Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 4

[delts145]

Originally Posted by spoonman

Competing with Seattle and Denver is not the same as competing with San Diego or Las Vegas...

Here are the top destinations in 2014 from Cvent...SLC is an up and coming destination, but neither SLC, Denver, or Seattle are very close to the top 10.

I was not inferring that Salt Lake City is hosting the same number of conventioneers as San Diego. However, the same planners are often scouting and choosing from a number of diverse cities. Whether it's Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake or San Diego. We have been told repeatedly that particularly the larger conventions would like to come to Salt Lake City, except for the lack of a large CCH. Due to a lack of a larger convention base,(large block of on site hotel rooms and convention executive amenities) Salt Lake was losing a number of major conventions. And yes, that includes losing conventions to cities as diverse as Denver, Seattle, San Diego or even Las Vegas.

IMO, If we are to believe the many proponents of a CCH, then Salt Lake City will catapult ahead in the numbers rankings, given a large Convention Center Hotel.

[Liberty Wellsian]

Originally Posted by wrendog

48th is exactly where SLC's MSA ranks. In other words, SLC really isn't well known for conventions, especially considering the CSA ranking.

1) I'm really not sure why you think that is relevant. Looking at the top ten list it is clear that conventions don't use the MSA to determine where to hold their conventions.

2)I didn't say that SLC is a big convention city. I said that there is ample room for growth. I pointed out that Denver is 14th and SLC is 48th. That combined with what we are hearing from potential and existing conventions shows that there is a larger market for conventions in SLC than is currently being exploited.

[UTPlanner]

I have to admit that I have always been suspect of the need for a convention center hotel. Having said that, the industry knows more about this topic than I do and frankly I'm shocked at the number of hotel projects downtown being thrown around. Obviously, they're never all going to be built but there must be a demand. I suppose I am curious to know exactly how much demand really exists and how many of these projects can and will move forward.

Proposed Projects:

1. Convention Center Hotel
2. Regent Street Hotel
3. Air Center or whatever it's called now
4. Marriott brand near existing Holiday Inn
5. A new Marriott brand on 200 South near the Salt Palace
6. Salt City Plaza, there are rumblings once more about the project though it has taken so long to get nowhere that I do not have a lot of faith in the project.
7. Another near the Salt Palace that I can't mention a specific site but would be similar in size to the Holiday Inn.
8. There are others but they are projects being discussed by groups that have never really worked in development and I have no faith they will move forward but the conversations are happening.

[asies1981]

Ground was broken today for the Central Ninth Market in the Central Ninth neighborhood.

[Makid]

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

I have to admit that I have always been suspect of the need for a convention center hotel. Having said that, the industry knows more about this topic than I do and frankly I'm shocked at the number of hotel projects downtown being thrown around. Obviously, they're never all going to be built but there must be a demand. I suppose I am curious to know exactly how much demand really exists and how many of these projects can and will move forward.

Proposed Projects:

1. Convention Center Hotel
2. Regent Street Hotel
3. Air Center or whatever it's called now
4. Marriott brand near existing Holiday Inn
5. A new Marriott brand on 200 South near the Salt Palace
6. Salt City Plaza, there are rumblings once more about the project though it has taken so long to get nowhere that I do not have a lot of faith in the project.
7. Another near the Salt Palace that I can't mention a specific site but would be similar in size to the Holiday Inn.
8. There are others but they are projects being discussed by groups that have never really worked in development and I have no faith they will move forward but the conversations are happening.

I do have some knowledge here.

Just this year. The average occupancy rate is nearing 80% occupancy over the coarse of the year. This is within the convention district.

2016 looks to be a bigger year for conventions than 2015 has been. This will increase the demand for more hotel rooms.

Currently, it would take 700 rooms just to get to the 70% occupancy level in the convention district. That level (70%) is when hoteliers start to look at adding additional rooms.

Once the CCH begins construction, it will be an immediate success and will spur additional conventions to come to the area. Some are in writing and others have verbally stated they will come to SLC once a CCH is built. Others will stay (Outdoor Retailers being the biggest in this group).

There is pent up demand for additional hotel space in Downtown SLC. I think with a CCH, the convention district downtown would be able to support roughly 10,000 rooms or about 3,000 more than currently exist.

Without a CCH, we would be limited based on the sizes of the hotels that are added for additional spaces but we would be able to absorb about 1,500 to 1,750 rooms without too much negative impact to the long term for the existing hotels.

Of course, these additional hotels would just increase the need for a CCH.

Either way, a CCH is needed and will only lead to additional hotels being added as well as the need to expand the convention center floor space.

Across meeting planners rather than registration providers, Salt Lake ranks in the top 20 locations for interest. The CCH will push us higher where our only limitation will be in the size of the exhibit floor. Hence my thought that exhibit floor expansion will occur within a few years of the CCH opening. Demand is there now for it but SL County won't expand it without a CCH to support the housing demand first.

[nushiof]

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

I have to admit that I have always been suspect of the need for a convention center hotel. Having said that, the industry knows more about this topic than I do and frankly I'm shocked at the number of hotel projects downtown being thrown around. Obviously, they're never all going to be built but there must be a demand. I suppose I am curious to know exactly how much demand really exists and how many of these projects can and will move forward.

Proposed Projects:

1. Convention Center Hotel
2. Regent Street Hotel
3. Air Center or whatever it's called now
4. Marriott brand near existing Holiday Inn
5. A new Marriott brand on 200 South near the Salt Palace
6. Salt City Plaza, there are rumblings once more about the project though it has taken so long to get nowhere that I do not have a lot of faith in the project.
7. Another near the Salt Palace that I can't mention a specific site but would be similar in size to the Holiday Inn.
8. There are others but they are projects being discussed by groups that have never really worked in development and I have no faith they will move forward but the conversations are happening.

Of this list I think the Regent Street Hotel is the most likely. I believe PRI is involved in it's construction, just like it has been with 111. This means the project will be financed and will happen.

Hopefully we'll get some news on the CCH by the Dec. 4 deadline for the latest RFP that went out.

If we get Regent, CCH, and Air in the next 2-3 years, that would huge.

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by nushiof

Of this list I think the Regent Street Hotel is the most likely. I believe PRI is involved in it's construction, just like it has been with 111. This means the project will be financed and will happen.

Hopefully we'll get some news on the CCH by the Dec. 4 deadline for the latest RFP that went out.

If we get Regent, CCH, and Air in the next 2-3 years, that would huge.

I don't remember hearing anything about PRI being involved with the Regent Street Hotel. Can someone please confirm or deny their involvement? UT Planner, Makid.

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by asies1981

Ground was broken today for the Central Ninth Market in the Central Ninth neighborhood.

This will be another great addition to the Central 9th neighborhood. I really do think that Central 9th will be a great neighborhood and with this addition I think more housing and more retail will continue to be developed in the area. I wouldn't be surprised to see a privately funded housing development happen while the Impact Fee moratorium is in place, allowing for lower overall development costs.

I like the horizontal mixed use idea that they are using. I also like the inclusion of a substantial amount of bike racks. I think this would be a prime opportunity to extend Green Bike further south. I realize it's some distance from the current furthest south station, (Sheraton on 5th S and 200 W.) Maybe the addition of a few between Sheraton and Central 9th would be ideal.

Possible in between stations: Little America, Red Lion, DoubleTree, Legends/Brewvies, Angelinas corner (200 S 700 S). I think one of those would make a good connection between Central 9th and Sheraton.

[slckira]

Deleted

[Comrade]

I think SLC could be a potential player in the convention world but it's clear they're a step behind most of the major metros in the west.

[UTPlanner]

The only connection that I am aware of between the Regent Street Hotel and the LDS Church is that they are planning on utilizing the PRI's parking garage on Regent Street.

[jedikermit]

These five all seem plausible-to-likely to me. CCH has the support of the city/county/local powerful people, and there's been a lot of pressure from OR and other convention planners. Regent Street seems to have all the permits and financing (?) already in place and seem furthest ahead on actual building. If I've been reading things right. And then AIR (sorry Ken, it's a more memorable name than...Void? Is that what it was?) and Marriott both have local connections that may push them along more than some non-local brands.

The others are more pie in the sky/pipe dreamy. I can't even remember what Salt City Plaza was, and the other one "near the Salt Palace, similar in size to Holiday Inn"...who knows?

Based on what Makid (who's been a reliable source of info as long as I've been here)(forever) has said, I can see there being demand for all of those being built, and sooner rather than later.

Something about demand for hotel rooms...I do think boutique hotels and mixed-use hotels (Regent meets both, AIR meets the second) are something that SLC has needed, and hasn't had. There's also something to having new hotels and hotel rooms that speaks to the life of a city; when I travel, I do tend to try to get rooms at the newer, shinier hotels. Even those with recent remodels (Marriott on West Temple) still come across as frumpy compared to what a new one would be. It would bring more excitement to the market than a strict room count can tell us.

I hope we get more soon on all of these projects; it would be great to see ground broken in 2016 on some of them. Okay, all of them. Including the AirBNB I just set up in the alley underneath the Walker Center Garage. It's nicer than you think. There's candy.

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

Proposed Projects:

1. Convention Center Hotel
2. Regent Street Hotel
3. Air Center or whatever it's called now
4. Marriott brand near existing Holiday Inn
5. A new Marriott brand on 200 South near the Salt Palace

[DCRes]

According X96 Radio From Hell, the Eat A Burger will be torn down either today or tomorrow. If I see any action going on I'll try to get some pictures. This is a day we have all long dreamed of!!!

[nushiof]

Originally Posted by DCRes

According X96 Radio From Hell, the Eat A Burger will be torn down either today or tomorrow. If I see any action going on I'll try to get some pictures. This is a day we have all long dreamed of!!!

also just tweeted out by

DowntownPlanSLC ‏@DowntownPlanSLC · 21m21 minutes ago
The old Eat-a-Burger comes down today! #awelcomechange #downtownslc #onregent


This is happening!

[Marvland]

A few updates on Central 9th/West Temple Gateway district. As pointed out by Isaac on his excellent site already, Central 9th Market broke ground yesterday. Here's a news segment from KSL. This project marks a pretty cool place in SLC history. To my knowledge, it's the first local-only new-build mixed use project in the city. Renderings here. My partners and I are super stoked to be a part of this. We will be opening Water Witch, a neighborhood craft cocktail bar, if god and UDABC smile upon us, in April 2016. The tenant mix is really stellar and speaks to the exploding 9th south corridor. Speaking of the 9th S. corridor, for those keeping score the district now houses:

- 9th & 9th and its many spendy splendors
- Pig and a Jelly Jar
- Forage
- Chanon Tai
- Passion Flour Patisserie
- Publik Coffee
- Epic Brewing
- 5 Lovable dives: Uncle Barts, Chuckles, Tryangles, the Spot, Duffies
- Central 9th Market (six tenants)
- Atlas Architects/Blue Copper
- Sage's Cafe
- Trails (ahem)
- Proper Brewing (see below)
- La Cai Noodle House
- Beltex Meats (butcher shop and adjacent restaurant space on 9th and 5th)
- Tea Grotto
- Two more current RDA RFPs in Central 9th

A thriving food and beverage scene is an absolutely vital indicator of community health and SLC is going off right now. So is the CSA, with a gaggle of activity in the beer and spirits world. Utah now has 22 breweries, with no less than TEN (!!) in different planning stages. There are now SEVEN DSPs (Distilled Spirits Plants *Distilleries*) with no less than five in various planning stages. There were two distilleries in Utah about four years ago. You read it here first: Utah will probably double its numbers of breweries and distilleries in the next five years. Of note in the booze world:

- High West popped the doors on its very significant expansion in Wanship a few weeks back. It will eventually house three 1600 gallon custom stills from Scotland, making it what will be the largest whiskey production facility outside of Kentucky, Tennessee or Indiana in America. Read that sentence again. The place is amazing and we're sooo lucky to have HW in our back yard. I travel the world in the beverage business and believe me, High West has put Utah on the national map.

- Proper Brewing. The gents at Avenues Proper ended a two year long search for their planned beer campus and closed in September on two parcels at 857 and 865 S. Main. It is a half acre and two buildings of about 10k square feet. In their former lives the buildings were a Lotus dealership and a smog shop. Proper has multiple concepts happening on that site including food. Construction crews are up to their elbows in what will be the first real production brewery in SLC since Epic. I had a tiny pinky of involvement (I brokered the deal). Proper will be a very big deal on the brew scene for years to come.

- Dented Brick Distillery is slated to pop the doors on its 15,000 square foot whiskey operation in south Salt Lake in January. They are well along in the build process and have rum and other spirits in the works.

- News that for some reason people aren't talking bout here. There are five states that currently order 3.2 beer from the big boys (Anheuser Busch/Inbev, SAB/Miller etc.), with Utah being the most notorious. There are bills in Colorado and Oklahoma to do away with 3.2, leaving Utah, Kansas and Minnesota. There is a very strong chance that the big boys would be persuaded to cancel production of 3.2 weight beer should demand sink like that. That in turn could force Utah's hand in the issue, as 3.2 beer sales generate massive amounts of eeeevil cash for the general fund. No 3.2 Coors/Bud/Pabst/Corona would be an economic disaster for the UDABC. Allowing full strength beer on tap would transform the entire F&B landscape in Utah. A real game changer that would force the state to either change code to allow heavy beer on draft, implement a refrigeration and delivery program or outsource heavy beer keg handling and delivery.

Welcome to Utah to the below beer people:
- Talisman Brewing (Ogden)
- Strap Tank Brewing (Springville *!!!*)
- Maple Mountain Brew Company (Provo *!!!*)
- Mountain West Hard Cider (SLC)

It's an exciting time to be involved in foodstuffs business in Utah.

[s.p.hansen]

Great update Marvland!

Craft cocktails are my jam.

[jedikermit]

Yeah, our friend at 2News/Wells Fargo Building says Eat A Burger is going down RIGHT NOW.

I may have to take a quick drive.

[msbutah]

Say Goodbye!

[jedikermit]

Is it too early in the day to Day Drink? Is this what day drinking is?

[s.p.hansen]

Originally Posted by msbutah

Say Goodbye!

Sashay away