Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 3

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Projects the article points out much more than just those studies. It articulates the controversial issue of funding the hotel. It would be too expensive for a private developer to take it all on by theirselves. But, if the government were to offer some sort of assistance, then they are accused of favoring a private company over another. That's the dilemma. The legislation is having a hard time rationalizing using taxpayer money to help a private company.

Not really sure I believe that since these guys seem to have no issues building much bigger hotels and more of them in other cities like Vegas, Miami, ect. You can't tell me that with cities like those who have mega hotels popping up everywhere the city and state has to help fund each of them. Geez those cities can get a dozen new mega hotels online each year and we can't freaking get ONE. They have no issues spending billions on building hotels in bigger cities, but when it comes to our little market, they are going to go cheap on us and make us pay for it? They can afford to build a 1000+ hotel here in Salt Lake where they are building plenty over hotels that size or bigger else where on their dime.
With the demand already here in Salt Lake there has to be at least ONE developer willing to pay for most ( if not all ) of this development. Developers should be fighting to get in front of the line with a chance of having their name on top of what could be the tallest building in Utah, not just standing around waiting for the other to blink first. What's another couple of million of dollars to pay for a parking garage? Really. If it wasn't for this BS the damn thing would of been built by now.

[ajiuO]

Originally Posted by Comrade Reynolds

They're not 'ghetto' ... they look 'ghetto' and, unfortunately, probably won't hold up well the next ten or twenty years. That's what makes things look ghetto - even if, at the end of the day, they're not located in ghetto neighborhoods.

And besides that.. Crappy construction standards can lead to a development becoming ghetto. You should look into the Pruitt-Igoe projects.. I think there is a documentary on Netflix. The crappy construction standards were a large contribution to the fact that the housing development faild after such a short time... I beleive the place was designed by the same designer as the World Trade Center towers ironically enough... Someone aut to look in to that guy.

If this ghetto looking garbage is going to be be used on other buildings down town and is popular with other archatecs in the area.. I would argue that we need to look into hiring some new architects... Erecting several structures of degrading quality in the same area will surely pose a problem in the future... It really could become projects... Sure people might pay 1200 now.. But that will decline as rapidly as the building does.

I also don't buy this "side of the building" excuse.... First of all I am aware that more thought is generally put towards the front... But that doesn't mean that the sides have to look like something out of a Chicago housing project (ghetto)... In fact.. I can't think of one other building in salt lake that skimped out on the sides... Even close to that extent... And we have some pretty funky stuff..

Besides this side of the building excuse... That doesn't always apply. This is a situation where the side of the building along 400 south will probably be viewed more then the front of the building... It makes no seance to make the most obvious view of your building so hideous.

When I say this place reminds me of the ghetto... Even the ghetto was new at some point... It just gives me that bad ghetto feeling standing next to the place.

I'm also curious if this is the same developer as emigration court... That place looks much nicer... However they really got cheep towards the end of construction... They didn't even install the garbage shoots.. Instead they put in garbage rooms as a temporary solution untill the budget allowed proper shoots... u.. The hallways there smell like nasty garbage.. Much like a ghetto... Wonder if east side is e same way.

Sorry for grammar... I type mainly on iPhone... And I suck

[Future Mayor]

As for the CC hotel issue. You can't really compare Vegas getting billion dollar resorts to SLC not getting a CC hotel. The issue is similar to the office building issue I talked about a few pages back. Office space needs to get pre-lease agreements in order to get construction financing, showing that they will have income coming in. The CC hotel needs to have make their numbers pencil in order to receive construction financing, and the studies have shown that building the hotel and the additional convention space, which will be part of the Salt Palace, doesn't pencil, thus why they need tax incentives for the convention portion of the project.


As for the Eastside Apartments, just because you don't like the look of them doesn't mean they are poorly constructed and are going to fall down. I like the design, it's bold and different, but I think it gives our city a more diverse feel, melding historic architecture, such as the 3 story walk up in East downtown, the conservative look of the Broadway senior apartments to the north, with a much more bold look.

The "to cheap to even use stucco" comment is the most asinine thing I've read in weeks. The product they are using is more durable than stucco, and will hold up much longer than if they had used stucco on the building. I like the design and prefer it much more than the horrible pink/peach stucco of the Immigartion Court apartments to the west. The stucco on Immagration Court will need to be repaired and repainted several times before repairs will need to be done to the Eastside Apartments. It fronts the street, unlike Immagration Court, and I think it will interact well, and create much more pedestrian traffic to the neighborhood.

Just because Burger King and KFC are busy doesn't mean a thing as far as future or near future redevelopment goes. If the property owner or a developer sees the potential for upgrading what is there and if that potential outweighs the cost of buying BK and KFC out of their leases, they would do it in a second. BK and KFC are not the highest and best use for that 400 S frontage, so don't simply say nothing is in the works because they are busy and just remodeled.

[UTPlanner]

FutureMayor, you are not alone. I've heard compliments about the building as well in and out of the city. As I mentioned I don't really care for the color palette but frankly when it comes to color I'm not very bold. The colors remind me a lot of Florida for some reason.

There has been developers in the office lately discussing....you guessed it-- more apartments. Specifically they're looking at property west of the Gateway and another group along 400 South though not the BK/KFC property. The proposed development west of the Gateway is pretty promising as the development group has already purchased the property. I can't say much more than that about it at the moment!

Oh and I there's a project that has me excited. It's a previously dead condo project that appears to be rising from the dead. I can't say where it is but if it's in the same style as the original design it should be really cool. I don't want to get people to excited, it's not a huge project but it was one that I was sad to see die due to the recession.

[BNA]

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

The RDA Board aka the City Council are discussing city owned property located just south of 400 South on 900 East. It used to be the Kiwanis Recreation Center. There were three submittals being discussed. I think the three designs are actually pretty good: http://www.slcrda.com/meetingsmin/2013/BOD/04913/8AKiwanisFelt.pdf If you look at the packet, the initial elevation for the recommended project is mislabeled. Keep scanning to better elevations.

They will also be discussing the hotel project south of the ESA. They are asking for a loan from the RDA Board to help pay to construct the new parking garage.

Hi, guys. I have been reading the forum for a few weeks, this is my first post. The Housing Authority of Salt Lake City is soliciting proposals for architectural services for the Kiwanis project discussed a while back in April

http://www.haslcutah.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=38&Itemid=37

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

... I don't mind the metal panels; I personally just don't like the chosen color palette. I should mention though to be prepared to see more of those metal panels. I know of at least 2 projects coming online this summer that utilize the same material. Lots of architects in the area are actually really big fans.

I LOVE corrugated metal panels on buildings!!!

Also, I quite like the color scheme of the Eastside Apartments. I love there is some blue instead of just tan everywhere else.

I almost like the Eastside Apartments, but not quite. They're onto something, but the building is just missing something. Je ne sais quoi.

[delts145]

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

...

Oh and I there's a project that has me excited. It's a previously dead condo project that appears to be rising from the dead. I can't say where it is but if it's in the same style as the original design it should be really cool. I don't want to get people to excited, it's not a huge project but it was one that I was sad to see die due to the recession.

Hmm, Might we dare hope for the resurrection of Metro West?


http://www.allenmillo.com


Also, regarding the hotel. Who was it, I think Makid, that explained so articulately the fact that there are several mechanisms being worked on for funding the Convention Hotel. The formula just voted down is not even considered the best choice, right?

[StevenF]

Delts, I too was thinking of that condo proposal when reading utplaner's post. I do hope that gets resurrected. I was actually thinking about it just the other day and how it was downsized to 3 story luxury row houses at one point and then we saw nothing more about it.

[Stenar]

"During the boom, lenders typically agreed to finance up to 80% of a given project's cost. Since the recession, that ceiling has dropped to 60%, leaving developers searching for other capital sources to help fill the resulting gap. To do so, many developers are seeking tax breaks, public bond issues or land contributions from municipalities. In some cases, cities have financed hotels with municipal bonds and essentially owned the properties.

"These things are largely uneconomic without significant public incentive," said Marty Collins, chief executive of hotel developer Gatehouse Capital Corp., which currently is bidding to build subsidized hotels in three states.

Organizers of the Public Private Partnership Conference, which is planning a February meeting in Dallas on publicly subsidized projects, say 55 U.S. cities are either planning or developing hotels with public assistance, including in big cities like Chicago and San Francisco and in places as small as Enid, Okla. Roughly 70% of those projects are aimed at drawing more meetings to town, said Eric Iravani, the conference's executive director."

Source: Wall Street Journal, December 25, 2012

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

Not really sure I believe that since these guys seem to have no issues building much bigger hotels and more of them in other cities like Vegas, Miami, ect. You can't tell me that with cities like those who have mega hotels popping up everywhere the city and state has to help fund each of them. Geez those cities can get a dozen new mega hotels online each year and we can't freaking get ONE. They have no issues spending billions on building hotels in bigger cities, but when it comes to our little market, they are going to go cheap on us and make us pay for it? They can afford to build a 1000+ hotel here in Salt Lake where they are building plenty over hotels that size or bigger else where on their dime.
With the demand already here in Salt Lake there has to be at least ONE developer willing to pay for most ( if not all ) of this development. Developers should be fighting to get in front of the line with a chance of having their name on top of what could be the tallest building in Utah, not just standing around waiting for the other to blink first. What's another couple of million of dollars to pay for a parking garage? Really. If it wasn't for this BS the damn thing would of been built by now.

[Orlando]

Nice article. Thanks for posting it.

[jtrent77]

With the CC hotel, I think the argument that the gov't is favoring one company over another is slightly hypocritical as it is being done every day. For example, with the new bike share program, I don't believe that government made the bicycles....so they favored one company there; they may not even be running the program themselves, another company benefits again; when we build TRAX trains, the government doesn't build the trains, but rather has to choose a company to build them, to the detriment of Honda, Ford, Toyota, and other car companies that now won't get as many people buying their products as often, not to mention the other train companies; when we build a library, that is in direct competition with a bookstore; etc. etc.

All this said, I understand the argument, just saying we need to evaluate what is best for the state/city and then do our best to act accordingly. I like the idea of bidding out the hotel, much like UDOT bids out reconstruction of I-15.

[Comrade]

I'm not worried about them falling down. I'm worried about them aging badly and I stand by that - I believe they'll age badly because they're cheaply made.

Whatever. We've had this discussion a million times.

We'll get more of 'em, that I'm sure. But I'm also sure, in 20 years, we'll be looking at this type of development and think about how we shortchanged ourselves.

Still waiting for something like this:













But that's okay! We've got this going up:



Woohoo!

[BNA]

There was an information session by hok yesterday for the Salt Lake International Airport Redevelopment discussing the phases and opportunities for local firms.

Page 12 of the presentation shows the Project timeline:
2012 - Complete Environmental Assessment; Finalize plan of execution, Conduct public outreach
2013 - Initiate Schematic Design
2014 - Begin construction of Rental Car Service Facilities (complete in 2015)
2015 - Begin construction of South Concourse West and Terminal
2016 - Begin construction of New Parking Garage
2017 - Begin construction of Terminal Roadway System
2018 - Open Terminal, South Concourse West, and Parking Garage
2019 - Demolish Terminals 1 & 2 and Existing Parking Garage, Begin construction of South Concourse East
2020 - Occupy gates on south side of South Concourse East
2021 - Demolish existing connectors; Construct apron on north side of South Concourse East
2022 - Occupy gates on north side of South Concourse East
2022-2026 - Renovate existing Concourses B, C, & D

The hok presentation slides can be downloaded here:
http://slcia.hok.com/,
SLCIA - Terminal Redevelopment Information Session, May 1, 2013

[DMTower]

Hauling the rubble away already.

[Stenar]

This is the project I was thinking of that might have been hinted at. We can hope.

Originally Posted by delts145

Hmm, Might we dare hope for the resurrection of Metro West?


http://www.allenmillo.com

[SLC_Rising]

Does anyone know by chance the height or what the hotel(s) will look like that are going in just South of Energy Solutions Arena? Ive been looking everywhere on the board and cant find anything...Sorry if Im just being dumb.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by delts145

Hmm, Might we dare hope for the resurrection of Metro West?


http://www.allenmillo.com


Also, regarding the hotel. Who was it, I think Makid, that explained so articulately the fact that there are several mechanisms being worked on for funding the Convention Hotel. The formula just voted down is not even considered the best choice, right?

Reminds me of Rice-Eccles Stadium.

[Orlando]

Are any of you aware of the international competition that is being held regarding the design of the blocks 69 & 70 ( the blocks that UPAC, Capitol Theater, and Utah Theater are on) ??. It's called Sixty Nine Seventy. Here is a link to the competition website: http://www.sixtynineseventy.com/

Here is one of the competition entries submitted by some young architects/designers from FFKR:


Here is another competition entry submitted by a friend of mine also from FFKR:

[John Martin]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

As for the Eastside Apartments, just because you don't like the look of them doesn't mean they are poorly constructed and are going to fall down. I like the design, it's bold and different, but I think it gives our city a more diverse feel, melding historic architecture, such as the 3 story walk up in East downtown, the conservative look of the Broadway senior apartments to the north, with a much more bold look.

I don't think anyone is arguing that this is going to "fall down." It simply looks ugly and cheap. How is this bold? It's a bunch of rectangles.

The "too cheap to even use stucco" comment is the most asinine thing I've read in weeks. The product they are using is more durable than stucco, and will hold up much longer than if they had used stucco on the building. I like the design and prefer it much more than the horrible pink/peach stucco of the Immigartion Court apartments to the west. The stucco on Immagration Court will need to be repaired and repainted several times before repairs will need to be done to the Eastside Apartments. It fronts the street, unlike Immagration Court, and I think it will interact well, and create much more pedestrian traffic to the neighborhood.

I hate stucco as much as the next person, but just because something is durable does not mean it is attractive, expensive, or tasteful. I was in a 10 year old $12 million house a few days ago that had to have its crumbling slate roof repaired. Stuff didn't really last long but it sure as hell wasn't cheap. This paneling looks cheap as dirt. Not much different than corrugated metal in that regard. Maybe it will hold up better, but it's still ugly.

[Merewether]

I think a month or two ago someone asked for shots of South Temple. There has been a photo from Temple Square Station eastwards. Today I happened to be on South Temple with my iPad when sun was still in the north.

This has always been one of my favorite downtown vistas. I like the building wall fronting the green spaces of greater Temple Square.(Our equivalent of Central Park West or Lake Shore Drive?)


photo by duckbay, on Flickr



photo (2) by duckbay, on Flickr