Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Schmoe

I am extremely bearish on the NHL coming to Utah anytime in the next 15-20 years. Just don't see it happening.

I agree and the KSL article does nothing to change that. It mentions some rumors but the cold hard facts are the NHL isn't in expansion mode, SLC isn't expansion ready, and maybe if the Olympics come they could build a hockey worthy arena there.

Since the Coyotes we're mentioned in the "relocation rumors", I can confirm the facts in Phoenix are the team just changed hands to a new billionaire owner and the ownership agreement states they will not be leaving Phoenix for 25 years. I'm not sure about Florida or Columbus.

[i2theSKY]

Thanks for the pics! IMO the north main tower section of Astra leaves a bit to be desired. I really wish the windows wrapped all the way around even if a majority of them were blind windows. The best angles will definitely be from the south and east. That said I'm still excited for Astra to get completed. So glad this tower went vertical before things got crazy!

[Atlas]

Well unlike Liberty Sky, it looks like Astra is going to cover the exposed concrete with siding. I think it's going to look good from all sides, especially when the west side eventually interfaces with the future Dakota Pacific tower.

[Rileybo]

^^^^

Yeah I’ve gotta agree, as well. I’m not a fan of the blank walls on the north and west sides of Astra. Missed opportunity for some greenery, would’ve really sold me more. Liberty Sky would move from D tier to A tier if vines covered the exposed concrete all the way up.

[i2theSKY]

Originally Posted by Atlas

Well unlike Liberty Sky, it looks like Astra is going to cover the exposed concrete with siding. I think it's going to look good from all sides, especially when the west side eventually interfaces with the future Dakota Pacific tower.

No doubt it will look way better than exposed concrete, but still would've preferred a window facade. I had the same thoughts about the blank walls on the new Hyatt Regency. I'm still pumped for this tower, just giving it a bit of honest critique.

Originally Posted by Rileybo

^^^^

Yeah I’ve gotta agree, as well. I’m not a fan of the blank walls on the north and west sides of Astra. Missed opportunity for some greenery, would’ve really sold me more. Liberty Sky would move from D tier to A tier if vines covered the exposed concrete all the way up.

Some added greenery would definitely give Liberty Sky a more desirable look.

[delts145]

The west side of Astra is slated to be covered by another high-rise hotel by Dakota Pacific. Here was the post on that tower. Hopefully, given the current climate, it won't be delayed too long. It was supposed to start up after Astra was finished using the site

Downtown Update - The Dakota Pacific Regent St. Mixed-Use Luxury Hotel Project Is Happening Sooner Than Later.

In the most recent City Council Meeting, which was jam-packed with new downtown development information, it was revealed that the construction of the new Dakota Pacific Mixed-Use Boutique Hotel/Residential Project would be happening sooner than expected. In a recently released rendering, we see on our left the upcoming Dakota Pacific Hotel Tower, which is tucked in beautifully on the West flank of the soon to commence construction 'Astra' Residential Tower.

The Dakota Pacific Regent St. Luxury Boutique Hotel & Residences

Originally Posted by Atlas

The tower in these new renders is from HKS (same as Astra) and it's mixed-use. Floors 3-14 are a hotel, floors 15-24 are residences, and floors 25-26 are a restaurant/pool space according to the plans in the link.

[i2theSKY]

I agree Delts that the Dakota Pacific would finish off the west side of Astra very nicely! I'm sure it will be facing the same challenges as the rest of the proposals. Maybe Schmoe has some insight as to where we stand with this tower.

[Atlas]

Given the current market conditions, I'm thinking the Dakota Pacific tower is very much a "next cycle" project unfortunately. Block D of West Quarter too.

Hopefully we still see groundbreakings for Soren, 150 Main, and Block C much sooner than that.

[Rileybo]

Originally Posted by i2theSKY

Some added greenery would definitely give Liberty Sky a more desirable look.

Here’s a shitty edit I made of Liberty Sky with greenery.

[Blah_Amazing]

Originally Posted by Atlas

Given the current market conditions, I'm thinking the Dakota Pacific tower is very much a "next cycle" project unfortunately. Block D of West Quarter too.

Hopefully we still see groundbreakings for Soren, 150 Main, and Block C much sooner than that.

I think the question is whether we are at the end of an actual cycle or not.

Currently, a lot of the evidence suggests that the economic boom cycle we've been in is not actually over, rather is simply being artificially suppressed by the Fed.

For example, home prices rose in February as mortgage rates declined a little bit, suggesting that demand hasn't gone anywhere.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/03/home...-declines.html

Instead, everything is basically just frozen until either the Fed relaxes rates or cracks appear, as they have with mortgage rates and people take advantage.

So for now, it looks like all it would take is for the Fed to determine the time is right to pull back on QT and rate hikes and the market would basically bounce right back to where it was.

However, that isn't to say that the Fed could turn what is a temporary freeze into an actual end of the cycle by keeping rates high for too long. So the future is still uncertain as to how things will shake out.

Personally, seeing home prices pick up, not just nationally, but also in my own neighborhood is giving me hope that there is just so much demand that it is going to start bubbling up eventually and (even with high interest rates) we are going to start to see movement again for some projects that haven't gotten started yet.

I think a lot of eyes are going to be on how well the several thousand housing units coming online this year in Salt Lake fill up and at what rental rates. If they fill up quickly it could very well offer the type of evidence for cautious lenders to provide needed investments. If they stall and fail to fill up showing weak demand I think we will see a sharp pullback in the coming years. Or it could be somewhere in the middle. Who knows?

[i2theSKY]

Originally Posted by Rileybo

Here’s a shitty edit I made of Liberty Sky with greenery.

Outside of low-key The Last of Us vibes ... I would say you done a good job giving us the general idea. Chances of this happening are slim to none but it's fun to think about. Even if the balconies had some nice plants here and there it would help.

[Ironweed]

Originally Posted by delts145

The west side of Astra is slated to be covered by another high-rise hotel by Dakota Pacific. Here was the post on that tower. Hopefully, given the current climate, it won't be delayed too long. It was supposed to start up after Astra was finished using the site

Downtown Update - The Dakota Pacific Regent St. Mixed-Use Luxury Hotel Project Is Happening Sooner Than Later.

This is some serious massing for SLC.

I spoke with the owner of Street Tacos SLC, he said the apartment development next to him (Can't remember its name) should be starting this year. (400 South and 300 West) I will try again to find out what is going on with the Greek Project.

[taboubak]

Originally Posted by Ironweed

This is some serious massing for SLC.

I spoke with the owner of Street Tacos SLC, he said the apartment development next to him (Can't remember its name) should be starting this year. (400 South and 300 West) I will try again to find out what is going on with the Greek Project.

I believe the project you are referring to is the Brix project. Good to see it is still in the works! It would be good density to add to that part of downtown.

[Atlas]

West Quarter Block C is the one that I'd most like to see move forward as soon as possible. On top of the new residential density, it will complete the connection through Block 67 and have a new grocery store space. I think those things will really pay off for downtown walkability.

[mattreedah]

Originally Posted by Atlas

West Quarter Block C is the one that I'd most like to see move forward as soon as possible. On top of the new residential density, it will complete the connection through Block 67 and have a new grocery store space. I think those things will really pay off for downtown walkability.

Does anyone have a link to a graphical layout of the slc block system? We all talk about the various blocks, like block 67 above, but I’ve never seen them numbered on a map.

[Reeder113]

Why downtown Salt Lake City could soon be getting even taller

"As the old adage goes: If you can't build horizontally, build vertically."
https://www.ksl.com/article/50614820...g-even-taller-




This map shows the seven affected zones that would be changed under a proposed ordinance change. (Photo: Salt Lake City Corporation):

[Enemy4thePeople]

Originally Posted by delts145

This image makes it look like the hotel has some extra building on the east side that wipes out Plum Alley and the ramp to the parking garage to the north, but it isn't shown in any of the other renderings. Does anyone know if that's a part of the hotel project, or a separate project?

[Enemy4thePeople]

Originally Posted by mattreedah

Does anyone have a link to a graphical layout of the slc block system? We all talk about the various blocks, like block 67 above, but I’ve never seen them numbered on a map.

It's not numbered in the interface, but if you click on the map then click on the More Info link, you get a PDF showing the plat map for that 9 block area which also shows the block numbers.

https://maps.slcgov.com/mws/atlasplats-lg.htm

[Atlas]

Originally Posted by Enemy4thePeople

This image makes it look like the hotel has some extra building on the east side that wipes out Plum Alley and the ramp to the parking garage to the north, but it isn't shown in any of the other renderings. Does anyone know if that's a part of the hotel project, or a separate project?

Those renderings come from a Planning Commission meeting awhile back, before Astra broke ground, where the architects of Astra (HKS) said that they have also been given the opportunity to design the Dakota Pacific tower. Because of this, they said that they were able to design both towers to meet nicely and incorporate Plum Alley, which would still exist but the mid-rise portion would bridge over it.

Older versions of the Dakota Pacific tower don't have the mid-rise section.

[Comrade]

I would wager the reason Ryan Smith met with the NHL was for this:

https://kslsports.com/500197/la-king...ry-since-2018/