Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 4

[Makid]

From what I have researched so far, there where 60 developers or their representatives at the general RFP meeting. Of those, 6 stated they where highly interested with 1 (Omni) stating that they will be placing bidding.

Now, I do still think and believe that there was more than 1 bid. There might have been many bids and some were just rejected due to not meeting all the minimum requirements.

I think we will hear about at least 1 more legitimate bid.

However, if there is only 1 bidder, the selection process will go quicker than originally expected. This would also mean that the construction timetable can be moved up as well.

So, for an updated timeline, we would be able to forgo the selection process. This will take 60 days out of the timeline. It would also speed up the site selection, design releases and any demolition/ground breaking ceremonies.

Ideally, a single RFP bid would mean that they could be announced this week as the winner, site selection by the developer either this week or next and depending on the location, demolition/building permits issued by the end of November. Putting ground breaking by Mid December.

This would mean that there would be visible work on the CCH by the time OR is back in town.

As soon as I hear something that can be publicly shared about the bids and status, I will of course post but as of yet, I haven't heard anything. And of course, all the above is just my opinion and thoughts.

[Makid]

I guess it is official then:

http://www.sltrib.com/news/1750578-155/hotel-lake-salt-convention-proposal-comes

1 proposal comes in for downtown Salt Lake City convention hotel

Salt Lake County says only one developer has submitted a proposal to build a large hotel near downtown Salt Lake City’s convention center.

The project comes with $75 million in possible tax credits.

The county says the only proposal that came in before Friday’s deadline was from Dallas-based Omni Hotels & Resorts.

Salt Lake County’s contract office says in a statement that a selection committee tasked with endorsing a project will review Omni’s plan.

If the project is selected, it would be Omni’s first hotel in Utah.

The company has about 60 hotels in North America and has built similar convention center hotels in Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, in recent years.

Utah officials say the long-awaited Salt Lake City hotel would provide needed hotel space for Utah’s convention business.

I somehow don't expect the proposal to be rejected.

[DenverInfill]

Regarding the timeline: when proposals are received in response to an RFP like this, the public entity that issued the RFP typically will have to undertake a major due diligence on the proposals to see which ones have merit from every perspective: financial, building program and design, constructability, operations, etc. If there was more than one proposal, this process will take several months. Even if there was only the one proposal, it will still likely take several weeks at best to do the due diligence and determine the viability of moving forward with the one proposer's plan.

This would be followed by extensive negotiations between the public entity and the winning firm. All of the proposers, including the winning team, haven't designed their project yet. Their proposal probably represents a 35% design or something similar that is just sufficient to win the job and know basic order-of-magnitude costs. The winning team will probably need a good nine months to a year to complete design and get the project through the city process, not to mention securing any debt financing they will need or to line up additional equity investors. If all goes well, I think a groundbreaking in late 2015 would be reasonable.

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by Makid

I guess it is official then:

http://www.sltrib.com/news/1750578-155/hotel-lake-salt-convention-proposal-comes

1 proposal comes in for downtown Salt Lake City convention hotel



I somehow don't expect the proposal to be rejected.

On the plus side, as Makid already stated with only one bid, that will cut down the time to have to pick a winner since there can only be one ( highlander ) sorry, anyways, bid winner. So hopefully this will speed up the renderings, site and ground breaking.
On the down side, this kind of makes SLC kind of lame if there's many developers who still don't really believe in our market.

[Dallas Snob]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the seemingly disappointment in regards to only one proposal submitted...in my humble opinion you seem to have this backwards. Not having more than one submitted is not an indication of your market being small and insignificant. But rather the realization of the expense involved in a project of this size! There are not going to be many willing to take the risk...and even far fewer with experience in CCH in general. Do you not understand that you got ONE OF THE CREAM of the entire industry that proposed?!?!?!?! You should be putting up banners and organizing a welcoming committee. It's like a gay bar around here...if I wait longer a hotter guy will come along...when the best one was yours for the taking hours ago. And you leave with nothing. Don't diss this incredible opportunity. OMNI Dallas is a premiere hotel and CCH outfit. I'm in complete shock right now. Sorry that there weren't 6 proposals to mull over, but who cares when you received the BEST anyway? Sorry for the slight rant, but really?

Here is the recently opened OMNI at the Dallas Convention Center. Like SLC, Dallas was turning large conventions away because we had plenty of convention space, but no attached hotel. And since it opened, ALL hotels downtown have had big increases in occupancy...and the hotel is now building an addition to the front side; a four story building with more restaurants and retail. It's a little Las Vegas for my taste as far as design is concerned, and it's 25 stories appears squat against our skyline here. But it is a handsome addition to downtown. and the downtown foot traffic at night has increased exponentially.

dallas omni by scottcote296, on Flickr

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

As Jedi already pointed out, but I wanted to address it again. There is nothing in that design that tears down any part of the Salt Palace. The entire Forum proposal is on the Royal Wood Plaza block, the office tower faces 300 west.



I don't see it that way, but that is my opinion, I always try to be open to other suggestions though. Do you have some examples of hotels that might be more ideal in that location?

FM, unless I'm looking at that rendering wrong, The Royal Woods Plaza block looks completely untouched. See how it shows the concrete housing tower at the right location per the block arrangement. I wasn't able to pull up the YouTube video, though.

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by Orlando

FM, unless I'm looking at that rendering wrong, The Royal Woods Plaza block looks completely untouched. See how it shows the concrete housing tower at the right location per the block arrangement. I wasn't able to pull up the YouTube video, though.

That proposal keeps the housing tower to the north of the hotel. The old apartments on 2nd S and 3rd West are to the west of their proposed apartment tower. The hotel itself is on the site of the Royal Wood Plaza building.

The thing I like about that design is the way the various buildings block the view of the long wall of the hotel, especially the apartment tower. I also like that they propose mid-block streets and a boutique hotel to pick up all of the ESA visitors.

[DCRes]

It seems to becoming more and more clear that The Forum renderings have nothing to do with The Omni proposal. Since that was the only proposal that came in, The Forum is nothing more than an idea that was talked about but will not come to fruition. Years from now the office tower of The Forum will be included on our lists of 'proposed' towers that never came to be.

That being said, we should now be discussing other Omni developments to try and figure out what an SLC Omni hotel may look like and look forward to more news regarding this actual proposal.

Lastly, even if The Forum had been the actual proposal that was going to move forward, I have my doubts that the office tower portion of the project would have happened. With 111 under construction and 151 seemingly waiting in the wings, I bet the tower would have either shrunk or been scrapped.

[Old&New]

Originally Posted by Orlando

FM, unless I'm looking at that rendering wrong, The Royal Woods Plaza block looks completely untouched. See how it shows the concrete housing tower at the right location per the block arrangement. I wasn't able to pull up the YouTube video, though.

You're looking from the North at the RWP block. The video makes this really clear.

[Wasatch_One]

Originally Posted by DCRes

It seems to becoming more and more clear that The Forum renderings have nothing to do with The Omni proposal. Since that was the only proposal that came in, The Forum is nothing more than an idea that was talked about but will not come to fruition. Years from now the office tower of The Forum will be included on our lists of 'proposed' towers that never came to be.

That being said, we should now be discussing other Omni developments to try and figure out what an SLC Omni hotel may look like and look forward to more news regarding this actual proposal.

Lastly, even if The Forum had been the actual proposal that was going to move forward, I have my doubts that the office tower portion of the project would have happened. With 111 under construction and 151 seemingly waiting in the wings, I bet the tower would have either shrunk or been scrapped.

From what I can tell, Omni likes the "L" shaped building from their recent developments, which means it will probably be shorter in height (~25 stories)

800 room Omni CC Hotel in Nashville




Dallas Snob just posted the Dallas, also in an "L" type shape

Another shot, lit up in pink (but it appears to be LED lighting that changes to whatever theme)



That said, I did find this newer Omni CC hotel in Fort Worth


I wouldn't expect the SLC one to be like this, as it has rooms ranging in size from 369 sq ft up to 1,800+ sq ft. - http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/fort-worth/accommodations/guest-rooms

[jedikermit]

Ooog. I hope it's more along the lines of that Fort Worth than the Nashville...

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by Orlando

FM, unless I'm looking at that rendering wrong, The Royal Woods Plaza block looks completely untouched. See how it shows the concrete housing tower at the right location per the block arrangement. I wasn't able to pull up the YouTube video, though.

I'm still not sure how you're missing it? When you are able to pull up the video again you can see from the beginning they do a complete fly over over the Salt Palace at 0:07 you can see the 200 S tunnel going under the SP, and the entire length of the main N/S SP hall. At 0:12 you can see the following streets, 300 W, 200 S and 100 S, as well as the small apartment building on the NE corner of 300 W and 200 S at the very bottom of the screen. 0:12 gives you a perfect angle to decipher where in downtown it is being placed. You can even see the SW corner of the SP with the elevator in side as well as the North side of the Shilo on the very right side about 2/3 of the way up the screen. At 0:35 you it has a view of the skybridge connecting to the existing SP over 200 W, you can also see the existing concrete apartment building (that is behind RWP) peeking above the skybridge. 1:13 is a view looking SE from ESA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2X2QLvCTAY

On the actual Forum page they have the outline of the property under the about section. http://theforumslc.com/#convention

Not that it really matters anyway, as we have obviously all figured out that this was just someones idea.

And thank you Dallas Snob for being the optimist, we are getting a premier brand. This is a MASSIVE undertaking and not many developers can actually step up to the plate and accomplish it, but seeing as a Hotel operator itself stepped up, that to me says that they have very solid numbers and they will make it happen.

[Old&New]

You'd think they'd try for a new tallest considering how within reach it is.

[Makid]

As for size of the hotel, it will all depend on the location that is chosen.

There are a few sites that will not allow a wider tower. The only site that would allow a wider tower is RWP. The restrictions on the Solar Panel lighting will help to limit the wall if RWP is chosen.

The spot I spoke of earlier around the SPCC would not block the panels in the afternoon (if at all) and would probably be the best location for height due to the size.

After looking at most of the sites that would be options for the CCH, I would be surprised if they went with anything under 30 stories. And that 30 stories would be at RWP. I think any other location and we are looking at 36 to 45 stories. This is based on 1000 rooms. They of course could go higher (1200) or lower (850) as stated in the RFP.

As for the timeline, the original link to the Trib article has been updated to include the following:

Charlie Muller, an acquisitions and development consultant with Omni, told The Associated Press in September that there are several sites in downtown Salt Lake City where the hotel could be built but he didn’t specify them.

Muller estimated that construction would take about two years, with the hotel opening no sooner than 2018.

Hopefully we will hear about a location by the end of the year (provided the due diligence doesn't take longer). Once a location is selected, we should start to see massing models from Omni as well as our own `shopped models so that we can start to see how things will possibly look in the skyline.

So, now that we have heard about a large prospective developer for the CCH, when do we think we will hear something about the AIR?

[linguisize]

I'm just guessing here, but I'd imagine that at this point Ken and the people at the Air Center are likely waiting to see what happens with the CCH. If the CCH contains a boutique hotel similar to what the AIR center wanted I don't imagine they'll continue with that plan. Who knows though, I'd just love to see them start something on that empty lot. It's now been over a year since the demolition of those buildings.

[Makid]

I wouldn't expect the CCH to include a boutique hotel as part of the process as the idea is that a single operator would control approximately 1000 rooms within the CCH.

I think a boutique hotel would be a separate project as they are 2 different markets.

[linguisize]

Originally Posted by Makid

I wouldn't expect the CCH to include a boutique hotel as part of the process as the idea is that a single operator would control approximately 1000 rooms within the CCH.

I think a boutique hotel would be a separate project as they are 2 different markets.

I think you're right about that actually; none the less, I can't imagine CCH doesn't way heavy on their decision making process.

[SLC Projects]

"construction would take about two years"

Still have to wait TWO years for construction to begin? Ugh.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

"construction would take about two years"

Still have to wait TWO years for construction to begin? Ugh.

Huh? I didn't see the context but based on your quote, that is saying it would take 2 years to build, not 2 years until construction begins.


So, at least the one proposal is Omni and not Motel 6!

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

I'm still not sure how you're missing it? When you are able to pull up the video again you can see from the beginning they do a complete fly over over the Salt Palace at 0:07 you can see the 200 S tunnel going under the SP, and the entire length of the main N/S SP hall. At 0:12 you can see the following streets, 300 W, 200 S and 100 S, as well as the small apartment building on the NE corner of 300 W and 200 S at the very bottom of the screen. 0:12 gives you a perfect angle to decipher where in downtown it is being placed. You can even see the SW corner of the SP with the elevator in side as well as the North side of the Shilo on the very right side about 2/3 of the way up the screen. At 0:35 you it has a view of the skybridge connecting to the existing SP over 200 W, you can also see the existing concrete apartment building (that is behind RWP) peeking above the skybridge. 1:13 is a view looking SE from ESA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2X2QLvCTAY

On the actual Forum page they have the outline of the property under the about section. http://theforumslc.com/#convention

Not that it really matters anyway, as we have obviously all figured out that this was just someones idea.

And thank you Dallas Snob for being the optimist, we are getting a premier brand. This is a MASSIVE undertaking and not many developers can actually step up to the plate and accomplish it, but seeing as a Hotel operator itself stepped up, that to me says that they have very solid numbers and they will make it happen.

My bad. I finally saw it on YouTube. That's what I get for reacting too quickly. The design is interesting. Though, I wish they'ld tear down the buildings on the southwest corner, and place the office tower there. It would look kind of weird with this flashy new development surrounding those dumpy old townhouses on that corner.