Quote:
Originally Posted by Tippy
Multiple commenters on the r/developmentslc subreddit said that a big factor in the lack of high rises getting here is the soil, that it’s ancient lake bed and there’s the risk of liquefaction. Another mentioned you have to dig very deep to reach the suitable ground layer which increases the cost to build by a lot.
Does anyone have more knowledge on this? I know places such as SF also have areas with high liquefaction risk, and there’s cases like the millennium tower.
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The liquefaction is a minor issue, look at L.A., Seattle, Mexico City, and Vancouver. These cities and many others can be effected by liquefaction and all are able to build tall buildings. By using pylons and caissons, they are able to increase the soil density and this is what allows buildings to build tall. This has been done for numerous buildings in Salt Lake. The geo-technical reports and soil samples help to determine where, and how deep to drill.
While pylons and caissons will add to the cost of a building, this can help to justify building taller in order for the project to pencil out.
There are 2 big issues right now that are impacting high rise construction, in my opinion.
The first is interest rates. They will hopefully start coming down later this year.
The second is labor costs. The job market around Salt Lake is one of the best in the country. Meaning it is hard to find workers. Relocating workers can work but with a housing crunch it makes it hard to justify relocating to the area without a very good paying job. A lot of the local construction labor is split between the numerous projects already under construction. We can hope that labor costs will go down as multiple projects start winding down, Airport and Temple Square being some of the larger projects. There are also many smaller projects that will be wrapping up this year as well around the City that should help lower overall costs.
With some construction costs going down and demand still high, we should hopefully see projects moving forward against in the near future.
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