Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 4

[T-Stan]

Maybe the LDS church will step in and purchase some of the old Cottonwood Mall land and build a Temple on the south end of the property. The North end could be developed into mixed-use housing and shopping in the village idea that they floated awhile back.

The LDS church usually puts temples in areas where there is high visibility and where the area around the temple would stay high-end. Holladay may fit that description if the LDS church is looking to put another temple in the Salt Lake Valley.

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Building another temple downtown solely to relieve tourist congestion from the original temple doesn't make sense. I mean, how many visitors do the suburban temples get each year locally - or any other temple, for that matter? My guess is that it's a fraction of a fraction of what the main LDS Temple receives and that's for a reason - people are coming for the history.

Building another temple wouldn't detract people from going a mile north to visit the original (well, outside Nauvoo). So, you'd still have the swamped grounds regardless.

I don't know what it's like recently, but for years the Jordan River and Provo temples had the highest number of visitors, surpassing SLC by a lot, which is why the Oquirrh Mountain Temple was built so close to the Jordan River and the Mountain Timpanogos, Provo City Center and other Utah county temples are being built.
The church ought to build a temple at Little Valley on the mountain overlooking Magna. All the westsiders that go to the Salt Lake Temple would relieve some pressure. That would also kickstart Rio Tinto's residential development at Little Valley, which was supposed to be the second development after Daybreak.

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by T-Stan

Maybe the LDS church will step in and purchase some of the old Cottonwood Mall land and build a Temple on the south end of the property. The North end could be developed into mixed-use housing and shopping in the village idea that they floated awhile back.

The LDS church usually puts temples in areas where there is high visibility and where the area around the temple would stay high-end. Holladay may fit that description if the LDS church is looking to put another temple in the Salt Lake Valley.

Didn't Howard Hughes Corp. just buy the Cottonwood Mall site?

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

Airhero, no need to apologize. It's always fun to dream a little bit. I do it every time I'm downtown, which is pretty much every day. Just thought I would mention that the Garbett project on 400 West should be breaking ground any day. It's not my favorite design but it certainly breaks from the monotonous design of apartments that I have seen lately. Also, Google Fiber is coming to SLC. Watch for an announcement in the next week or two. They are all ready to start securing permits.

Does this mean the city council voted to approve the Google Fiber franchise? The minutes for March 3rd aren't posted on the city website, yet and I can't find any info anywhere about the vote.

[ToysNoiz]

I've never been a fan of any of the Temples besides the Salt Lake Temple. When they're all so close together and look so similar, it makes them feel less special or unique. As much as I love Art Deco....

Wouldn't a new downtown temple take away the uniqueness of the original?

When I look at the SL Temple, I think "That's an authentic, old historic temple." I just don't get that feeling with the other LDS Temples around the valley.

[asies1981]

Post on the Current Restaurant and Three and Three Uncommons development. I can't wait for the Food Hall to open.

[KPBDEV]

AIR URBAN CENTER (AUC) Update



Sorry for the long wait. I wasn't happy with the previous design so we took some time to really dig into the look and feel we wanted for the AIR Urban Center (AUC). The design below is still a work in progress, but I felt it was far enough along to get some feedback from the forum. Again these are only preliminary renderings with very little (or no) details concerning materials, etc. I'm not going to go into a long spiel this time, but I did want to mention a few things.

First we are not as tall as I had hoped (sorry we will be not be tallest in SLC). I wish we could, but we had to right size the project. I also did not want to compromise the quality/design of AUC just to add more square footage/height. We are still developing an iconic building that will have a tall two level base-podium exceeding 50 feet and our tower climbing approx. 242 feet. In total AUC should rise above 300 feet (this would include the cap).

We decided to go with a modern-urban design, consisting of triangular and rectangular shapes. The inspiration is to combine both modernism with a hint of art-deco. This is something we love about SLC (historical art-deco and modern design). Although I would say SLC is still in its infancy concerning modernism when compared to other cities like Austin, TX (that city inspires me).

AUC still presents a mixed use design consisting of the following:

Approx 252 room (Modern/Urban) styled Hotel (we have selected our hotel-flag and will announce it soon - you will not be disappointed).

Some Residential (more details coming).

Restaurant & Cafe/Lounge located on the ground floor which will include an amazing outdoor garden patio (we have something really special coming).

Pool Club & Hotel Fitness facility located on the podium roof-top level (will feature both a Hotel Pool area and a 21+ Pool Club set in Asian inspired Gardens).

Event & Meeting Space (more details to come)

... and a high-end Night Club called "fallen"

I appreciate the forums feedback. We are working hard to push construction as quickly as possible. AUC has been a very challenging development/project. However, we are making good ground now that our proformas are lined up with our investors objectives and for the most part meet the banks very rigid lending criteria. I will keep you posted on our progress:

Cheers, Ken







Basic Layout AUC Podium Roof-Top Level



Proposed AUC Podium Ground Floor Plan

[Comrade]

Hm...I like the old design better but I'll go with any design that actually has the best chance of getting built.

[Makid]

Ken,

I appreciate your openness and willingness to share with us. I do like the new design, especially the crown. That will help it to stand apart from other buildings and help push SL forward in that regard.

I am sad about it not being the tallest but the size is great for the location and it will still stand out for many, many years to come.

I also think it will be an anchor that will lead to other developments that will feed off the energy and design of the AUC to transform the immediate area and provide a more urban feel.

This project in conjunction with the 4th South Trax extension to the hub I think are the 2 most important projects along 4th South that will lead to the area transforming faster than we have seen in other areas of the city, CCC being the lone exception.

[EPdesign]

I like it. It's very different than the previous proposal but it doesn't mean it's bad. Just not as tall. I really hope it gets built before it shrinks any more. But I like it.

[SLC Projects]

Looks great. I will update the first page with this. So I counted 22-stories? 23? At 300 FT?....higher? I'm ok with this not being the tallest if that means a sooner ground breaking and a much better shot at this development happening.

[scottharding]

I like it, Ken! Thanks for sharing. I'm rooting for this project with gusto! I feel like it could really be a boon to downtown, especially that end of it, and I love what you and your team is going for. Salt Lake really needs a legit mixed-use tower.

[StevenF]

I actually like this design a lot and look forward to seeing it rise in the SLC skyline. I love the new crown, though when I look at the image with a view from above where you can see how square the building is, I almost want to take the building and squeeze it by two sides and make it more of a rhombus shape. Taller is always better to us development nerds but at the same time I know it is a huge increase compared to what was there before, which was just 1-2 story structures.

Ken, keep up the great work and I always look forward to when you come on here to post.

[AllOutOfBubbleGum]

I didn't mind the last renderings and I do not mind this, I'm glad it will have a majority glass facade. Compared to the first announcement and renderings you put forward a few years back this is a huge upgrade. This building will command the skyline in that area. Nothing is even close to it in design and height. it will hide the Courthouse, and maybe inspire people to think big in that neighborhood so we start seeing more buildings rise around it and increase the height and feel of this part of downtown.

On another note, I do work for a lot of people that travel into the state and do 2 or 3 night jobs and leave. When I tell them that this style of a hotel and building might get built in SLC they start talking about how they would love to stay there and can't believe SLC doesn't have one anyways. Nice to know you got the guts to take this risk and the will power to make it work. Hope it does work in the end.

[TheWire]

I like the new design, but I strongly support what StevenF said. If you were to taper out the SE and NW corners several degrees, it would make that crown even more dramatic and really give a iconic look to that tower. As it stands right now, I am afraid that it looks too squarish and takes away from what you are trying to do with the crown as is. It risks looking like a shorter, less expensive, less dramatic Frost Bank Tower. I also know that you have already said that you have not started down the road as to materials and everything, but I would also take another look at the central core and how it contrasts with the glass skin you have right now. In the rendering it is a really sharp contrast and appears to stick up too far, disrupting what I think you are trying to accomplish with the glass. Kudos on the next phase. Very excited to see how this looks moving forward!!

[Hatman]

Always good to hear from AUC, to hear that it's still movin' along. This makes me happy.
And that's a pretty cool tower for SLC, too. It will definitely stand out. But... this being Salt Lake, one of the nerdiest places around, that sloped glass at the top making a sort of V shape is going to get this tower a nickname pretty quickly, and I can already guess what it will be...



SAURON'S TOWER! (After all, we already have the Borg Cube...)

Not an insult at all! I like it! But consider yourself warned...

[DMTower]

Originally Posted by KPBDEV

AIR URBAN CENTER (AUC) Update



Sorry for the long wait. I wasn't happy with the previous design so we took some time to really dig into the look and feel we wanted for the AIR Urban Center (AUC). The design below is still a work in progress, but I felt it was far enough along to get some feedback from the forum. Again these are only preliminary renderings with very little (or no) details concerning materials, etc. I'm not going to go into a long spiel this time, but I did want to mention a few things.

First we are not as tall as I had hoped (sorry we will be not be tallest in SLC). I wish we could, but we had to right size the project. I also did not want to compromise the quality/design of AUC just to add more square footage/height. We are still developing an iconic building that will have a tall two level base-podium exceeding 50 feet and our tower climbing approx. 242 feet. In total AUC should rise above 300 feet (this would include the cap).

We decided to go with a modern-urban design, consisting of triangular and rectangular shapes. The inspiration is to combine both modernism with a hint of art-deco. This is something we love about SLC (historical art-deco and modern design). Although I would say SLC is still in its infancy concerning modernism when compared to other cities like Austin, TX (that city inspires me).

AUC still presents a mixed use design consisting of the following:

Approx 252 room (Modern/Urban) styled Hotel (we have selected our hotel-flag and will announce it soon - you will not be disappointed).

Some Residential (more details coming).

Restaurant & Cafe/Lounge located on the ground floor which will include an amazing outdoor garden patio (we have something really special coming).

Pool Club & Hotel Fitness facility located on the podium roof-top level (will feature both a Hotel Pool area and a 21+ Pool Club set in Asian inspired Gardens).

Event & Meeting Space (more details to come)

... and a high-end Night Club called "fallen"

I appreciate the forums feedback. We are working hard to push construction as quickly as possible. AUC has been a very challenging development/project. However, we are making good ground now that our proformas are lined up with our investors objectives and for the most part meet the banks very rigid lending criteria. I will keep you posted on our progress:

Cheers, Ken







Basic Layout AUC Podium Roof-Top Level



Proposed AUC Podium Ground Floor Plan

I really like this new direction Ken. The massing of the base, the street engagement, and the way it interacts with the intersection is far better than the last version. The base reads a lot more swanky and expensive to me than the crown does though, and I think it's because of the art deco-like repetition of the glass corners at the top. Changing the slope of the top glass corners so they instead point inward to the center of the building might help this, or maybe make it asymmetrical – more like a crystal. The bottom of the building is such an improvement though. It draws you in and has so much more variation and articulation than it did before. The geometry is also much more interesting. Also, the drive up area is much more engaging than it was before. It looks classy. I think you're heading in the right direction. The area above the base, specifically the crown is what I'd say needs the most work.

[Stenar]

Overall, I mostly like it. It feels like the top is a little bit busy. The two-tone on the top of the base isn't working. It would look better without the darker color.

Originally Posted by KPBDEV

...

I appreciate the forums feedback. We are working hard to push construction as quickly as possible. AUC has been a very challenging development/project. However, we are making good ground now that our proformas are lined up with our investors objectives and for the most part meet the banks very rigid lending criteria. I will keep you posted on our progress:

Cheers, Ken

[Highrise_Mike]

I like this design and I like that the tower is oriented towards the street corner rather than being setback farther on the base. I would totally want to see a little shorter tower which is still 300+ feet get built than to get another proposal for the new tallest and have nothing happen. I feel the crown could use some adjustments, I would agree it feels busy and maybe the massing of the top few floors seem a little small. The idea of making the shape of the tower more of a parallelogram would create some interest in the design. I do like the primary use of glass. This will be nothing like 400 South has ever really seen before, I think this would be an awesome addition to the skyline! As much as I would love to see a new tallest but honestly I think density is better than height. Thanks for sharing with us!

[jubguy3]

I love every part of it except the parapet - it feels kinda pointy and emtpy. But otherwise awesome