St.George Metro:Official Development News Thread - Page 10

TonyAnderson · #**181** Posted **Oct 20, 2009, 8:38 PM**

I spent this past weekend in St. George (my first time there) and managed to get some pictures. Overall, it was a really interesting place to see coming from Northern Utah. St. George looks like a city built in the middle of the Grand Canyon, which is both amazing, and at the same time, doesn't really seem right. Every chain store and restaurant you can think of is there (I think because there's so many retirees with money). Overall though, an amazing place.

I'll be posting a full set in the photo's forum soon.

Orlando · #**182** Posted **Nov 9, 2009, 12:22 AM**

Check out the article and the photos!

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_13721167

delts145 · #**183** Posted **Nov 9, 2009, 12:50 PM**

I'm anxious to see what the accompanying villas will look like. They should get them started pretty soon now.

This ultra posh resort will give the well heeled a much better option when visiting Lake Powell. Page, Az. is mostly a pretty tacky place, at least as I remember it. Everytime we visit Page to pick up supplies, I'm always glad to get back to awesome Powell.

I'm just glad this resort is firmly on the Utah side, where 98% of the Lake resides (tourist, tax revenues, etc.). I hope the resort will continue to create a positive synergy in surrounding towns like Kanab. I love Kanab, allot of potential there.

skyguy414 · #**184** Posted **Dec 29, 2009, 2:47 AM**

St. George airport update (photos from late Nov. 2009)

photos from: www.sguconstruction.com

Update from St. George inside newsletter: (http://www.sgcity.org/inside/pdf/winter2009.pdf)

"After 20 years in the making, the dream of an airport that will meet the needs of the future is becoming a reality. The existing airport atop the
Black Hill Mesa cannot be expanded and therefore has looming safety problems. It will never be able to accommodate passenger jets and has limited
services or potential for expanded economic activity.

Moving to a new site solves all of those problems. It places the city in the position to receive jets and the improved service of serving more destinations
at greater distances, as well as the comfort and convenience they bring. The city is currently working to attract more air carriers as well.

“The new airport will be a state-of-the art, premier quality facility that will reflect the progressiveness and vibrancy of the community”, said Public
Works Director Larry Bulloch. We are making substantial progress right now, with nine contracts going on simultaneously”. Total progress in terms
of dollars has reached the $100 million mark on the $160 million dollar program. The Replacement Airport program is on schedule and under the
projected budget amount. Hundreds of pictures are being taken and placed on the city’s web site (ww.sguconstruction.org) for people to watch
the progress of construction. From the areal views you can see the outline of the runway and taxiways, and the terminal building budding from
the site. Finishing touches are being done on the earthwork. That has set the stage for runway and taxiway lighting to be initiated, followed by paving in the spring. The most exciting part of the work is the $6.2 million terminal. With the steel framing mostly in position, the image of the building is
emerging. The building features an observation deck, a canyon-like corridor, an interior garden and a greeting area that will be very welcoming.
By spring the interior walls will be in place and the building will be complete in the fall of 2010. Construction of the fire station will begin in early
2010 and be complete by late fall 2010. Parking and landscaping improvements around the terminal will be done in the summer.
Several contracts are under way for extension of roads and utilities to the site. UDOT is projecting completion of the airport’s main access, the $100 million Southern Parkway, to be open well before startup of airport operations, which isslated for early 2010."

delts145 · #**185** Posted **Dec 30, 2009, 1:30 PM**

Thanks allot for that report and update Skyguy. What do you see as some of the positives with Skywest's investment in United? Seems like it would have some ancillary effects for St. George

TonyAnderson · #**186** Posted **Dec 31, 2009, 12:14 AM**

Speaking of Skywest, they're much larger than I realized. They're like in the 600's in the Fortune rankings, almost making them a Fortune 500 company.

skyguy414 · #**187** Posted **Jan 1, 2010, 7:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by delts145

Thanks allot for that report and update Skyguy. What do you see as some of the positives with Skywest's investment in United? Seems like it would have some ancillary effects for St. George

It will keep SkyWest in business for sure. They are one of the few regional airlines out there that has a good relationship with the major airlines they contract with (right now Delta, United, and very recently AirTran). They are the largest regional airline in the country and regarded among the most reliable as well. And they have certainly weathered almost 10 bad years for the airlines financially very well. Although the way their contracts are set up (except the AirTran contract), they are pretty much guaranteed a profit.

As for how it affects St. George, it will help their economy. They employ over 600 or 700 down there right now in the headquarters and airport. But by far the largest operation is in SLC where they employ over 2500.

Right now the current SGU airport has Delta connection flights only, the United flights ended a few months ago. But they will likely return when the new airport opens and they can send in the jets. You will also likely see other airlines enter the market like US Airways Exp. or maybe even American Eagle or Frontier Lynx. They won't be able to support any mainline airlines quite yet (demand wise) but the airport will be set for future growth and capacity when that time comes and will be more than capable of handling large aircraft.

TonyAnderson · #**188** Posted **Jan 15, 2010, 3:46 AM**

I've heard that about Skywest, they contracts they have made put them in a situation to virtually ensure a profit.

Here's an update about the airport from the recent Economic Summit down there:

"St. George Replacement Airport

City Manager Gary Esplin gave another update on the airport under construction on the southeast side of town. However, it should be the last update at the summit. “That’s a promise,” Esplin said. That’s because construction is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Grading should be completed by the end of February, with the runways being poured afterward. The terminal is expected to be completed by the end of October. More than 340 workers are at the site each day, as well as seven city employees. Esplin said about 80 percent of the work on the airport has been completed by local companies. The first airplane is expected to take off Jan. 13, 2011"

The whole summit: http://www.thespectrum.com/article/2...13015/1002/rss

SLC Projects · #**189** Posted **Jan 15, 2010, 5:43 PM**

I'm kind of surprise just how tiny their new airport is going to be. Somehow I thought it would be bigger.

TonyAnderson · #**190** Posted **Jan 15, 2010, 10:50 PM**

I think a lot of it was just moving it from where it was, which was on a plateau with very limited room, to an area where it can grow as large as demand will allow.

Justnslcsugarhood. · #**191** Posted **Jan 15, 2010, 11:23 PM**

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14182597
how much of an impact do you beleive the airport will have on St. George's unemployment?

skyguy414 · #**192** Posted **Jan 16, 2010, 10:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

I'm kind of surprise just how tiny their new airport is going to be. Somehow I thought it would be bigger.

Are you talking about the airport as a whole, or something more specifically (like the terminal)? If it is just the terminal you are talking about, then yes it is small...now. But is adequate for now and some future capacity. Future terminal expansion can easily be built at a later date when there is more demand there.

As for the airport itself, it will be large enough to handle most any large aircraft and can have its runway expanded even longer in the future.

SLC Projects · #**193** Posted **Jan 16, 2010, 11:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyguy414

Are you talking about the airport as a whole, or something more specifically (like the terminal)? If it is just the terminal you are talking about, then yes it is small...now. But is adequate for now and some future capacity. Future terminal expansion can easily be built at a later date when there is more demand there.

As for the airport itself, it will be large enough to handle most any large aircraft and can have its runway expanded even longer in the future.

I was talking more about the building itself with the terminals. Good to know that there's room for future expansions.

TonyAnderson · #**194** Posted **Jan 24, 2010, 6:55 AM**

Sunbrook Ranch: Planned community takes shape

January 23, 2010

For the Spectrum Daily News

ST. GEORGE - For years, one of the largest buildings in St. George, the Moore Business Forms building on Dixie Drive, just south of the Sunbrook Residential and Golf Course Community, has sat mostly vacant. Except for the relatively unknown slot warehouse that Â- for a few years - used some of the vast interiors of the more than 100,000-square-foot building as a slot machine service, renovation and distribution facility, the building has resembled something of a ghost town.

Not anymore.

Today, the facility is part of a master-planned area called "Sunbrook Ranch" that will eventually be a fully-functioning, mixed-use residential and commercial development on the 17 acres at 414 S. Dixie Drive. Already, parts of the main warehouse divisions are in full use: An indoor soccer stadium, an indoor pickleball facility - the only two indoor venues of their kind in the Southern Utah area - as well as a most unique furniture and art shop featuring Sunbrook Consign and Design and YouNique Design, a specialty furniture shop that features one-of-a-kind and individual dÃ©cor items for home or office.

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/2.../1230309/1002/

TonyAnderson · #**195** Posted **Jan 25, 2010, 4:55 AM**

Got a couple million? Dr. J's St. George home is yours

Celebrity » To community members, the 6-foot-7 Hall of Famer was Julius, a real gentleman.

Brandon Loomis

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 01/24/2010 04:37:03 PM MST

"St. George » The neighbors weren't about to complain about a little outdoor basketball one-on-one with the kids.

Seriously, if you lived next to a Basketball Hall of Famer, you, too, might press up against the kitchen window for a view of a jump hook or slam dunk. Angie Adams tried not to do that during the three years that Julius "Dr. J" Erving lived here in the Stone Cliff gated community, and she sometimes had to admonish her kids to stop gawking.

"I'd have to say, 'Kids! Get away from the window!' " she recalled.

Now the former Philadelphia 76ers superstar has moved on, but the outdoor rubberized court, complete with his old team's logo and all-American colors, is available for a price. The five-bedroom, 6,572-square-foot home attached to the court is listed at $2.25 million -- down a quarter-million from when Dr. J decided to sell last year. "

http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_14259799

arkhitektor · #**196** Posted **Mar 24, 2010, 7:48 PM**

We spent the weekend in St. George and Zion NP. It was the first time I'd ever done much more than drive through St. George or stop for gas. The downtown area seemed very nice. A few pictures from the trip are below:

Does anybody know why the temple was built so far from the Tabernacle on Main St.? It seems like it would have been better placed closer to the rest of the city center.

This cut in the bluff was a little bit horrific looking from a distance:

I can't believe how long I've lived in Utah and never visited Zion National Park. It was breathtaking:

urbanboy · #**197** Posted **Mar 24, 2010, 8:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by arkhitektor

This cut in the bluff was a little bit horrific looking from a distance:

Wow! This is vert unfortunate. What an eyesore! If you're going to create a gash in the mountain for development, at least make sure the development covers up the gash you created.

jedikermit · #**198** Posted **Mar 25, 2010, 1:03 AM**

Yeah, that cut in the bluff has been there for a long time--they'll probably keep it all gashy forever.

I haven't been to St George in several years--that aread around the tabernacle looks very nice.

We're probably going to Zion and Bryce Canyon NP this summer--can't wait.

scottharding · #**199** Posted **Mar 25, 2010, 2:42 AM**

Nice pictures. Anyone have any updates on the airport?

scottharding · #**200** Posted **Mar 25, 2010, 2:43 AM**

I was just down in St. George last week. I've always loved St. George, I think it's a beautiful city, and it offers a lot to both the resident and the visitor. But my feeling is that the city and area grew so rapidly that the city and its planners couldn't keep up. Now that the growth has slowed, I hope they continue to put money and energy into improving the core and the college. Dixie State's campus does not measure up to the size of the student body nor the population of the city. And Dixie is a popular school. There is a lot of potential there. I hope they begin to focus on it. Of course, I know a lot of that falls to the State itself.