negative impacts to SLC services would annexation of these areas bring.

Another issue is that like it or not, some people enjoy living in a somewhat more suburban type environment, however the success of Day Break has shown that people aren't opposed to living close to their neighbors in what some consider a "Recreation of City Neighborhoods" but with slightly larger and newer more efficient homes. Honestly I won't be able to continue to live in my current house when I get married and have more than just a toddler, many houses in my neighborhood I could but not mine, but yet I still want to live in the city.

Then there are those that 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 and moan that all these new developments are being created way out on the edges of what is already populated and developed. These are the suburbs that cause more commute times and as a result, more pollution. As far as the comparison to the Utah Lake Bridge it's like comparing apples and oranges, IMO. this planned area will be situated in between two major employment areas, in the airport and the International Center, not to mention the close proximity to downtown, especially with transit. Saratoga Springs is simply just a development that is way the hell out there with no employment opportunities near by.

Yes we need to preserve open space in the city, but we also need to provide housing opportunities in the city and closer to major employment centers. To be able to balance both of these with a master plan seems to be the best way to go about it. If Suburban Reserve is the largest owner and sells it to a developer, there is a much greater opportunity to have a more well planned and much more cohesive development. The reason that Daybreak is successful is because the land and the planning was controlled by one property owner, and they can move at a pace that makes sense.

I think the plan needs to work, as all plans do, but I think the city needs to be ready for the potential growth of the area and have it planned out in the most responsible way possible.

As for the opponents that say nobody will live there, yeah not like it is now, but hell look as the houses that are sandwiched in between the FrontRunner tracks and the oil refineries. People seem to be living there.

[Your Boy Blue]

I posted some pics of Salt Lake in the "my city photos" thread if anyone is interested.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=180906

[T-Mac]

Great photos Your Boy Blue. Thanks for sharing.

[urbanboy]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

Here's one of the dilemmas that we face regarding the NW Quadrant. Many people on here 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 and moan that SLC's population needs to big larger, we need to annex SoSaLa, or MillCreek and Highland Park, or Magna. Ok yes this would help the population of the city but are there benefits to having these areas in the city, what negative impacts to SLC services would annexation of these areas bring.

Another issue is that like it or not, some people enjoy living in a somewhat more suburban type environment, however the success of Day Break has shown that people aren't opposed to living close to their neighbors in what some consider a "Recreation of City Neighborhoods" but with slightly larger and newer more efficient homes. Honestly I won't be able to continue to live in my current house when I get married and have more than just a toddler, many houses in my neighborhood I could but not mine, but yet I still want to live in the city.

Then there are those that 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 and moan that all these new developments are being created way out on the edges of what is already populated and developed. These are the suburbs that cause more commute times and as a result, more pollution. As far as the comparison to the Utah Lake Bridge it's like comparing apples and oranges, IMO. this planned area will be situated in between two major employment areas, in the airport and the International Center, not to mention the close proximity to downtown, especially with transit. Saratoga Springs is simply just a development that is way the hell out there with no employment opportunities near by.

Yes we need to preserve open space in the city, but we also need to provide housing opportunities in the city and closer to major employment centers. To be able to balance both of these with a master plan seems to be the best way to go about it. If Suburban Reserve is the largest owner and sells it to a developer, there is a much greater opportunity to have a more well planned and much more cohesive development. The reason that Daybreak is successful is because the land and the planning was controlled by one property owner, and they can move at a pace that makes sense.

I think the plan needs to work, as all plans do, but I think the city needs to be ready for the potential growth of the area and have it planned out in the most responsible way possible.

As for the opponents that say nobody will live there, yeah not like it is now, but hell look as the houses that are sandwiched in between the FrontRunner tracks and the oil refineries. People seem to be living there.

I'm thinking we can fit just as many housing units, if not more, in the downtown area and along TRAX lines than we could fit in the north-west quadrant. I'm also of the opinion that working towards annexing the millcreek and south salt lake areas is a good option for increasing the numbers in the capitol city. There are plenty of opportunities for residential infill.

[SLCdude]

Nice shots, Your Boy Blue.

Also, what are the benefits and drawbacks of annexing areas such as Millcreek and Magna?

[TonyAnderson]

Drawbacks of course will be the city needing to provide additional services, like water, sewer, etc. and also the idea that these areas will need to be incorporated into Salt Lake City's master plans and way of doing things. These areas have basically grown and been built on guidelines SLC doesn't use. I'm sure some may look at the demographics and wonder how that will figure in. (e.g political leanings)

Benefits include the ability to have a greater tax base, thereby generating more revenue for the city.

I think South Salt Lake would be a great fit for SLC. It's actually a pretty small area, that is centered mostly around Trax and State Street. There's already a number of new TODs being proposed for the area, and there seems to be a good tax base potential.

People are complaining about the distance of the NW Quadrant, but obviously it's much closer to the city than most of the suburbs being developed.

[urbanboy]

Heritage Foundation salutes preservation projects
Restoration » Historic Oquirrh School among 12 recipients of 2010 Heritage Awards
By Christopher Smart
The Salt Lake Tribune




Take a 100-year-old school house, renovate it to green building standards for a clinical center for troubled kids and their families and voila --- it's the new Children's Center.
After a three-year, $6 million makeover, the Oquirrh School is perhaps more beautiful than ever, and its corridors and classrooms again echo with young voices.
The Children's Center, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit founded by Agnes "Agi" Plenk in 1962, received an award for adaptive use this year by the Utah Heritage Foundation. It's one of 12 awards the foundation will bestow this month on government agencies, developers and individuals for the work in preserving historic places.
The Oquirrh School, 350 S. 400 East, was designed by the dean of Utah architecture, Richard Kletting, and seemed to offer itself up when the child-therapy organization was looking for a new home, said Douglas Goldsmith, executive director.
"We needed a building where a parent could say, 'This feels right,' " he said. "Many of the preschoolers are calling it their castle."
The preschool and therapeutic preschool center moved into the Oquirrh School in July.
The atmosphere in the renovated school is important because kids struggling with behavior and emotional problems need to feel as comfortable as possible.
The center's young clients have medical problems or may have suffered abuse or traumatic grief due to loss of a caregiver. The center also treats adopted children, those suffering from depression or aggressive disorders and autism.
"What's important for parents to know is that there are treatments for all these behaviors," Goldsmith said. "Eighty-five percent will do well with treatment and go back to homes that are much happier and calmer."
The new interior of the four-story building's entrance was designed to be soothing, beginning with an original plank floor and an expansive lobby dominated by a wild perpetual motion machine on the south wall. Young clients like the colorful paintings and tile mural that depicts kids playing, said Lisa Alleman, development associate.
The building's floor plan lent itself well to classrooms and clinical settings used by the Children's Center for youngsters and their families. There, kids and their parents are given the tools that, in most cases, guide them to the mainstream by elementary school.
Within the original brick structure are new classrooms, observation rooms and calm-down rooms. The top floor offers a large play area where youngsters can let out their energy.
The young clients are grouped by age, Alleman explained, because they learn from each other and can then more easily integrate back into the mainstream population. "Kids come and stay until they meet their treatment goals."
The Oquirrh School's 40,000 square-feet of floor space has allowed the Children's Center to expand while the renovation keeps one of Salt Lake City's great, old buildings in good health, too.
Other Heritage Award recipients
» High West Distillery is also being recognized in the "adaptive use" category for its renovation of Park City's National Garage and the Beggs home next door.
» Sixth and Sixth, LC won in "adaptive use" for its revitalization of central Salt Lake City's William E. Naylor home, a Victorian structure that dates to 1907.
» In "stewardship," Jack and Jodi Livinggood are recognized for their renovation of the 1919 Howard J. McKean residence in Federal Heights.
» Forrest McNabb of Big D Construction is being honored for his preservation work on numerous projects, including the Oquirrh School and the Hansen Planetarium, now the home of O.C. Tanner.
» O.C. Tanner will receive a Heritage Award for restoration of the historic Packard Library that also was used as the Hansen Planetarium.
» Salt Lake City architects Wallace N. Cooper and Allen D. Roberts are receiving the Lucybeth Rampton Lifetime Achievement Award for their work in historic preservation and restoration.
» Residents of the Liberty Wells neighborhood are being recognized for their grass-roots work to stop demolitions in the Salt Lake City area.
» The University of Utah, the cities of South Jordan and St. George and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District also are being recognized for preservation efforts of, respectively, the John R. Park building, the Samuel and Geneva Holt Farmstead, the St. George Town Square, and the Red Butte Reservoir Valve House.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14910072

[urbanboy]

Deadline Nears for Public Input on Wasatch Canyons Planning Process


Salt Lake City, UT - The final opportunity for the public to help shape Salt Lake County's master plan for the canyons surrounding Salt Lake City is rapidly approaching. The Wasatch Canyons Tomorrow process is evaluating a wide range of policies dealing with watershed, recreation, transportation and development in these canyons, which include Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, home to Utah's Alta Ski Area, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Brighton Ski Resort and Solitude Mountain Resort. Feedback received throughout this process, open through April 30, will be integral to the future development and preservation of the canyon areas along Utah's Wasatch Front.

With the county's population expected to double within the next 30 years, officials assert that now is the time to revise a decades-old master plan for the canyons.

“Our mountains and canyons are a vibrant and vital part of Utah,” says Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty. “Beyond the fabulous skiing they offer, Utah’s canyons serve as year-round watershed, wilderness sanctuary and recreation space. The information received through this survey process will enable the county to create the best plan possible for all interested parties.”

A number of proposed changes are on the table to reduce congestion, improve transit options and protect natural resources, including extending the county's TRAX light rail system to the mouth of the Cottonwoods, providing year-round public bus transportation in the canyons, constructing a mountain rail system ascending Little Cottonwood Canyon to Alta and Snowbird, and improving hiker and climber access within the canyons.

Currently, approximately 20% of land in the Wasatch Canyons is privately owned and regulated by Salt Lake County zoning ordinances, in addition to Salt Lake Valley Health Department and Salt Lake City Public Utilities regulations. Most of that land is zoned into 20-acre home sites. Seventy-three percent of those participating in an initial round of public input surveys conducted late last year indicated a willingness to pay higher fees or taxes to raise more money for purchasing high priority lands for watershed, recreation, habitat or scenic value in the Wasatch Canyons. Proposals currently being explored to fund such purchases include a county-wide conservation bond, a general sales tax, a hotel and restaurant tax allocation, an increased fee on monthly water bills or an increase in local property taxes. Forty-seven percent of respondents indicated that watershed and/or habitat impact was the most important land-use planning factor; 34% of respondents indicated that the number of acres preserved was the most important factor, and 9% of respondents indicated that limiting the number of new homes was the most important factor.

In the last round of public input, 62% of respondents supported a parking fee in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, similar to that already in place in Millcreek Canyon and American Fork Canyon, to encourage car-pooling and public transportation use as well as to provide an additional source of funding for maintenance and improvements. Fees currently being examined are $3 per day, $12 per week and $40 per year for both Cottonwood Canyons.

Initial survey results also indicated that residents would like to limit terrain expansion at ski resorts unless crowding impacts the attractiveness of Utah's ski areas relative to that in other states, even as a Forest Service permit application is pending to extend lift-served skiing and riding at Solitude Mountain Resort into adjacent land in Silver Fork. Survey results, however, also indicated that the public does support the expansion of base facilities to accommodate future growth. An overwhelming majority indicated that they wanted no change to the existing ski area plans within the next 20 years, aside from improved transportation options to and from the resorts.

Some ski area expansion is being proposed even as the Wasatch Canyons Tomorrow process unfolds. Solitude's permit request to expand resort skiing into Silver Fork Canyon was recently reduced from the 462 additional acres first proposed in May 2009 to 182 by eliminating resort skiing on the western side of Silver Fork, already home to backcountry skiing areas including the popular Meadows Chutes. It would also create a 100-foot buffer zone along the creek to assuage water quality concerns.

"We're giving up some fantastic skiing," says Solitude Owner Dave DeSeelhorst, as quoted by the Salt Lake City Tribune. "We recognize the need for divergent recreation opportunities. This plan is well thought-out and will accommodate everyone's needs."

Other organizations, however, including the Wasatch Mountain Club and Save Our Canyons remain opposed to the Solitude expansion proposal, even in its reduced form.

"While it is a smaller proposal, a significant amount of public lands are still being affected and will be lost to the public," Save Our Canyons has published on its website. "We could go on an on why this is still a horrible idea (and plan to)! Bottom line: Solitude feels as if they are giving something up by pitching something that is smaller in size. Fact of the matter is, if you never had something are you really giving anything up. If the Forest Service accepts this proposal, the public loses forever another one of our canyons."

Solitude already privately holds 167 acres of land in Silver Fork. "This land is immediately adjacent to our current permit and is consistently used by our Resort guests," Solitude officials wrote in a memorandum to the Forest Service dated April 11. "Within this planning process, we will look to realign the Honeycomb lift and add one new lift within this area. We ask that the Forest Service positively move this request into a NEPA study."

Utah mountain enthusiasts may voice their opinion regarding the future of the Wasatch Canyons by completing the public survey located at www.wasatchcanyons.slco.org. The survey takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The deadline to participate is midnight on Friday, April 30, 2010.

http://www.utahskiandsnowboard.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=782

[John Martin]

Someone might've posted something related to this (or I might've seen it somewhere else), but does anyone know of any plans to build something immediately west of the Brigham Apartments? The reason I ask is because I watched a presentation from an architect from FFKR today and she showed a bunch of renderings of various projects that will soon be built. One of them was of this very modern looking building on S. Temple that looked to be roughly the same height, probably a bit taller, than the Brigham Apartments. I had so many questions afterward I forgot to ask. Any clues?

Also in the presentation were renderings of the new TRAX stations on the Mid-Jordan and Airport lines. They were very modern looking and quite nice. I could probably draw a picture from memory. There was also a rendering of the escalators that will go on the new viaduct. The south one will have a very jagged, modern looking roof over it.

[cololi]

There are development plans for the building on the west end of the parking lot. They are in the review process and have to be approved by the Historic commission.

The Trax station along N Temple will be much more modern and simple compared to the other stations in Salt Lake. Cannot speak of the stations on the other lines.

FFKR is the firm designing both.

[delts145]

Historic downtown streets to return as pedestrian walkways

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/70002...ts-to-return-as-pedestrian-walkways.html

SALT LAKE CITY — Water circulated through the reflecting pools Tuesday, and for the first time in a long time, something was moving on Richards Street.

The historic thoroughfare between Main and West Temple has been closed since the 1970s, a casualty of the now-demolished Crossroads Mall. But as construction continues at the LDS Church's City Creek Center, a trio of old streets — Richards, Regent and Social Hall Avenue — will make a comeback downtown as pedestrian pathways...

.

[Smuttynose1]

Epic Brewing Co., a locally-owned microbrewery, is nearly up and running at 815 State Street. It's a modest little project - a renovation of an older building - but it's a vast improvement. The brewery, which will fully open to the public on May 17, will be Utah's first brewery since Prohibition to focus entirely on brewing beers over 4 percent in alcohol content.

Before:


Now:

[arkhitektor]

Taller makeover approved for tenements on State Street
Housing » Developer adding three floors, 38 more units to Regis and Cambridge hotels.

By Derek P. Jensen

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 04/20/2010 08:31:31 PM MDT

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14924191?source=rss

Does anybody have the renderings for the La Porte proposal that was posted a while back? It was selected by the RDA.

[TonyAnderson]

Info and renderings on the development: State Street / RDA Development

[Viperlord]

Way Over Due UPDATE:

Ive been a lurker the past while, havent had time to post much due to my new home purchase. Back in November I submitted a bid on a Short Sale home, got it under contract, inspected etc...home tested positive for meth. So, after much headache and frustration I dropped my offer on that meth home, and looked elsewhere. 6 months later now in March/April I have finally closed on another house (which is a lot better than my first short sale offer (meth home).

Luckily, my new home was a bank owned, and went really quick, 1 months time from submittal of offer til closing.

Brick Rambler in Taylorsville



Anyways....


Broadway Park Lofts has updated their website. Some cool construction updated pictures and model units now open.
http://www.broadwayparklofts.com/pages/welcome/index.php

State Street RDA project
updated renderings: notice the 10 floor "mid rise" and the extra floors above the low rise building added.


Elks Building addition


Madeliene Apartments


Liberty CityWalk




Artspace Commons

[Orlando]

Thanks for coming out and giving us some updates, Viperlord!


I hope all of these projects are going ahead with construction, all except for the LaPorte State Street Project. That midrise in their design is hideous! It is super crappy fake-historic design. I absolutely hate it. It is terrible design! The massing of it is awful. It look like this overweighted brick wall that's standing on a few small supports. Why can't they do something modern, there??!!! like 222 Main between the Hotel Monaco and the other historic buildings. Please, what can I do to get them to change the design of that mid-rise??!

[delts145]

Great to have you back Viperlord, you've been missed.
Orlando, I would be more inclined to get angry with whoever assigned and okay'd the rendering, rather than the design of the building. If the right brick is used, and the top is given the proper attention, there's no reason to despair. From the rendering, it's impossible to tell what exactly the base will look like. We can only assume that it will have your typical retail style appearance, which in and of itself is welcome news. Let's just hope that a reasonable amount of thought and good taste goes into the material selection for the exterior.