Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[Comrade]

Yeah...I had to laugh at the fact the billboards even made it into the conceptual renderings lmao

[Paniolo Man]

I forgot to post these pictures from last week, but both the Utah Woolen Mills building and the Building on the corner of 300 W and 1300 S are being demolished.

[i-215]

In last-minute change, plan for new downtown Salt Lake City entertainment district near Delta Center gets even bigger
By Tony Semerad | April 7, 2025, 5:00 a.m. | Updated: 7:18 a.m.
8–10 minutes

Salt Lake City appears to be getting caught in the gears of another state-crafted tax mechanism aimed at speeding up development.

City officials and others pleaded for a temporary reprieve, but a state board in a last-minute vote Friday expanded the downtown footprint of a new taxing district designed to funnel public funds into overhauling the Salt Palace Convention Center, Delta Center and other attractions.

That footprint will now include adjacent land on what’s referred to as “Block 67,” where private developer The Ritchie Group and partners have built two hotels and luxury apartments.

Three blocks? I question if the market can really bear that much new development. Especially as we're headed into an environment where steel may become very expensive.

I hate to be the prickly pear again but I gotta ask, doesn't this just sound like a weird takeover of downtown? Something seems increasingly shady here.

At least the LDS Church owned their blocks and did it with their own money.

The block’s addition to the zone was unveiled late Friday afternoon by a panel within the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and got speedily approved — despite worries and attempts to delay by officials from the city, the Salt Lake City School District and the Salt Lake City Public Library System.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/04/...-votes-expand/

The rationale is that the Ritchie Group deserves to get in on that juicy TIF money because Block 67 will be used for parking garages. As if we didn't already have plenty of parking underneath the malls. Or, you know, a light-rail line running along the length of the project.

“The truth is,” said council member Alejandro Puy, “these tools are taking money from future generations. That money doesn’t currently exist. But it will — and it’s all encumbered.”

A-freaking-men!

We forget that entertainment TIF zones don't create demand. It's organic. It currently happens as people patronize restaurants and bars across downtown. And yes, the entertainment TIF zone will generate enormous revenue on game night — but it does so at the expense of other restaurants and bars across downtown, who will close as the TIF zone is able to better compete on location, thanks to taxpayer subsidy. And that loss in revenue to other businesses is never taken into account.

The goal here should be to give Smith the minimum to keep the Jazz downtown. Period. Not open the cash drawer and let him take whatever he pleases, simply because the Legislature is too scared to stand up to him.

[Makid]

The project is really 5 blocks over the course of many years.

The first part starts this month, that is the Delta Center block. Work will start inside to adjust the seating for hockey. Work may also start on the planned parking garage on the Delta Center blocks SW corner where parking and equipment access already exists.

Next will be Block 67, Block C and D. If nothing has changed for Block C, we will see a 16 or so story residential buildings with ground floor retail. Block D, I know is changing from the most recent images.

Block D will most likely include 2,500 public parking spaces, up from the 1,000 originally paid for from the County. It is likely to also include meeting space and possibly the 2nd Ball Room that has been mentioned as needed with the Convention Center reconstruction. I would expect to see at least 1 large residential tower, 1 mixed hotel/residential tower, and a future commercial tower.

Block 67 work could start later this summer or fall.

The block east of the Delta Center will very likely not have work started until 2027 or 2028 as the County needs to replace the parking (within Block 67) and the loss of meeting and exhibit space. This is due to the currently signed conventions and meetings.

The block East of Block 67 (Convention Center main block) will likely start work next year.

The block with Abravanel Hall won't start until the main Convention Center block is complete. I would put this around 2028/2029 depending on the overall work needed and the overall project area being completed by 2033.

With this, we end up with 7 years of near constant construction around these 5 blocks but they will be able to be done in phases. Including residential and hotel space will help to activate the blocks quicker and will provide a more organic feel to the overall project. The phasing of the project also ensures that items enter the market in a staggered way to not cause possible disruptions to other planned projects around the City.

[mattreedah]

I think this entire process has been conveniently designed to give each part of the government (State, City and County) plausible deniability with the voters and media as to who is pulling the strings or actually making the decisions. Mind you ALL governmental entities actually want this and are working together. The city council can blame those dastardly republicans and the unfair county for pushing bad processes (see Puy, above), the state can tell everyone SLC themselves wanted it and voted for the tax, and the county can blame that corporate monster SEG for wanting to relocate buildings or refurbish the convention center. It's phenomenal. But I actually want this to happen so I'm not complaining.

[mstar]

I actually think this will be amazing if they can pull it off. It will change downtown drastically in a good way. Salt Lake doesn't have the corporate capital that other major cities have. This is the only way something like this will happen here. I think it may be a catalyst for attracting more corporate migration into the city.

[i-215]

Originally Posted by mstar

I actually think this will be amazing if they can pull it off. It will change downtown drastically in a good way.

Well, sure. But I am concerned there's enough commercial demand for all that space.

And if we play dirty to get something *good* built, you've paved a pathway for a lot of crooked *bad* projects to get built next. It feels more "Chicago" and less "Utah" to see this.

[mattreedah]

Originally Posted by mstar

I actually think this will be amazing if they can pull it off. It will change downtown drastically in a good way. Salt Lake doesn't have the corporate capital that other major cities have. This is the only way something like this will happen here. I think it may be a catalyst for attracting more corporate migration into the city.

I am a fan of everything Ryan Smith and SEG is doing but I do wish they would begin the catalyst of businesses relocating downtown by having Qualtrics and SEG do it first.

[i-215]

Originally Posted by mattreedah

I am a fan of everything Ryan Smith and SEG is doing but I do wish they would begin the catalyst of businesses relocating downtown by having Qualtrics and SEG do it first.

If he makes a big commitment like that, I'll start to rest easier. If he said, "I have my company, and three others, committed to leasing 50% of the site upon completion."

(That said, knowing a few Qualtrics employees, I think they'd be pretty pissed at having the sell their houses and/or have a long Frontrunner commute).

But right now I see a project that's all dreams and no tenants. And I see that ending VERY badly. There's only so much commercial demand. And office is still very soft.

[RC14]

^
My assumption is that the project will be mostly residential and hotels with some ground level retail and restaurants. I don't think it will require that much additional commercial demand.

[mattreedah]

Originally Posted by RC14

^
My assumption is that the project will be mostly residential and hotels with some ground level retail and restaurants. I don't think it will require that much additional commercial demand.

SEG has specifically said they will not try and compete with City Creek for retail. It will be team store and the like. Richie wants to get super high end retail, but I doubt they will.

[ucsbgaucho]

Originally Posted by mattreedah

SEG has specifically said they will not try and compete with City Creek for retail. It will be team store and the like. Richie wants to get super high end retail, but I doubt they will.

It's going to be an entertainment district, so there won't be much need for retail. Hopefully lots of restaurants and bars, maybe our own Cosm?!, etc. I'd assume similar to what they did at the Deer District in Milwaukee, which is mainly restaurants, sports bars, team store, a few retail, plus hotel, residential.
https://deerdistrict.com/play

Would be cool to see some BYU or UofU space there too, in Milwaukee they have a Sports Science campus for a local university.

[bob rulz]

I was tentatively okay with the initial money given because I figured it was the only way to really kick-start that area and keep pro sports downtown. This new add-on feels like getting slapped in the face expecting us to ask "please sir may I have another?" That is an absolutely absurd amount of money and I agree with I-215 that I'm concerned about whether the demand will be there. Not just for commercial space but everything else as well. I want to see this area develop and I want to see nice big skyscrapers and bars etc but there is a point at which the cost feels excessive and this goes way beyond that.

[bob rulz]

On a positive note, the city council had a briefing about the mixed-use zoning consolidation yesterday. For reference this is the form-based code that's replacing all of our commercial and mixed-use zones with a smaller number of zones. This includes the Sugarhouse zones. The city council took a series of straw polls on whether to recommend certain amendments and one of the amendments they voted in favor of was to increase the allowed height to 150 ft. in the heart of Sugarhouse. It may not be as much as some of us wanted but the current allowed height is only 105 ft. and the proposed allowed height was 125 ft. This is essentially going to allow 4 additional stories over what is currently allowed.

[i-215]

Originally Posted by mattreedah

SEG has specifically said they will not try and compete with City Creek for retail. It will be team store and the like. Richie wants to get super high end retail, but I doubt they will.

I'm quite happy to learn that. Thanks for telling me.

I had assumed it was just a "BIG" version of L.A. Live, which is mostly retail. And I questioned the market viability of that in Salt Lake City. Heaven knows any and every housing unit they toss on the market will sell, if they can get enough of the units priced in that $350-500k range (household income of $130k/year).

Not sure if how viable it will be if they are planning to add 2,000 new $1M+ units (income more than $225k/year).

[Makid]

I think it was missed by some people. The recent $1.8 Billion in funds isn't going to SEG. It is going to the reconstruction of the convention center ($1.3 Billion), rebuilding Abravanel Hall ($300 Million), restoring 1st South between West Temple and 2nd West, and a public plaza along 3rd West by the Delta Center (whether this is grade separated or not isn't known).

SEG and the State may be the initiators in wanting the Entertainment District, but I think downtown will benefit more. This will be the first time in 60 or so years that this section of 1st South has been open.

Remember this isn't a tax increase, just a property tax increase diversion for 30 years. Only the increase in property taxes will be diverted to the redevelopment fund. No current funding is removed, just the increase over today. If the new property tax revenue ends up being higher than planned, then the diversion ends early. Because of how it is setup, the diversion will sunset once the funding level has been met.

I much prefer this type of funding for projects, especially those that are primarily public projects.

The best part of this is that we are adding around 15 acres to the property tax rolls from today.

[mattreedah]

Originally Posted by i-215

I'm quite happy to learn that. Thanks for telling me.

I had assumed it was just a "BIG" version of L.A. Live, which is mostly retail. And I questioned the market viability of that in Salt Lake City.

LA Live does NOT have a big retail component. Are you thinking of The Grove? It is the convention center, a bunch of venues, museums, bars, food, housing, and hotels. I went there last year to the Grammy Museum (my wife wanted to see the Taylor Swift exhibit). If you google street view it you can get a great idea of what it's all about.

[msbutah]

The west side of Astra is getting a mural.

[Paniolo Man]

Not sure if it's been mentioned here yet, but Worthington's new parking garage cladding is being installed.

[Rileybo]

Originally Posted by msbutah

The west side of Astra is getting a mural.

It’s the north side that needs a mural or something.