Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by wrendog

How about Jordan Commons?Is that 10+?

The Mountain America headquarters?

I believe it's ten:



I still think the Salt Lake County High Rise over by the County Building off State Street in Salt Lake City is the tallest non-downtown building in the state (even taller than IHC):

[wrendog]

So, in conclusion, SLC area is lacking. Yes, I am wanting to see more downtown, but it's nice to see towers interspersed throughout the metro as well.

I'd say probably 30-40 buildings 10-15 stories outside of San Antonio core. It's nice to see pockets of urbanity as you are driving around.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by wrendog

So, in conclusion, SLC area is lacking. Yes, I am wanting to see more downtown, but it's nice to see towers interspersed throughout the metro as well.

I'd say probably 30-40 buildings 10-15 stories outside of San Antonio core. It's nice to see pockets of urbanity as you are driving around.

Outside Salt Lake City, the state is filled with NIMBYs (and that's not to say Salt Lake doesn't have its share, either).

What's happening in SugarHouse woud never fly in most the communities in the south-valley. So, we're not likely to see a level of density that matches other areas of the country. Just look at the cluster fuck that is the Cottonwood Mall site. It's been over FIFTEEN YEARS since they demolished that thing and the site's plans still haven't been fully recognized (and that's on top of the multiple down-scalings we've seen since the very first proposal). There's only a handful of residential buildings constructed so far.

I'm interested to see if that 20+ story tower goes up in SugarHouse. I'm hoping it does but even they have to fight against NIMBYs here.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Outside Salt Lake City, the state is filled with NIMBYs (and that's not to say Salt Lake doesn't have its share, either).

What's happening in SugarHouse woud never fly in most the communities in the south-valley. So, we're not likely to see a level of density that matches other areas of the country. Just look at the cluster fuck that is the Cottonwood Mall site. It's been over FIFTEEN YEARS since they demolished that thing and the site's plans still haven't been fully recognized (and that's on top of the multiple down-scalings we've seen since the very first proposal). There's only a handful of residential buildings constructed so far.

I'm interested to see if that 20+ story tower goes up in SugarHouse. I'm hoping it does but even they have to fight against NIMBYs here.

I am actually surprised that Sandy hasn't come up with at least a few 10 story towers (besides mountain america and jordan commons) "downtown"

Seems like best bets over the next decade or so would be The Point and Utah City

[Merewether]

There are a number of rental apartments and condos in the 10-15 floor range built in the second half of the 20th century between downtown and the University.
Governors Plaza
Bonneville Tower
Hightower (formerly Sunset)
Aztec
Landing (formerly Charleston)
Friendship Manor
And just north of downtown: Zions Summit ( 2 buildings) and Canyon Road Towers.
On University campus
SBS tower
Medical Towers dorms ?
I think these are mostly from late 1960s to early 80s.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Merewether

There are a number of rental apartments and condos in the 10-15 floor range built in the second half of the 20th century between downtown and the University.
Governors Plaza
Bonneville Tower
Hightower (formerly Sunset)
Aztec
Landing (formerly Charleston)
Friendship Manor
And just north of downtown: Zions Summit ( 2 buildings) and Canyon Road Towers.
On University campus
SBS tower
Medical Towers dorms ?
I think these are mostly from late 1960s to early 80s.

Yes. But as you said, those buildings stopped being built in the 1980.

I wish they hadn't. Not sure why they did beyond maybe growth demand not needing it. But I suspect even those buildings would be opposed today by the NIMBYs.

[Paniolo Man]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Outside Salt Lake City, the state is filled with NIMBYs (and that's not to say Salt Lake doesn't have its share, either).

I really want to disagree with you, but I still have this postcard:

Murray City Officials want to tear down the historic buildings that line the west side of State Street at 4800 South.

Can you guess what they want to build?... That's right - more mixed use buildings with apartments.

[Nebula3lem123]

^^

[Paniolo Man]

Snagged a few after work today.

I reserve the right to be wrong about names, especially in the Granary District where I was taking photos close together. This made it difficult to locate the projects through geotagged photos.

Brix:



SPARK:



Crossing at 9th:



1528 W North Temple:



44 North Apartments:



Alta Vue:



Folsom Row Townhomes:



Pickle & Hide:



The Hendrey:



G3 Apartments:



The June:



Granary District Parking Garage:



Wrongly demolished 300 W church:

[i-215]

Originally Posted by ucsbgaucho

Major downtown highway could get tunnel treatment as part of new sports district plan

Smith’s group is at least considering burying the heavily-traffic route between North Temple and 100 South, and using the area above the tunnel to install the new pedestrian mall and entertainment district depicted in the rendering of the district.

Somebody please help me understand this. When I criticized the project, one of our comrades here made fun of me for "defending the 200 West tunnel."

Yet now that King Smith wants to build a tunnel on 300 West, that's somehow good?

When the LDS church wanted to build a skywalk at City Creek, development experts tore it apart worried it would destroy engagement on Main Street. Well, nothing screams engagement like putting the street underground entirely! /s Worse, it sounds like the 1960s "downtown killer"-style development I would have advocated for years ago.


Caption: GM's vision for the "downtown of the future" circa 1939 -- or Salt Lake City, circa 2024.

I guess it comes down to what we want SLC to look like: Portland or the Las Vegas Strip. In fairness, both accommodate large numbers of people on foot. But I was hoping SLC would become a bit more like Portland (smaller blocks, public ownership of streets, at grade, calm streets) versus Paradise, NV (high-speed, privately owned, grade separation). Neither is "bad" but the latter feels so stale for a city center. Oh well.

(I stand by my skepticism. Ryan Smith's development is nothing but a warmed-over version of "Frank Gehry will design Utah's tallest at the point of the mountain" tech-bro vaporware. Except this time, tax payers are on the hook.)

[RC14]

I think there is a clear difference here. The intent behind putting 300 West underground would be to create a seamless pedestrian walkway between the DC and the adjacent blocks. It would eliminate the busy, 6 lane road that exists between the Salt Palace and the DC. Eliminating the 200 South tunnel would do the same thing by eliminating the convention center "wall." In both cases, we would be prioritizing pedestrians over cars. I don't think this is inconsistent.

[Blah_Amazing]

Burying 300 West would make a huge difference for pedestrian flow in the area and would allow people to seamlessly flow from the Delta Center to the rest of the Entertainment District. That was why I included it in my proposal as well. This keeps everyone safe from a potential auto-pedestrian strike (especially kids or if someone is a little tipsy after leaving a game or visiting a bar/restaurant).

Also consider that it would be unlikely they could actually build buildings on top of 300 West, so we would essentially be reclaiming the ground-level of 300 West on those two blocks for pedestrians only. This would reclaim about 2.97 acres (so in practice about 2.5 to 2.8 acres) that would likely become park/plaza/greenspaces instead of space for cars.



Personally, I think this is almost necessary if Smith wants to create a seamless pedestrian connection between the Delta Center and the Entertainment District that would make the flow between the two natural.

I also think the argument is a lot stronger for the use of public funds for an infrastructure project like this. Some nice renderings of the plazas and greenspaces that would replace ground-level 300 West could help sway more support to the overall Entertainment District project.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by bob rulz

Not many. According to Emporis, Provo has 3, although I'm not all that familiar with Provo so I don't know if that's entirely accurate. Ogden has at least 2. I think there's just 1 at the U of U. There's the IHC Hospital in Murray. The City Plaza Apartments next to the county offices are another. I don't think Sugarhouse even has any (though I think the one under construction next to Fairmont Park - Alta Terra? - might be 10 stories, I can't remember for sure). I don't think the North Temple corridor has produced any. I don't think any of the tech offices on Silicon Slopes are that tall either.

I can't think of any other places there might be some, though there are areas I haven't been to for a while.

Only area I can think of in SL County is Sandy, but looking online I think it's just 1 building over 11 kind of near the South Towne Mall.

Ogden and Provo may have a few but not much, Nothing tall in Park City or on the west side of SL that I can think of.

[bob rulz]

Originally Posted by wrendog

How about Jordan Commons?Is that 10+?

Good catch. Their website claims it's 10 stories. I don't venture down there all that often, so they don't come to mind for me immediately.

[bob rulz]

Originally Posted by i-215

Somebody please help me understand this. When I criticized the project, one of our comrades here made fun of me for "defending the 200 West tunnel."

Yet now that King Smith wants to build a tunnel on 300 West, that's somehow good?

The plan would be to put a pedestrian plaza/green space over top. That would be a significant improvement. I'm very doubtful this will actually happen though - who's going to put up the money for it? That billion dollars won't get us a renovated Delta Center, Abravanel Hall, AND a buried highway.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by bob rulz

The plan would be to put a pedestrian plaza/green space over top. That would be a significant improvement. I'm very doubtful this will actually happen though - who's going to put up the money for it? That billion dollars won't get us a renovated Delta Center, Abravanel Hall, AND a buried highway.

Smith said, in addition to the 900 million from the city, SEG would be spending 3 billion of their own money

[EPdesign]

Originally Posted by Merewether

There are a number of rental apartments and condos in the 10-15 floor range built in the second half of the 20th century between downtown and the University.
Governors Plaza
Bonneville Tower
Hightower (formerly Sunset)
Aztec
Landing (formerly Charleston)
Friendship Manor
And just north of downtown: Zions Summit ( 2 buildings) and Canyon Road Towers.
On University campus
SBS tower
Medical Towers dorms ?
I think these are mostly from late 1960s to early 80s.

Don’t forget the Canyon Crest Condos. Those are all the way on the east side before entering the canyon

[Rileybo]

Originally Posted by locolife

Only area I can think of in SL County is Sandy, but looking online I think it's just 1 building over 11 kind of near the South Towne Mall.

Ogden and Provo may have a few but not much, Nothing tall in Park City or on the west side of SL that I can think of.

West Valley City has those medical buildings now, anyone know how many stories?

[airhero]

Originally Posted by bob rulz

The plan would be to put a pedestrian plaza/green space over top. That would be a significant improvement. I'm very doubtful this will actually happen though - who's going to put up the money for it? That billion dollars won't get us a renovated Delta Center, Abravanel Hall, AND a buried highway.

I doubt funds raised exclusively from citizens of Salt Lake City would go toward burying a state-owned road. I also doubt the bulk of the funds would come from SEG. I'm thinking the state would likely need to provide transportation funds for it. It's possible SEG and the church (since a portion between their properties would be buried) would pay for some finishing touches, a fraction of the total cost, but the state would have to cover the entire cost of burying the road and prepping the at-grade portion for finishes. Makes me think such a project may never happen. But if state leaders really want it I'm sure they can make it happen, and the billions of other dollars being invested by other entities will go toward other things. Each pot is finite, though, so I'm worried about what transportation funds wouldn't be used for if they are diverted for such a project.

[Comrade]

I see this as Salt Lake's next step to creating an actual big city downtown. The one constant I hear from people who travel here is that our downtown is very clean, it's very nice and it's very small.

And it is.

Everything of note is basically along Main Street, with some of it spilling over onto State - and then the Gateway.

But with this and the West Quarter, as well as hopefully a more built out Granary District, Salt Lake is going to have a downtown that's more than one street.

Really excited to see what downtown looks like in ten years.