Salt Lake MSA Development Thread

[Old&New]

Originally Posted by Stenar

Yah, they ought to just convert the empty Lowes into the aquarium. That's a great idea.

I agree! And, it would be adjacent to Classic Skating and Water-slides!

[Smuttynose1]

Originally Posted by Wasatch_One

it's interesting how these large tech companies prefer low to mid-rise office buildings:

Google


Apple's soon to be HQ (that looks like the Hale Bopp spaceship, if you ask me)


Yahoo!


Facebook (current or future, I couldn't tell)

So Utah throws in $40 million as part of an incentive package for Adobe. I realize most every state does this, so I don't have a problem with it. But why not make part of the incentive contingent upon the company locating in an area with a few different travel mode options.

I imagine Adobe's going to employ a bunch of relatively young people who would be happy to take transit or bike/walk to work. But the location of this building and its distance from transit facilities insures that virtually everybody will have to drive, burdening the road network and contributing to air quality problems.

Of course, Adobe has the right to build where ever they'd like, but if we're going to be giving them taxpayer funds, doesn't it make sense to make at least part of that funding contingent upon building in a transportation-efficient location?

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by Smuttynose1

So Utah throws in $40 million as part of an incentive package for Adobe. I realize most every state does this, so I don't have a problem with it. But why not make part of the incentive contingent upon the company locating in an area with a few different travel mode options.

I imagine Adobe's going to employ a bunch of relatively young people who would be happy to take transit or bike/walk to work. But the location of this building and its distance from transit facilities insures that virtually everybody will have to drive, burdening the road network and contributing to air quality problems.

Of course, Adobe has the right to build where ever they'd like, but if we're going to be giving them taxpayer funds, doesn't it make sense to make at least part of that funding contingent upon building in a transportation-efficient location?

I don't know the exact location of the Frontrunner stop in Lehi (except that it's near Thanksgiving Point, but it looks like it's only half a mile from the Adobe offices. I used to walk a mile to work from the Frontrunner stop in Layton. I'm sure some people will bike or walk to work from Frontrunner.

[Wasatch_One]

Originally Posted by Stenar

I don't know the exact location of the Frontrunner stop in Lehi (except that it's near Thanksgiving Point, but it looks like it's only half a mile from the Adobe offices. I used to walk a mile to work from the Frontrunner stop in Layton. I'm sure some people will bike or walk to work from Frontrunner.

Adobe actually chose that location because of its (existing and future) transit options. The Frontrunner stop is just south of the Thxgiving point clubhouse along that road. My understanding also, is that TRAX will eventually come around the Point of the Mountain almost directly through the campus.

[DCRes]

It just kills me everytime i think about how great it would have been to have the aquarium on the corner or 4th south and 5th west and Rio Tinto Stadium west of the Gateway

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by DCRes

It just kills me everytime i think about how great it would have been to have the aquarium on the corner or 4th south and 5th west and Rio Tinto Stadium west of the Gateway

I agree, except I don't ever recall any discussion of Rio Tinto locating west of Gateway.

As I was watching the Jazz Rockets game last night, a camera shot as they were coming back from commercial was a downtown shot of a ferris wheel, and the aquarium right next to it. It really is disappointing that business owners, such as the aquarium owners don't have a much better long term vision. Yes they originally wanted to be downtown, couldn't make it work and built the temporary location on 106th, why not wait a few more years and raise a few more funds and build in the Gateway district or the south of the federal courthouse? Partner with a developer or land owner and have something besides just the aquarium built, like a ferris wheel, something like Old & New proposed on the block south of the courthouse. Make the aquarium part of something bigger, something that will attract additional people to the aqaurium.

[tygr]

Originally Posted by Wasatch_One

Adobe actually chose that location because of its (existing and future) transit options. The Frontrunner stop is just south of the Thxgiving point clubhouse along that road. My understanding also, is that TRAX will eventually come around the Point of the Mountain almost directly through the campus.

As you head up the hill to Cabela's and under the Adobe building, there's a railroad track that goes over the road that will be the future TRAX line. From what I understand, UTA already owns that former line. I wouldn't be surprised if the Adobe campus is right next to the future stop, considering Cabela's, the Outlet at Traverse Ridge, the Adobe campus, the nearby IM Flash plant.

That same line also runs directly next to the Lowes and Costco in Lehi/AF, then along the east side of State Road in AF/PG. I'm guessing that somewhere in PG it would likely end up on State Street to University Mall. From there, I think it should head down into Provo using University Parkway then University Ave to Provo Town Centre. The line should also head west on University Parkway to UVU. I know BRT has been proposed and is a likely predecessor to TRAX following a similar route from UVU to Provo TC.

[Future Mayor]

I'm not sure if I see Trax extending much past Lehi, but I could be wrong. Unless of course the area around Adobe become a much bigger employment center as well as another major employment center somewhere along that proposed line. I wouldn't however be surprised to see the proposed BRT from the UVU FrontRunner stop to the Provo stop evetually be converted to Light Rail, but I don't see that it would connect all the way up to the Adobe Campus. However I'm not sure that will be the case though, many cities are having great success with BRT when it has a dedicated lane, which I think would be a big success from UVU to Provo and may not need to be converted to light rail.

As we are noticing, Trax and now FrontRunner are designed to funnel more people into downtown SLC, with a little emphasis on Downtown Provo and Downtown Ogden.

[DCRes]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

I agree, except I don't ever recall any discussion of Rio Tinto locating west of Gateway.

As I was watching the Jazz Rockets game last night, a camera shot as they were coming back from commercial was a downtown shot of a ferris wheel, and the aquarium right next to it. It really is disappointing that business owners, such as the aquarium owners don't have a much better long term vision. Yes they originally wanted to be downtown, couldn't make it work and built the temporary location on 106th, why not wait a few more years and raise a few more funds and build in the Gateway district or the south of the federal courthouse? Partner with a developer or land owner and have something besides just the aquarium built, like a ferris wheel, something like Old & New proposed on the block south of the courthouse. Make the aquarium part of something bigger, something that will attract additional people to the aqaurium.

It seems like i heard discussions of the soccer stadium going west of the Gateway at some point, but i don't know if it was ever really in the running. It was just my preferred location for it. A lot of cities have stadiums and arenas close to each other and i think it would have been great for the area and for the Gateway

[goldcntry]

Speaking of Soccer, did the soccer complex in North Salt Lake along 215 ever come to fruition? Starting this spring? More court battles?

[DCRes]

Originally Posted by goldcntry

Speaking of Soccer, did the soccer complex in North Salt Lake along 215 ever come to fruition? Starting this spring? More court battles?

I was just wondering the same thing yesterday. I think they broke ground last year. I will try to drive by on my way home today and give you an update.

[Future Mayor]

One last comment about the Aquarium. Apparently the owners of the Aquarium don't understand the concept of Critical Mass, ok I may not be using it in its exact definition but it works.

Placing the Aquarium next to or near another crowd generating attraction or venue will increase the attendance of both, for instance, The Childrens Museum being located within a few hundred feet of the Planetarium helps both venues increase attendance. This is particulary true in cases when two smaller attractions, Planetarium, Childrens Museum located near each other. The colective attendance is far greater than each would be independently.

So to make a short story long. While it may have been more expensive for the Aquarium to locate either downtown or in Sandy near City Hall or near Rio Tinto, it is likely that those locations (particularly downtown) would increase passer by traffic, those that hadn't planned on attending the aquarium. Are convention goers at the Salt Palace, or out of state visitors to Temple Square or City Creek Center going to decided to rent a car and drive out into some unknown suburb to visit some Aquarium they know nothing about? My guess is no.

Have I been to the Aquarium? No. Am I excited to attend the Aquarium in it's new location? No. Would I be much more likely to attend on a whim if it were downtown? YES The school kids are going to attend no matter where it locates, so why not get those extra people, such as tourist and people doing other things such as shopping, eating out or attending an event.

Ok I've ranted enough about the poor location choice of the Aquarium, for today.

[UTPlanner]

The soccer complex in north part of Salt Lake City near I-215 is currently under construction. The numerous lawsuits filed were found by a judge to be frivolous. The individual who filed the majority has also found himself before a judge recently for a very violent attack on his live in girlfriend. His claims were not based in reality. Because there is still an opportunity for appeals the contractor on the site is not doing work near the Jordan River at this time.

[stayinginformed]

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

The soccer complex in north part of Salt Lake City near I-215 is currently under construction. The numerous lawsuits filed were found by a judge to be frivolous. The individual who filed the majority has also found himself before a judge recently for a very violent attack on his live in girlfriend. His claims were not based in reality. Because there is still an opportunity for appeals the contractor on the site is not doing work near the Jordan River at this time.

I was up there a few weeks ago on a bike ride and took a quick picture with my phone. It is coming along nicely.


On a side note, the city has completed the Jordan River Trail north, and it connects all the way to the Legacy Parkway Trail--now you can ride all the way up to Farmington on a nice paved trail.

Now the only portion of the Jordan River Parkway not completed in Salt Lake City proper is the portion between North Temple and 200 South. UT Planner do you know how far along the city is on the plans to finish that portion of the trail?

[arkhitektor]

Originally Posted by stayinginformed

I was up there a few weeks ago on a bike ride and took a quick picture with my phone. It is coming along nicely.


On a side note, the city has completed the Jordan River Trail north, and it connects all the way to the Legacy Parkway Trail--now you can ride all the way up to Farmington on a nice paved trail.

Now the only portion of the Jordan River Parkway not completed in Salt Lake City proper is the portion between North Temple and 200 South. UT Planner do you know how far along the city is on the plans to finish that portion of the trail?

That's the segment that runs through the power plant and under I-80, it seems like it'd be a difficult segement to finish.

On a happier note, the Legacy Trail in Farmington now connects to the Denver&Rio Grande rail trail that runs through all of Davis County and into Weber Co. (I think that Roy is the only city in Weber Co. that has completed it's section so far)

If the missing sections of the Jordan River Trail were completed in SL Co., you'd be able to ride or run from the Weber River to Utah Lake on a continuous paved trail.

[stayinginformed]

Originally Posted by arkhitektor

That's the segment that runs through the power plant and under I-80, it seems like it'd be a difficult segement to finish.

The portion under I-80 is complete. I think the plans are to make some sort of bridge over the railroad tracks behind the power plant.

[UTPlanner]

It will probably be some time before the Jordan River trail is completed through the area. Union Pacific owns a lot of property and has easements over even more of the properties in the area and they are not real keen on having a trail on or near active rail lines. I know that the Mayor's Office has been trying to work something out with UP but have been unsuccessful thus far.

[TonyAnderson]

Originally Posted by Merewether

\

Clipper story says “This is the only Main Street in the state of Utah that has the potential of being a classic Main Street,” Hepworth said.

Does the forum agree? My own criteria for a classic main street is that there are still a drug store / cafe /bank / hardware or general merchandise store operating in the central part of town. There should be an active civic building like a post office or library(ie not just a building like a school district headquarters but a building the general public has reason to visit) and a place of worship. General look should be of a place valued and patronized by the populace.

Bountiful 's Main Street is pleasant and tree-lined (says a semi-regular patron of Royal India) but not sure it totally meets criteria at moment. However, if new development keeps it fairly lively I am willing to grant it classic status based on its looks.

Or maybe my criteria are not economically realistic.

In Salt Lake County the ones I can think of with classic main street facades, but not the mix of uses, are Midvale and Magna. Tourist destinations like Park City and Moab have the foot traffic (and nice to-haves like independent booksellers) as do some college towns.

Other candidates for Utah's classic Main Street?

I would say Logan's main street fits the bill perfectly. It's practically the only commercial district spanning about 25 blocks. Perhaps being highway 89 diminishes that quality a bit.

[SLC Projects]

Here is a better/closer view of a live feed of the Embassy Hotel getting built right now in West Valley.

Looks like crews are now working on level three of this seven story hotel. Weird there still isn't a crane.

http://embassywvc.com/live-feed/

[Future Mayor]

Saw this in the paper today. I guess even Sandy has stopped referrring to it as downtown Sandy.

Sandy City Planning Commission » Discusses the 30-year development plan for the city’s civic center; Thursday, April 19, 6:15 p.m., at Sandy City Hall, 10000 Centennial Parkway

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53...tml.csp?page=2