Salt Lake MSA Development Thread

[delts145]

North Salt Lake breaks ground on new city hall

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...city-hall.html

LAKE — Flanked by a trackhoe, North Salt Lake officials broke ground on a 32,000-square-foot city hall, which they hope will be the last city hall for 50 years...



The architect's rendition of the new city hall for North Salt Lake. (Scott Wilkinson , Aswn)

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[delts145]

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

Ok so a little more about the Jordan school district move. I just got home after coming home from work. Since I live in the area I took a closer look at the site of where the Jordan school district will be moving to. So it looks like these guys are going to do the cheap thing and just move their offices into one of the old ghetto crappy store fonts that look like shit. I notice that the old Golds Gym building will be the new home for the Jordan school district. Damn it!!! This makes me mad.
This might sound silly to some of you guys, but make most can relate. That you want whats best for the area that you live in. For me that area is 7800 South and Redwood in West Jordan. The old store fonts have been empty for years and now it's rundown and an eyesore for the city of West Jordan. During the past few years I have had rumors that the city wanted to tear them down to built some kind of a mix use development. But nothing ever came to light on that. With this school district move I had my hopes up that maybe these guys would do something about those ugly store fonts and fix the area up, not just move in. At this point please at least remodel the outside of those rundown buildings.
What a freaking joke. You'd think with a city that has more then 100,000k people and being the 4th biggest city in the state West Jordan would be more then just Strip Malls and Subdivisions.
Other Cities at the same size such as West Valley and Sandy have alot more it seems. Sandy has the Rio Tinto Stadium and West Valley has the E-Center. West Jordan...........well we have the Jordan Landing. Yay. (Rolled eyes)
I'm hoping once the Trax line gets finish maybe West Jordan can FINLLY set up it's city center core. But so far there's not much of a city core.

Right now it's simply a matter of economics, which is occurring all over the country in even far more dire circumstances than here. I was visiting with my cousin on Sunday, who is a teacher. She explained the many cuts in executive positions and economizing that's occurring right now in the education system. I'm sure Jordan is just trying to do the best it can right now to get by during this tough economic crunch. There is definately NO money to construct a fancy new office center for the district. I'm sure in time that will come as the economy recovers and Jordan continues to boom. I'm glad to hear that for now, at least they're able to utilize that vacant space. It's not an ideal situation, but in these economic times it's good to have that square footage filled in the community instead of sitting vacant.

[Future Mayor]

You beat me to it Delts, I was going to mention the economics of the whole thing. One positive, as you said is that there will at least be some people there to occupy the space, spend some money for lunches nearby and put a little back into the city through sales tax. It really was a smart move for the district (jordan) to move into that space especially if they purchased the building (does anyone know?)

If they did purchase it, then when the WJ City Center is ready to come about they can sale their building to a developer and build a new one with the money they receive.

If they are simply renting than it provides a little bit of activity for the area that hasn't been there for years.

So while not ideal, it's not overall horrible. IMO

[urbanboy]

Originally Posted by delts145

Right now it's simply a matter of economics, which is occurring all over the country in even far more dire circumstances than here. I was visiting with my cousin on Sunday, who is a teacher. She explained the many cuts in executive positions and economizing that's occurring right now in the education system. I'm sure Jordan is just trying to do the best it can right now to get by during this tough economic crunch. There is definately NO money to construct a fancy new office center for the district. I'm sure in time that will come as the economy recovers and Jordan continues to boom. I'm glad to hear that for now, at least they're able to utilize that vacant space. It's not an ideal situation, but in these economic times it's good to have that square footage filled in the community instead of sitting vacant.

Hey projects, the economy is not great right now. Moving into vacant stores is the right thing to do. This will also rid your community of some blight. Also, your community is setting a great example by reusing older buildings.

You know I don't think the stadiums should have been built in West Valley or Sandy. Not that these aren't great places to live, but by clustering our big venues and National draws into one city, that city can reach it's potential as a world class city. I would argue this location should be near or in Downtown Salt Lake City, because of it's historical significance and already established internationally recognized tourist attractions. In order for Salt Lake City to be a world class city, it needs to be known as a City that "has it all."

Sandy does not count as Salt Lake and neither do West Valley, West Jordan, etc. To think they are the same city skews appropriate scale and can promote inappropriate development. Our societies sense of scale has been dramatically skewed by the speed at which our automobile can get from place to place. Building community infrastructure to a scale that is based on super human capabilities is unethical to the human race.

[Future Mayor]

I agree 100% with the stadium situation. My time in Cleveland showed me many things one of those being the power of multiple sports venues in close proximity to each other. Cleveland took an abandoned public market, of which they still have one that is simply fantastic and built a basketball arena (Go Cavs) moving it from a desolate stretch of highway between population centers along with a new baseball stadium (Go Tribe) and built them next to each other, creating an exciting synergy and gathering place not only for those going to the games, but for those wanting to simply be near the venues and watch the games at a local sports bar.

I hope that when ESA needs to be replaced and when SLC is in the running for a MLB franchise that the city will have acquired the necessary property to develop this sort of place. If not right next to each other at least within view and close proximity to one another.

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

I agree 100% with the stadium situation. My time in Cleveland showed me many things one of those being the power of multiple sports venues in close proximity to each other. Cleveland took an abandoned public market, of which they still have one that is simply fantastic and built a basketball arena (Go Cavs) moving it from a desolate stretch of highway between population centers along with a new baseball stadium (Go Tribe) and built them next to each other, creating an exciting synergy and gathering place not only for those going to the games, but for those wanting to simply be near the venues and watch the games at a local sports bar.

I hope that when ESA needs to be replaced and when SLC is in the running for a MLB franchise that the city will have acquired the necessary property to develop this sort of place. If not right next to each other at least within view and close proximity to one another.

My issue with having Stadiums and arenas all within proximity of one another is the traffic it would bring. What if the ESA, Bee's baseball field and the Rio Tinto Stadium plus the E-Center were all built across the street from one another? Not even all of them, but what if at least two of them were? In fact it was just a few weeks ago that there was a Bee's game, Jazz playoff game and a RSL game all going on at the same time. If all of those where next of each other that would of been a traffic nightmare.

[SLC Projects]

You guys do bring up a good point about the economy. I just hope that with this move they can at least fix up the store font and make that area a little bit nicer. Then maybe one day when the time is right maybe they can built a office building.

[urbanboy]

It works fine in Seattle. Also, if the stadiums are serviced by mass transit, not all sports fans will be driving to get there. Also, we have plenty of park-and-rides throughout the valley. Also, if you lived in Salt Lake City (it is possible to find affordable housing). Everything would be closer to you. You might not even need to worry about car traffic, because you might not even need to drive a car to get there.

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

It works fine in Seattle. Also, if the stadiums are serviced by mass transit, not all sports fans will be driving to get there. Also, we have plenty of park-and-rides throughout the valley. Also, if you lived in Salt Lake City (it is possible to find affordable housing). Everything would be closer to you. You might not even need to worry about car traffic, because you might not even need to drive a car to get there.

I never been to Seattle so I wouldn't know.
But you make it sound like that the only people to go see a Bee's game or a Jazz game are the people living within Salt Lake City. Maybe not everyone wants to move to downtown Salt Lake for what ever reasons, but yet alot of them still enjoy going there to see a game. Infact people come from all over the state to see a Jazz game. People also come all over to see a RSL game in Sandy. Sure we have mass transit then we did just a year ago. But I'm sure there is a least 90% of people who are going to a Jazz game or any other sports game they are using their cars. I'm not saying that's right, but that's just a fact.
My point is even if let's say that all the stadiums are downtown and that we have a very great mass transit setup. Most people are going to drive their cars. And that is why Traffic to these events suck and the parking is also a joke.
My brother and I went to a Jazz game a few months ago. My brother lives down in Lehi while I live in West Jordan. He came over and pick me up and we went to the Trax station on 7800 South, parked his car and from there we took trax up to the ESA in downtown. But not every one does that. ( We only did it just because we didn't want to deal with the Traffic and having to pay for parking or even look for a place to park.

[cololi]

In regards to sporting venues, It is not the number of cars, it is how they are managed. There are a number of cities where they cluster their arenas and venues. I recall leaving a San Diego Chargers game and travelling for about a mile on a two way street that had been converted to one way. You can eleviate the parking concerns pretty quickly if you have good traffic management. You can temporarily convert entire streets to one way traffic, use reversible lanes, use officers to manage traffic signals, close streets to cars to allow pedestrains to get out of the stadium quicker, etc.

The one thing that sucks about RSL games is trying to get out of there with the narrow sidewalks. They really should shut down the southbound lanes of State for 20 minutes just to allow the majority of the crowd to get out of the way, much like what happens at Rice Eccles on 500 South.

[Future Mayor]

Yes traffic can be a difficult thing but it is something that can be dealt with. I went to a recent Jazz game and ended driving because my date was late getting ready. As "bad" as traffic seems getting out of the game honestly it wasn't that bad. Once you get to your car you are out of the mess within 10-15 minutes. It really is about simply managing traffic. Cleveland has a 45,000 seat Baseball stadium and a 20,000 seat basketball stadium right next to each other and often times they have games on the same night. The energy that is created by all the people being there, and people wanting to spend a little more time there because of that energy more than makes up for the traffic issues that arise.

I don't think UrbanBoy was nowhere near saying that only people who live in SLC go to games. He was simply saying that if the stadiums are located in the city with the largest population such as in DT SLC it give more people an opportunity to live close by and walk to the events. When the stadiums are built in the burbs there is no possibility of even 1% of the fans walking to the game directly from there residences. One of the great benefits of living in DT Cleveland was just that. I could decide at the last minute to go to a game, I could walk there and I could then walk back and be home before many of the burbanites even got to the freeway.

[delts145]

I agree with you Future Mayor. There are times when I've been in downtown Salt Lake during several major events being held simultaneously. The energy and excitement it created downtown, especially in the evening was very apparant. I'm very anxious to see the CCC finished, along with the theater. Then lets put an NFL stadium in the mix, along with a major 1000 room plus hotel and more mega conventions, etc. etc. The more people downtown on the sidewalks, the better. People tend to often spend money at other venues/businesses when attending an event downtown.

[delts145]

WinCo Foods coming to Utah

Discount supermarket » Stores are planned for West Valley City, Midvale and Roy.

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_12411613

Touting itself at the "supermarket low-price leader," Boise-based WinCo Foods is moving into the state.

WinCo is planning to build three stores in the state, including one in West Valley City. Utah will be the sixth Western state with a location, joining Idaho, Washington, Nevada, California and Oregon. The company has started construction on a site at the northwest corner of 5600 West and 2700 South. Another store is under way in Midvale at the northwest corner of the 7200 South and 700 West, and a third store is planned in Roy in Weber County...

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[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

Also, if you lived in Salt Lake City (it is possible to find affordable housing).

There isn't really any "affordable housing" downtown. Not when developers and owners are selling lofts for half a million dollars.
That's why most people won't move downtown, even if it's closer to everything. They just can't afford it. Or even if they could why spend $500,000+ dollars on something tiny when with that same money one could go buy a big house in the suburbs on a big lot.
I like downtown and if I ever get my faith restored on the Jazz after their disgraceful season then sure I will go see a game or two. But I can't ever see myself living downtown.
My point is downtown needs to be more affordable. Don't just build it for the rich. LOL

[jtrent77]

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

There isn't really any "affordable housing" downtown. Not when developers and owners are selling lofts for half a million dollars.
That's why most people won't move downtown, even if it's closer to everything. They just can't afford it. Or even if they could why spend $500,000+ dollars on something tiny when with that same money one could go buy a big house in the suburbs on a big lot.
I like downtown and if I ever get my faith restored on the Jazz after their disgraceful season then sure I will go see a game or two. But I can't ever see myself living downtown.
My point is downtown needs to be more affordable. Don't just build it for the rich. LOL

It's not like SLC is any different than any other downtown though--living in Manhattan is more expensive than living in another borough; living in downtown LA is going to cost more than living more inland. You will always pay a higher premium for being "closer to it all."

[Orlando]

I was in town a month ago visiting my parents and took a drive up to Park City & Heber. I was surprised at all of the new very interesting architecture and development. So, enjoy!








Information building for Swaner Family Nature Preserve. Cool building. You can go up to the lookout, or venture out onto the boardwalk out into the preserve.











New Jewish Synagogue




Heber


new library.





There has been a lot of new subdivisions built in the Heber area.


Driving back into Salt Lake valley looking in the direction of awesome Mount Olympus.

[Orlando]

Here are some photos of the recently finished U of Utah libray and an interesting adaptive reuse of an existing building in Sugarhouse for a Chipotle restaurant.

[John Martin]

Awesome pics! I'm always pleasantly surprised to see how much creative architecture there is in Park City, it has a whole variety of styles all of its own. I like the new Synagogue in particular, I'm not sure why, I just think it was done pretty tastefully. My grandpa designed the Kol Ami synagogue in Millcreek, so maybe my like of modern synagogues is just genetic

[delts145]

Thanks for all of the cool pics Orlando, I'm really liking that whole Newpark development up in Park City. Newpark is a very attractively designed and finished business center, they really used some classy materials. Also like how the library turned out, and the Chipotle set-up is very cool. I'm anxious to take a trip up to Park City to see the new St. Regis, Waldorf Astoria, and Montage Hotels, and get an updated look at how they're coming along.

[delts145]

Holladay turns to Congress for village center funds

http://www.sltrib.com/midvalley/ci_12421769

Washington -- The city of Holladay is looking to Congress to help them turn a once-troublesome intersection into a walkable plaza in the heart of the community. ...

Just as a little sidenote: For those of you who love pastries, and haven't sampled Leslies in Holladay, you're in for a treat. They are now reopened at their new store. If you're looking for some of the best pastries and baked goods this side of Paris, check out Leslies.

Bakery back with a bang
Business » Leslie's French Pastries has reopened in a new Holladay location.


http://www.sltrib.com/midvalley/ci_12453704

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