Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 3

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by Stenar

Here is the lovely, "NOT GHETTO" view from RWP:


Source: Google Street View

The two buildings on the right are vacant. A new hotel there, might spur redevelopment, however.

Please correctly quote me. I said, "not that ghetto", meaning that it's not as ghettoized as saying that it's all ghetto. I know that there is some ghetto stuff around, but there's a lot of good stuff around, too. And, I bet you know what I'm talking about, too, Stenar. You've probably been to some of those restaurants in the area, PF Chang's, Squatters, Red Rocks, & Buga Di Bheppo. Those buildings used to be "GHETTO". It's one of my favorite parts of downtown SLC. There's an an excellent sandwhich shop on 200 south less than a block away from the RWP, plaza, too.

[Orlando]

Here you go forumers...

[ski_steve]

Timelapse of satellite growth of Salt Lake, 1984-now.

http://earthengine.google.org/#timelapse/v=40.74303,-111.88204,10,latLng&t=2.72

[livedowntown]

...

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Please correctly quote me. I said "not that ghetto", meaning that it's not as ghettoized as saying that it's all ghetto. I know that there is some ghetto stuff around, but there's a lot of good stuff around, too. And, I bet you know what I'm talking about, too, Stenar. You've probably been to some of those restaurants in the area, PF Chang's, Squatters, Red Rocks, & Buga Di Bheppo. Those buildings used to be "GHETTO". It's one of my favorite parts of downtown SLC. There's an an excellent sandwhich chop on 200 south less than a block away from the RWP, plaza, too.

I counted 1 restaurant on the block of RWP, that rundown, car-crashed-into sushi place. 1 restaurant on the block east, just south of Salt Palace. 2 restaurants on the block east of RWP.

If you're talking about walking a block from the RWP site, to the likes of PF Changs, etc. Then people can also walk a block from South Temple to other restaurants in that area.

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by delts145

There is absolutely ZERO chance that the LDS leadership will warm up to a Convention Hotel across the street from Temple Square. I think we all agree that the old Plaza lot has many excellent positives. For a number of obvious reasons, that's almost as unlikely to happen as the construction of a casino.

Looking again at the photo below. Even though there's no chance for a Convention Hotel at the Plaza site, it would look very cool if the LDS Church were to construct an attractive residence tower there.

Also, the RoyalWood plot will be a very attractive site from this angle for the CCH.

I'm not sure where the city or developers are thinking of putting the CCH, but I'm quite certain that if they chose the Plaza site, or even just west of the Plaza site (right across from the North entrance to Salt Palace), the church would be open to that because it would help support the CCC that they just built. Also, if I were the church, I would much prefer a brand new hotel where the Plaza is, rather than that run down, dumpy hotel.

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by Stenar

I counted 1 restaurant on the block of RWP, that rundown, car-crashed-into sushi place. 1 restaurant on the block east, just south of Salt Palace. 2 restaurants on the block east of RWP.

If you're talking about walking a block from the RWP site, to the likes of PF Changs, etc. Then people can also walk a block from South Temple to other restaurants in that area.

There are a lot more restaurants in the RWP area. But, it sounds like you really want the Plaza Hotel location adamantly. Why do you like it there better?

Anyways, here are some "not that ghetto" pics of the RWP area:

200 south and 200 west





Pierpont Avenue


200 west and 300 south


200 south and 300 west


With all the adaptive reuse that's gone on in the area starting with Squatters and Pierpont Avenue in the 80's, I could easily see that Ghetto area in front of the RWP site to develop into some nice restaurants, etc.

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by Orlando

There are a lot more restaurants in that area. But, it sounds like you really want the Plaza Hotel location adamantly. Why do you like it there better?

Anyways, here are some "not that ghetto" pics of the RWP area...

Those are mainly pics of places a distance from the hotel, that visitors won't see by looking out their hotel windows. I'm more concerned with what they'll see when they arrive and what they see out their window, not what they see when they walk a block.

I'm not actually entirely sold on the Plaza site. Both sites do have merit, but I'm thinking that the views from the Plaza will be better. From RWP, one will have a view of the loading docks and the backside of the Salt Palace. Even if they put some sort of cover over the loading docks, so they're not visible from CCH, you're still looking at the backside of the Salt Palace, which wasn't designed to be looked at.

Also, having a high-rise across from 99 West and CCC will create more of a critical mass than having a lone high-rise far from any other high-rises. I also think the Plaza site would seem more urban and sophisticated.

I was actually all for the RWP site before someone mentioned the Plaza site.
Now I'm torn between the two, but leaning towards the Plaza site.

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Here you go forumers...

Awesome. That's going to look great having two 375-ish towers there next to each other from that view. I wounded what tower 8 at say.....20 stories would look like in the skyline?

[Stenar]

Probably the biggest plus for the Plaza site is that guests could ride TRAX straight from the airport and be let off at the front door of the hotel.

The biggest plus for RWP is the skybridge. I think either location needs to have a skybridge, but one crossing 200 E behind the Salt Palace will be less egregious/less visible than one on South Temple.

[Utaaah!]

Originally Posted by stevena07

Timelapse of satellite growth of Salt Lake, 1984-now.

http://earthengine.google.org/#timelapse/v=40.74303,-111.88204,10,latLng&t=2.72

It's interesting to watch the suburban growth in the Salt Lake Valley, but I found the fluctuating lake levels to be far more dramatic. The GSL reached it's highest water level in 1987 and was near it's lowest historic level in 2010.

Check it out: http://earthengine.google.org/#timelapse/v=41.21941,-112.58135,7.605,latLng&t=2.60

[livedowntown]

[ctobsl]

Nice...

[wrendog]

Awesome! Big change to the skyline even if it is just a glass box.

[brankrom]

Originally Posted by Stenar

I hope it films in SLC, too! I was living in NYC when SLC Punk came out. I went to the Angelika Theatre and asked the guy in the ticket booth for a ticket to see "Salt Lake City Punk" and he had this look on his face, dawning on him what SLC stood for.

Speaking of Movies in SLC does anyone know what/who is filming in the Yalecrest/15th and 15th area the last few days?

[scottharding]

It's probably Dear Dumb Diary... that's the biggest production currently shooting in the area.

[Orlando]

Here are some images of mass models of the 111 tower, and other proposed or under construction buildings. The 111 tower was massed in this model with a height of 385'. The hotel tower was massed to be at 415'. Tower 8 is 365'. Tower 2 is 240'. The Courthouse is massed to be 240' also. I added the Boyer office buildings, and the other two buildings proposed on 400 south, and the project under construction on State Street.

[delts145]

Originally Posted by Stenar

I'm not sure where the city or developers are thinking of putting the CCH, but I'm quite certain that if they chose the Plaza site, or even just west of the Plaza site (right across from the North entrance to Salt Palace), the church would be open to that because it would help support the CCC that they just built. Also, if I were the church, I would much prefer a brand new hotel where the Plaza is, rather than that run down, dumpy hotel.

It's not that I don't think that the Plaza site would make an excellent location for a Convention Hotel. I would love to see a beautiful anything there. I just am of the opinion that there is a zero chance that the convention hotel will go there. Perhaps there is a possibility for something further west though.

Someone correct me if things have changed, but isn't the Plaza residential, not a hotel. Also, unless things have changed in the last couple of years, the LDS church has been taking excellent care of the structure. Admittedly, it's by no means a city landmark, but it's not by any stretch a rundown dump either. It actually looks slightly better than when it was a Howard Johnsons. At least from what I remember, but maybe things have changed. I haven't seen it in a long while.

Anyway yes, I would love it if they put something else up there on that corner other than the current bland Plaza, I just think there's little to no chance of it being the CCH.

[jimmycdii]

Has anyone taken a look at the sixtynine seventy finalists? Here's the link.

http://www.sixtynineseventy.com/finalists

I'm just going through this now so I haven't formed much of an opinion yet. One thing that does strike me, though, is that I wish there was more attention being paid to areas just a little further out. The blocks in this competition could use some work, but other blocks need a lot MORE work. I'd personally rather see other areas get up to par with the heart of downtown than see the heart of downtown get even better. (For this reason I also wish the UPAC was going somewhere else, perhaps where there's nothing but a parking lot right now, though I guess that's a topic for a long past discussion.)

[Comrade]

Closing down that part of Main to cars would be ... interesting.