Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 4

[Stenar]

I didn't say she would be divisive. She didn't have a single idea during the campaign. She campaigned as the anti-Becker and just ripped apart everything he accomplished.

Originally Posted by delts145

I'm a Becker proponent, but I can't imagine that Biskupski would be any where near as divisive as Rocky.

Well, it looks like the Regent Hotel is officially set for construction:

New Regent Street Hotel planned for downtown Salt Lake

Jason Lee, Deseret News
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86564...otel-planned-for-downtown-Salt-Lake.html

.

[ryerop]

I don't think this has been posted already, we had already heard that Wiseguys was coming to Gateway. But it looks like the management has now officially said they are shifting to more of an entertainment destination. Hopefully this hasn't already been said and I'm late to the game on it. I know this has been hoped for many times on here, so it's good to see them trying to get a better mix in there. Hopefully it will help the area over there.

http://www.sltrib.com/home/3133627-155/with-wiseguys-opening-will-entertainment-shift?page=1

In a written statement, RPAI said Wiseguys "marks the shopping center's move towards a fully realized retail and entertainment destination."

RPAI, which bought The Gateway's retail portion in 2005, also said it has "an aggressive leasing plan in place" for the shopping center and "is seeking a broad array of tenants, with a focus on expanding entertainment and dining options."

RPAI spokeswoman Kimberly Freely declined Tuesday to elaborate on the company's wider plans. But the mall's Salt Lake City-based marketing director, Jan Brownstein, confirmed the entertainment shift, saying the mall also was pursuing more local businesses alongside efforts to land national outlets.

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by Stenar

I didn't say she would be divisive. She didn't have a single idea during the campaign. She campaigned as the anti-Becker and just ripped apart everything he accomplished.

So you're saying that "I'll be in town" and "I'll tear down DV8" isn't a campaign full of ideas?

With less than 50% of the votes counted and only a 4.38% difference I'm not willing to declare her Mayor just yet.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Stenar

I didn't say she would be divisive. She didn't have a single idea during the campaign. She campaigned as the anti-Becker and just ripped apart everything he accomplished.

Becker failed and deserved to lose. He was a horrible second term mayor who spent a great deal of his time on pet projects that really went nowhere. His sweetheart deal with developers to suspend the collection of impact fees has already led to one monstrosity of a development. It's just been a bad last four years. His handling of police shootings, police 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 harassment charges, and Chief Burbank were the icing on the top of a turd sundae.

Had Becker's second term looked like his first, he would've won in a landslide.

Alas...

Hopefully Jackie can now unite the city and put us back on the right path. I'm interested to see what her plans for Sugar House are because the neighborhood has completely lost its charm under Becker.

Plus, it's annoying that Becker steals all the credit for downtown - pretending it was a ghost town before he was elected. Truthfully, Mayor Anderson and others worked for years to redevelop Main Street and received a huge boost from the LDS Church and City Creek, which, as much as Becker might want to take credit for, had nothing to do at all with his leadership.

[brankrom]

Originally Posted by Stenar

I didn't say she would be divisive. She didn't have a single idea during the campaign. She campaigned as the anti-Becker and just ripped apart everything he accomplished.

Agreed she was all about saying how much SLC 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵. A sad day for SLC Prop 1 goes down in a ball of flames and a planner gets sacked by a populist.

[Future Mayor]

Deleted

[jedikermit]

Originally Posted by Stenar

Sad day. It looks like Biskupski is the new mayor. I predict 4-8 years of stagnation as a city, like we had under Rocky.

I was inordinately sad over this last night. She doesn't come across as strident or polarizing as Rocky, but I don't know her or her policies as well as some of you. What I liked about Becker is that he had active, progressive plans for the city, and those moved the city forward. I don't see that Biskupski has much of a plan at all, other than getting elected.

As a former political cartoonist, I'd kill to be drawing that hair though.

[EPdesign]

Comrade. I know you are very outspoken when it comes to your views and opinions. Even if many might not find them agreeable. I just want you to know I appreciate when you share. It keeps things interesting

[s.p.hansen]

Originally Posted by Stenar

Sad day. It looks like Biskupski is the new mayor. I predict 4-8 years of stagnation as a city, like we had under Rocky.

Yeah

Rocky was an opposition candidate who railed against the Church, suburbs, and Georgr W. Bush. People in Salt Lake City got fatigue with that and elected a constructive candidate with Becker. He officiated over gay marriages and worked with the Church and the chamber of commerce. I feel like he represented every angle of our City.

On the bright side, Becker was so effective at moving through the backlog of things we needed to get done (new public safety building, new airport, new performing arts center, and soon the new convention center hotel), that I don't see how Jackie can 🞵🞵🞵🞵 things up too bad unless she fucks up transit growth... We can certainly forget about bike lane expansion under her tenure.

The only other bright side is that she is a lesbian and now when we have the congress of families or whatever ignorant anti LGBT 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 generating press in town the New York Times can be like "But hey they also elected a lesbian so I guess SLC isn't two dimensional."

[SLC Projects]

Future Mayor will be the next Mayor after this term.

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

Future Mayor will be the next Mayor after this term.

That is my tagline isn't it. YIKES! I guess I better get my 🞵🞵🞵 in gear.

Funny thing behind my tagline, is that I picked that date so that I could be Mayor during the 2022 Winter Games. So I guess I can still shoot for 2019 and serve two terms or run in 2023, either option would have me in office during 2026.

[Stenar]

What is interesting is that both Becker and Biskupski said impact fees were too high (before the moratorium) and that they were limiting development in the city.
Becker worked with the council to put in this moratorium on impact fees to have time to resolve a couple of problems with impact fees. I see the moratorium as a good thing.

I don't see how Jackie can unite the city. What do you see in her as a uniter? Why do you think she'll have plans for Sugar House when she presented no plans for anything during the campaign?

Rocky didn't have anything to do with City Creek or redeveloping Main Street. Rocky accomplished absolutely ZERO as mayor. In fact, he put the city in a hole as the legislature canceled funding for many items the city needed and worked against city interests because they hated Rocky so much.

Originally Posted by Comrade

Becker failed and deserved to lose. He was a horrible second term mayor who spent a great deal of his time on pet projects that really went nowhere. His sweetheart deal with developers to suspend the collection of impact fees has already led to one monstrosity of a development. It's just been a bad last four years. His handling of police shootings, police 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 harassment charges, and Chief Burbank were the icing on the top of a turd sundae.

Had Becker's second term looked like his first, he would've won in a landslide.

Alas...

Hopefully Jackie can now unite the city and put us back on the right path. I'm interested to see what her plans for Sugar House are because the neighborhood has completely lost its charm under Becker.

Plus, it's annoying that Becker steals all the credit for downtown - pretending it was a ghost town before he was elected. Truthfully, Mayor Anderson and others worked for years to redevelop Main Street and received a huge boost from the LDS Church and City Creek, which, as much as Becker might want to take credit for, had nothing to do at all with his leadership.

[UTPlanner]

I think it's important to note that the Sugarmont project in Sugar House is only a proposal at this point in time. It has not been fully reviewed by staff, community council or the Planning Commission. At first glance, it probably does not meet some of the standards of review regarding massing and the allowable length of a structure. There is a reason that nearly all projects in the Sugar House Business District go through a design review and it's because the city recognizes that it is a special place and deserves more scrutiny with regard to development than other locations. To make a statement insinuating that Mayor Becker made some back door deal with a developer to help this project move forward is not accurate in any way. This project has been discussed for years and would have been submitted whether or not the impact fee moratorium occurred.

The recent development pattern in Sugar House is based on the community master plan that was approved over 10 years ago but it is only recently that we have seen actual significant development occur. The master plan is available on the city's website. I would encourage the community to read through it. Mayor Becker was not even in office at the time that it was approved. Implying that Jackie is going to have some secret weapon to "fix" Sugar House makes it obvious that a person is naive as to how a municipality functions, the development process in general or the contents of the locally created master plan.

My hope is that if Jackie becomes the newest mayor of SLC, that she does a truly amazing job. SLC is not a city without problems and significant issues that need to be dealt with. I sincerely hope that she has new, progressive ideas that will catapult the city into a new era. I hope she surrounds herself with smart, capable staff and members of the community. My biggest concern at the moment is that I have yet to hear of any new ideas from her as a candidate.

[Tymtw12]

Originally Posted by Makid

To attend the meeting though, you needed to have pre-registered by stating that you are interested in submitting a proposal.

I know that there has been interest already but the exact count is going up each day and I don't want to state a number as it will be proven incorrect.

I can say that the count was over 15 as of last week.

Now if more than 1 submit a proposal, I think we will be really good. I would love to see 4 or more proposals submitted personally.

Correct me if I am wrong Makid, as you seem to be better connected on this, but I have heard that there is really only one local group considering proposing on the CCH. That may actually mean that there is only one that has a viable chance to be selected (I heard this group's chances is now 50/50 of being selected).

[Makid]

Originally Posted by Tymtw12

Correct me if I am wrong Makid, as you seem to be better connected on this, but I have heard that there is really only one local group considering proposing on the CCH. That may actually mean that there is only one that has a viable chance to be selected (I heard this group's chances is now 50/50 of being selected).

I don't know the whereabouts of those that are interested. I only know that there are quite a few interested parties. This includes multiple local developers as well as many from out of state.

As for who will be selected, it will be based on information provided in the proposals.

The last I have heard, they opened up the proposal process but were accepting any until after this meeting. That way those interested parties have a complete understanding of the process, requirements and locations that are offered by the County but understanding they can select another location if they would like.

I don't expect to hear anything about proposals that are sent until after the proposal submission period has expired.

After all the proposals are submitted, the committee will review the proposals and then select the developer.

Anything outside of the above process won't happen because of the groups that must review and accept a proposal. This is the State, SL County and SL City.

Lastly, I just wanted to touch on the Odds of selection. This is based on the number of proposals received. No one will know how many are received until after the submission deadline has passed.

[Palladio]

The good think about democracy is that it neither begins nor ends on election day.

I've not been a fan of Biskupski during the election, but if she does in fact win come November 17, I'll be just as active in having my voice represented in local government as under Becker.

A quote taken directly from her website:

"This is not a one-way conversation. With years of legislative, business and law enforcement experience, I know how to work cooperatively with the community to get things done. As mayor I will make the concerns of residents — the true architects of our great city — a top priority. If you own a small business in the city or have other ideas or comments about the economic development of Salt Lake City, please let me know!"

I plan to take her up on that offer whenever the opportunity presents itself.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

The Planning Commission and ultimately City Council are the ones that allow for density. So the fact that the recently announced Sugarhouse project falls within the guidelines of density approved by the City Council IS NOT Mayor Beckers doing.

At least Mayor Becker knows what the hell is going on in the city, again I repeat the City Weekly interview where twice Biskupski mentioned that the DV8 building needs to be torn down.

As Stenar pointed out, what did she campaign on, what were her goals? Besides not being Mayor Becker.

Becker supported it. He owns it just as the city council owns it. I'm not too thrilled with the city council, either.

What's Becker's goals? The continued chain-ifying of Sugar House? More bike lanes? More photo ops with Obama in D.C.?

[SLC Projects]

What's wrong with having "more bike lanes"? Isn't that a good thing?

[GBurrow]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but work has began on the crown of the building. One section of the large truss structure has already been placed.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Stenar

What is interesting is that both Becker and Biskupski said impact fees were too high (before the moratorium) and that they were limiting development in the city.
Becker worked with the council to put in this moratorium on impact fees to have time to resolve a couple of problems with impact fees. I see the moratorium as a good thing.

I don't see how Jackie can unite the city. What do you see in her as a uniter? Why do you think she'll have plans for Sugar House when she presented no plans for anything during the campaign?

Rocky didn't have anything to do with City Creek or redeveloping Main Street. Rocky accomplished absolutely ZERO as mayor. In fact, he put the city in a hole as the legislature canceled funding for many items the city needed and worked against city interests because they hated Rocky so much.

Hey. You're right. I could be completely wrong about Jackie. After all, I supported Ralph in the primary in 2007 and have voted for him three times now and I was woefully wrong about him.

But sometimes you've gotta pull the plug. His second term has been a failure. A third term could be devastating.

If Jackie fails, she's gone in four years. But at least she's offering a new start. Ralph would mean the status quo and the status quo is killing SLC.