Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[i2theSKY]

Thanks for you work WalkSLC! I like how you showed Astra from multiple viewpoints.

Originally Posted by SLCHenry

Excited for Astra, but I would love to see a 500+ footer soon. That will help SLC not look like a sea of small highrises.

I think most of us are ready for that as well. Interesting how the city is getting taller but somehow looking shorter due to the table topping effect. A few breakout towers are definitely needed at this point.

[stayinginformed]

Originally Posted by Atlas

Is that the Pickle Building on 400 West? Did the University buy that property?

[Atlas]

Originally Posted by stayinginformed

Is that the Pickle Building on 400 West? Did the University buy that property?

Wow, good catch there. I didn't even notice but I think you're right. Very interesting if true.

400W/400S Red Line extension can't come soon enough.

[UtahBison]

Originally Posted by stayinginformed

Is that the Pickle Building on 400 West? Did the University buy that property?

Originally Posted by Atlas

Wow, good catch there. I didn't even notice but I think you're right. Very interesting if true.

400W/400S Red Line extension can't come soon enough.

Woah, good eye! University of Utah President Taylor Randall did say that this building would be built off campus. Interesting location and one that I don't think we have heard rumors of the U expanding to. Perhaps this could help spur the 400W TRAX line.

[delts145]

Is there another name for this development? I can't seem to find it anywhere under the name '900 Element Apartments'.

Originally Posted by Blah_Amazing

Took some photos while on transit and walking around January 10 (sorry in advance for the quality of the images because of this) and I thought y'all might still be interested in some updates on a few projects, even if it was over a week ago now.


900 Element Apartments - S Line and 900 E


900 Element Apartments - S Line and 900 E[/CENTER]

[Atlas]

Originally Posted by delts145

Is there another name for this development? I can't seem to find it anywhere under the name '900 Element Apartments'.

I think this is the one that is (confusingly) called "Sugarmont" even though we already have a much larger Sugarmont apartment building nearby. The Sugar House Community Council website says it will be 4-stories, 45 units.

[delts145]

Thanks, Atlas that helped. It would seem like they're going to use 'Station at Sugarmont' as the name in order to distinguish it from the other Sugarmont.

[New_Future_Mayor]

Having a University of Utah facility in the Granary would be a great addition to that neighborhood, especially since it looks like they are planning to rehab and reuse the Pickle building. It is interesting to see their interest in downtown, with this and with the potential for them to have a significant presence in "Station Center" Depot District

I like the idea of them having the presence in the Ballpark neighborhood rather than the Depot District. I feel that the Depot District will be much easier to develop with the Rio Grande plan in place, and that the entire area west of the Station should be substantially upzoned. Whereas the Ballpark Neighborhood could benefit from the presence of the University there, all while retaining the ballpark.

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by New_Future_Mayor

Having a University of Utah facility in the Granary would be a great addition to that neighborhood, especially since it looks like they are planning to rehab and reuse the Pickle building. It is interesting to see their interest in downtown, with this and with the potential for them to have a significant presence in "Station Center" Depot District

I like the idea of them having the presence in the Ballpark neighborhood rather than the Depot District. I feel that the Depot District will be much easier to develop with the Rio Grande plan in place, and that the entire area west of the Station should be substantially upzoned. Whereas the Ballpark Neighborhood could benefit from the presence of the University there, all while retaining the ballpark.

I like the proposal with the U being in the Granary. Btw, we had a proposal for Pickle & Hide redevelopment from about a 1-1/2 years ago. We won a competition by BCG, but parking and other issues came up that caused the project to go on hold. It's probably okay to show what we proposed. We had a lot of indoor/outdoor entertainment space.

[Ironweed]

Originally Posted by stayinginformed

Is that the Pickle Building on 400 West? Did the University buy that property?

This would be a fantastic rebuild for that area!

BTW, the Rio Grande Plan meeting was a lot of fun.

Thanks to Paniolo Man for hanging out!

[Stenar]

As many of you know, I'm not even remotely a fan of Rocky Anderson and didn't think he should run for mayor again, however, if he's the only one fighting to save the ballpark, I support him 100%.

The ballpark needs to be retained. Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron played there, for goodness sake. (Not in the current stadium, of course, but on the same lot.)

I think Utah Baseball should continue to play there rather than build their own stadium and the city should try to lure another minor league team.

The lots to the north should be developed with either a satellite U. campus and/or housing. Possibly more student housing? That location would be superior to the Depot District for a U campus because of the direct connection via TRAX to the U.

The street that bisects the lots to the north should become a pedestrian corridor lined with restaurants. Kind of like the original idea for the parking lot of the U football stadium.

[Paniolo Man]

Originally Posted by Ironweed

This would be a fantastic rebuild for that area!

BTW, the Rio Grande Plan meeting was a lot of fun.

Thanks to Paniolo Man for hanging out!

It was a blast. Pleasure seeing you all there!

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Stenar

As many of you know, I'm not even remotely a fan of Rocky Anderson and didn't think he should run for mayor again, however, if he's the only one fighting to save the ballpark, I support him 100%.

The ballpark needs to be retained. Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron played there, for goodness sake. (Not in the current stadium, of course, but on the same lot.)

I think Utah Baseball should continue to play there rather than build their own stadium and the city should try to lure another minor league team.

The lots to the north should be developed with either a satellite U. campus and/or housing. Possibly more student housing? That location would be superior to the Depot District for a U campus because of the direct connection via TRAX to the U.

The street that bisects the lots to the north should become a pedestrian corridor lined with restaurants. Kind of like the original idea for the parking lot of the U football stadium.

It would be very demoralizing for the city to have the ballpark go along with the Bees. But I get the sense that the city under the current mayor wants that - they want the ballpark gone so they can build something else there.

I guess my question is what can be built there that will equalize what is being lost? The Bees still were a draw and brought in an average of 5,873 fans a game last year - and that's on the high-end of the PCL (a few hundred from 3rd overall). There were, on a quick count, 75 home games last season. That means, last year, if you go by average crowd size, 440,000 or so fans crossed through that neighborhood between May and September. Even if it was just 400,000 - that's a lot of fans.

That's not counting any other events that took place at the stadium.

I can't think of a replacement that would replicate that outside a large-scale amphitheater.

But beyond that, it's just another string of events where Salt Lake is losing a huge chunk of its history. I said it before but that corner has been home to baseball for almost 100 years in some form or another. It's really sad to see the city so easily abandon that neighborhood's identity instead of investing around the stadium.

[i-215]

This is why monopolistic behavior is bad. The LHM Group are using the Bees and a new stadium simply as marketing to advertise their "Daybreak II" development in Herriman. I'm not opposed to the development. It looks good.

But it comes at the cost of screwing over an already-vulnerable part of downtown SLC. And I'm getting serious "1998 Megamall" vibes. Except there's no Rocky figure to push back.

Maybe Mendenhall plans to move to Daybreak II after she terms out.

[Old&New]

Originally Posted by UtahBison

Woah, good eye! University of Utah President Taylor Randall did say that this building would be built off campus. Interesting location and one that I don't think we have heard rumors of the U expanding to. Perhaps this could help spur the 400W TRAX line.

This makes the University of Utah buying Smith’s Ballpark not so far fetched. And if it did spur the 400 west TRAX line, it’d be just one stop away from the ballpark.

Originally Posted by New_Future_Mayor

Having a University of Utah facility in the Granary would be a great addition to that neighborhood, especially since it looks like they are planning to rehab and reuse the Pickle building. It is interesting to see their interest in downtown, with this and with the potential for them to have a significant presence in "Station Center" Depot District

I like the idea of them having the presence in the Ballpark neighborhood rather than the Depot District. I feel that the Depot District will be much easier to develop with the Rio Grande plan in place, and that the entire area west of the Station should be substantially upzoned. Whereas the Ballpark Neighborhood could benefit from the presence of the University there, all while retaining the ballpark.

Agreed.

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by Comrade

It would be very demoralizing for the city to have the ballpark go along with the Bees. But I get the sense that the city under the current mayor wants that - they want the ballpark gone so they can build something else there.

I guess my question is what can be built there that will equalize what is being lost? The Bees still were a draw and brought in an average of 5,873 fans a game last year - and that's on the high-end of the PCL (a few hundred from 3rd overall). There were, on a quick count, 75 home games last season. That means, last year, if you go by average crowd size, 440,000 or so fans crossed through that neighborhood between May and September. Even if it was just 400,000 - that's a lot of fans.

That's not counting any other events that took place at the stadium.

I can't think of a replacement that would replicate that outside a large-scale amphitheater.

But beyond that, it's just another string of events where Salt Lake is losing a huge chunk of its history. I said it before but that corner has been home to baseball for almost 100 years in some form or another. It's really sad to see the city so easily abandon that neighborhood's identity instead of investing around the stadium.

This is truly sad, and an unfortunate trend of many Utahns. Larry Miller was going to place the Delta Center in Murray by his dealerships, but he asked the LDS church presidency about the location, and he then located the Delta Center where it is today, which is a boon to downtown. I don't understand how the Millers think that moving the Bees way out in Daybreak helps the metro area. Large sporting venues should be located in or near the heart of the metro.

[John_Walker]

What is it that is keeping a 500+ footer from being built? Does a large office user need to commit to a tower for something that tall to be built in SLC?

My curiosity comes from Omaha's recent developments. They are getting a streetcar downtown and that has led to a groundbreaking on a 677 ft Mutual of Omaha HQ (their 2nd 600 footer, a high rise for a Medical Solutions HQ (1,000+) employees, and continued rumors of a 400+ ft. Fiserv/high end hotel tower. There are a couple other high rises being talked about, but they are mainly residential and in the 200+ ft range.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by John_Walker

What is it that is keeping a 500+ footer from being built? Does a large office user need to commit to a tower for something that tall to be built in SLC?

My curiosity comes from Omaha's recent developments. They are getting a streetcar downtown and that has led to a groundbreaking on a 677 ft Mutual of Omaha HQ (their 2nd 600 footer, a high rise for a Medical Solutions HQ (1,000+) employees, and continued rumors of a 400+ ft. Fiserv/high end hotel tower. There are a couple other high rises being talked about, but they are mainly residential and in the 200+ ft range.

Not having any major fortune 500 companies in Utah certainly hurts in that regard

[New_Future_Mayor]

Originally Posted by i-215

This is why monopolistic behavior is bad. The LHM Group are using the Bees and a new stadium simply as marketing to advertise their "Daybreak II" development in Herriman. I'm not opposed to the development. It looks good.

But it comes at the cost of screwing over an already-vulnerable part of downtown SLC. And I'm getting serious "1998 Megamall" vibes. Except there's no Rocky figure to push back.

Maybe Mendenhall plans to move to Daybreak II after she terms out.

It's not Daybreak II, they own Daybreak!

[New_Future_Mayor]

Originally Posted by John_Walker

What is it that is keeping a 500+ footer from being built? Does a large office user need to commit to a tower for something that tall to be built in SLC?

My curiosity comes from Omaha's recent developments. They are getting a streetcar downtown and that has led to a groundbreaking on a 677 ft Mutual of Omaha HQ (their 2nd 600 footer, a high rise for a Medical Solutions HQ (1,000+) employees, and continued rumors of a 400+ ft. Fiserv/high end hotel tower. There are a couple other high rises being talked about, but they are mainly residential and in the 200+ ft range.

It's simply demand that is stopping a 500+ footer from being built. We don't have a company like Mutual of Omaha that is willing to build their own tower, or sign a lease for a large tower, and as wrengdog pointed out, we don't have a Furtune 500 company to lead the way. Had Goldman anticipated the amount of space they were going to need in downtown that may have resulted in a 500+ foot tower, but rather they occupy two towers instead of one.

As we can see the office market is currently in a flux, and our three towers that are under construction or close to are all residential.

While I like the idea of a 500+ foot tower in SLC, I would much rather have several in the 400' range than one in the 500' range. I know this is "skyscraper" forum but there is something to be said about spreading out the density within a city among multiple towers, rather than on one corner have all the activity.