Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[Old&New]

Regardless, I think they did a great job. Also, the wider/shorter building will actually take the strain off the elevators. I think this hotel will function very well!

[JMK]

Utah Senate passes affordable-housing bill

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/02/13/utah-senate-passes/

The Utah Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would encourage cities to plan for affordable housing, even though senators raised worries the measure doesn't do enough and that it spends too much money.

After seeing several major revisions, SB34 — the 2019 Legislature’s most significant attempt thus far to address a statewide shortage of moderately priced homes — advanced on a Senate vote of 20-9 and moves to the House.

Sponsored by Sen. Jake Anderegg, R-Lehi, the bill would make a onetime $20 million contribution in 2020 to the state’s Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, which provides low-interest lending to affordable residential construction, and then would kick in $4 million to the fund each year thereafter. SB34 also would require cities to take state-approved steps aimed at encouraging affordable housing to be eligible to receive investment cash from the Utah Department of Transportation.

The bill is the product of a dozen meetings by the state Commission on Housing Affordability, created by lawmakers last year to address rapidly escalating housing prices in Utah and a shortage of homes for those earning moderate incomes or below.

“I’ll be the first to say, it is not a silver bullet,” Anderegg, co-chairman of the commission, told Senate colleagues Wednesday. “This is not going to solve our housing crisis, but it is a really good step in the right direction.”

SB34’s spending piece has caused heartburn for some of the Senate’s fiscal conservatives, including influential Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, who warned the bill’s budget allocation was only “a drop in the bucket” compared to the magnitude of the housing problem. “I hate to step out in this area,” Hillyard said Monday of SB34. “I mean, once you start, how much money are you going to finally need? $200 million? $400 million?” In his proposed state budget, Gov. Gary Herbert has asked lawmakers for a onetime $15 million payment to the Olene Walker fund and an additional $2 million yearly after that. The fund typically offers so-called “gap financing” to low-income housing developers across Utah who already have other primary lending sources.

The state-managed fund loaned $8.8 million in fiscal 2018 for housing projects worth a total of $132.7 million.

But SB34 also offers cities an expanded menu of nearly 25 strategies they can pursue to encourage affordable housing, ranging from waiving development fees, allowing so-called mother-in-law apartments and revamping aging homes to adopting zoning that encourages construction of high-density housing near transit lines.

The bill now would require cities to adopt at least three of those strategies as part of their state-mandated land-use and transportation plans to become eligible for cash from UDOT to invest in transportation corridors in their communities, known as TIFF money.

Cities with a transit corridor already within their boundaries would have to adopt four of the bill’s affordable-housing strategies to be eligible for TIFF money, estimated at about $700 million per year.

Modifications to SB34 came after a closed-door meeting Tuesday between the Senate’s GOP caucus and lobbyists for the Salt Lake Chamber, Utah League of Cities and Towns, Utah Housing Coalition and other advocates.

First-term Sen. Derek Kitchen, D-Salt Lake City, said Wednesday that by increasing the number of required steps for cities from two, state lawmakers were “raising the bar” and helping to shift cities’ focus toward housing “as a critical component of our long-term economic health.” He said as the state’s population continues to grow, Salt Lake City was experiencing one of its tightest housing markets ever, with a vacancy rate hovering around 2.5 percent. Many other cities, he said, face a similar situation.

“This is a simple supply-and-demand issue,” said Kitchen, who championed affordable housing as a member of the Salt Lake City Council. “We’ve got to figure out how to pump more into the supply side.”

Anderegg said that in addition to bringing more affordable homes to Utah, linking municipal land-use planning with transportation had the potential of saving taxpayers millions of dollars by making road construction more efficient.

But Sen. Don Ipson, R-St. George, who voted against SB34, said that tying city compliance to receiving TIFF money was tantamount to “holding them hostage.”

Others, including Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, complained that even the revised version of SB34 appeared to do little, given that all but a handful of Utah’s more than 240 municipalities were already deploying some of the steps the bill recommends.

Fillmore said he suspected SB34 was being run for ulterior motives that weren’t being shared with rank-and-file legislators.

“The intent of the bill is different from what is being publicly stated,” he said, a claim Anderegg denied, saying instead that he was an “honest broker” of work by the Commission on Housing Affordability.

[Liberty Wellsian]

Originally Posted by JMK

Utah Senate passes affordable-housing bill

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/02/13/utah-senate-passes/

Nice

I will have to see a full list of the 24 strategies before I get too optimistic but on the surface this looks to be an (unfortunately uncommon)sound policy from the hill.

[Orlando]

Here's a quick massing model into Google Earth. I think this helps to better show it's height and scale to the rest of downtown. It might have been nice to go taller and slender, but I can see the reasoning of the city planners to keep it at the height that it is. It works with the rest of downtown.

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by airhero

I see that today there was a building permit application submitted for The Magnolia, one of the buildings planned for the Violin School Commons development at 300 E 200 S (Northwest Pipeline project). This is the first building permit application there has been for this development, so it appears to still be moving forward, however slowly.

Thanks for the update! When this entire project is complete it will be nice piece of urban improvement.

[Orlando]

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/9000...y-have-led-to-a-county-divorce-bill.html

This! This is what frustrates me about development in northern Utah, is people like this, who live out in Herriman and don't want a cohesive urban fabric. They want sprawl, sprawl, sprawl. I bet her supporters are the developers who proposed that big development way, way out there on the west side.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Orlando

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/9000...y-have-led-to-a-county-divorce-bill.html

This! This is what frustrates me about development in northern Utah, is people like this, who live out in Herriman and don't want a cohesive urban fabric. They want sprawl, sprawl, sprawl. I bet her supporters are the developers who proposed that big development way, way out there on the west side.

And this is why I have no desire for Salt Lake City to merge with the entire county. The city has nothing in common with the south-end of the valley. It's literally a different world out there.

[Blah_Amazing]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Here's a quick massing model into Google Earth. I think this helps to better show it's height and scale to the rest of downtown. It might have been nice to go taller and slender, but I can see the reasoning of the city planners to keep it at the height that it is. It works with the rest of downtown.

Nice!! I personally think it looks good when seen with the rest of the skyline. I'm glad they chose this location for the CCH compared with the ArrowPress site, since the Salt Palace blocks would likely never have gotten a tower on them otherwise. This leaves the AP site for the development of another tower/project in the future.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by Orlando

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/9000...y-have-led-to-a-county-divorce-bill.html

This! This is what frustrates me about development in northern Utah, is people like this, who live out in Herriman and don't want a cohesive urban fabric. They want sprawl, sprawl, sprawl. I bet her supporters are the developers who proposed that big development way, way out there on the west side.

I like how they use a nearly 15 year old pic of downtown SLC...

[StevenF]

Originally Posted by wrendog

I like how they use a nearly 15 year old pic of downtown SLC...

Most likely older as it looks like there are two cranes where the Conference Center is. One of the cranes was taken down by a tornado in August of 1999.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by StevenF

Most likely older as it looks like there are two cranes where the Conference Center is. One of the cranes was taken down by a tornado in August of 1999.

Haha.. You're right. Kudos to Desnews for having a nice 20 year old updated photo.

[Old&New]

Hey, jubguy, we need you to update the project rundown on the first page!

[Reachforthesky]

Originally Posted by Comrade

And this is why I have no desire for Salt Lake City to merge with the entire county. The city has nothing in common with the south-end of the valley. It's literally a different world out there.

Its crazy how much Utah County and much of it's ideals, have spilled into Southern Salt Lake County. If this county split were to ever happen maybe it would be wise to just make Salt Lake City a consolidated City/County like Denver. That way we answer to no one but ourselves.

Its ridiculous how ego filled and power hungry some of these suburbs have gotten lately. Their population grows a little, and all of a sudden they get these pie in the sky dreams of building their own downtown, knocking off SLC, and becoming THE major city in the Valley! Now we have multiple Suburbs all fighting to be King! Constantly trying to steal power away from SLC hoping to become the dominating force in the valley. Do they not realize they ONLY came into existence because Salt Lake City is a city?! No Major city= NO suburbs!

Yet they all want to bite the hand that feeds them. Constantly kicking dirt on SLC, stealing Businesses, Sports teams/arenas, etc. away from the Capital city! It's ridiculous.

Stay in your lane! You are not a CITY! No one is scratching SLC off the name of the Metro area and renaming it in your honor! You are a SUBURB OF Salt Lake City. SLC is not a suburb of YOU. You serve a role in the valley already. A place for families to live and raise their children.






-

[EPdesign]

Anyone have any info on the old North Temple Biomat location as well as adjacent lot to the north? There is major work being done

[Marvland]

Originally Posted by EPdesign

Anyone have any info on the old North Temple Biomat location as well as adjacent lot to the north? There is major work being done

A firm is turning the old Biomat building into townhomes. It's a pretty crazy project because the lot is basically the building envelope so they are carving out underneath the building for parking. The lot to the north was bought by the Boys and Girls Club and they are rebuilding it into their Salt Lake City headquarters. Bit of a shame because that was the old 17th Ward building they tipped over, one of the better church structures on the west side.

[Old&New]

Now we have to finish arrow press square:
Some wealthy person needs to relocate the power station so we can name the new thrust theater after them. Will be a great space for conventions as well!
Or maybe instead of a theater, its just some interesting structure that acts as both a visual barrier to the power station/backsides of buildings and a visual focal point.

[Liberty Wellsian]

Originally Posted by Comrade

And this is why I have no desire for Salt Lake City to merge with the entire county. The city has nothing in common with the south-end of the valley. It's literally a different world out there.

What are you talking about? They want a split with Salt Lake County because unless you are a Democrat you won't be Mayor and if you can get on the county council you will be outvoted by Democrats.

If Salt Lake County consolidated into one city the Peter Corroons, Ben MCcadams, and Jenny Wilsons would be running the whole show and we wouldn't have to deal with backward suburban mayors like we do now!

Further a Mayor of 1/3 the states population is less likely to get pushed around to the same degree by the cranks on the hill as SLC proper mayors.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Liberty Wellsian

What are you talking about? They want a split with Salt Lake County because unless you are a Democrat you won't be Mayor and if you can get on the county council you will be outvoted by Democrats.

If Salt Lake County consolidated into one city the Peter Corroons, Ben MCcadams, and Jenny Wilsons would be running the whole show and we wouldn't have to deal with backward suburban mayors like we do now!

Further a Mayor of 1/3 the states population is less likely to get pushed around to the same degree by the cranks on the hill as SLC proper mayors.

What are you talking about? For years, people on this forum have discussed merging ALL of Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City into one mega-city. That idea is fucking silly and stupid for this very reason - the southern end of Salt Lake County might as well be Provo North.

[Always Sunny in SLC]

Don’t hold back guys, share how you really feel.

Old & New, I always like your proposals, but I have to google a bunch of words to know what you are referring to. This time “thrust theatre”. I do have a question, has there been talk about Zions Bank building a new tower? That would be awesome.

[UV4EVER]

I'd like to see a real study done on the pros and cons (taxes, efficiencies, representation, etc) of changing up some of the local county and city governments. I think we have a couple of good options that could really serve the people better for what they want. Some options that could be explored:

-Merging all of Salt Lake County into a single consolidated city-county
-Splitting Salt Lake County into two counties
-Annexing some of the cities around Salt Lake City into a single consolidated city-county

Personally, I think a mix of some of these options would probably give most people more of what they want. Maybe a new county could be formed with cities from Southern Salt Lake County and Northern Utah County and then the cities in Northern Salt Lake County could merge into a single city-county government. That would give Salt Lake City around 400-600,000 people who want more of united, large-city focus while the new county could have around 400-600,000 for people who want small cities and suburbs.

Maybe we could start a Change.Org initiative.