Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[Paniolo Man]

'The spark is here': New affordable project sets up future of Salt Lake's Fairpark

Carter Williams | KSL | May 7, 2025

[TheGeographer]

I’m thirsty for more towers to be built…it’s been a minute and nothing tall is now under construction

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by TheGeographer

I’m thirsty for more towers to be built…it’s been a minute and nothing tall is now under construction

I see the future until Ryan Smith maybe saves us:

[meman]

Why are we at such a roadblock for high-rise construction with all the proposals out there?

Is it because of those dumb-ass tariffs that are out there now?

How are other cities like Omaha able to build 600+ foot towers now and we dont have a single high-rise under construction downtown. It's very frustrating.

[Comrade]

1. The economy is shaky - likely heading for a pretty steep recession so construction is going to be limited anyway.

2. Office construction is limited even more so since COVID.

3. Omaha has a much stronger corporate influence than Salt Lake. The building under construction is the Mutual of Omaha Headquarters Tower. Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 company - of which Omaha has four (Salt Lake has zero). That will certainly spur potential for taller buildings.

If Salt Lake is going to see further high-rise development, it'll likely be outside the corporate world and more rental-driven like Astra and Worthington.

[meman]

Thanks Comrade for your insights. I realize that we probably wont see another office tower built downtown for many years but I'm surprised that none of the previously announced residential towers have not started

Isnt there a fairly strong demand for highrise living downtown? (especially if your rich)?

Dow anyone out there have any idea how much of Astra Tower is rented?

[Orlando]

Omaha is kind of like Oklahoma City, where there are 1 or 2 or 3 tall buildings that stand out dramatically higher than most of the buildings in the downtown. Look at San Jose, they're a very large metro, but none of their buildings are even 400 feet tall.

[rockies]

I think with the Omaha comparison it is mostly two things, like Comrade said, a big one is probably the lack of Fortune 500 companies downtown. In an earlier post about the most likely downtown residents, I definitely agree that young professionals are probably #1. I graduated from the U and was super intent on staying downtown... but I ended up in Utah county for work. Target demographic but could not make it work.

The large companies that come to Utah tend to be companies that already prefer more suburban campuses, and even the large homegrown companies that have substantial offices choose the suburbs. Downtown probably has more jobs than most other places along the Wasatch front, but I feel like not by a lot, or at least there is a very high level of disbursement. The downtown shift away from office is probably good, but I wish offices were more concentrated there as opposed to suburban SLCo/Silicon Slopes area, etc. Doterra, for example, has a massive campus near my work and I can't help but imagine the great big tower they could have built instead. I know this is not a new topic to us here though



I was also surprised to learn SLC is something like 7 years older than Omaha - albeit significantly more geographically isolated. I think the geographic isolation has faded over time, but that is probably a large reason it feels like we got a later start.

Omaha's CSA population is about 1/3rd of SLC's CSA pop. If SLC was more of an island, and Ogden/Provo metros didn't exist, then maybe we would have more concentration like Omaha. SLC certainly has more strengths IMO and I think it is on a better trajectory long term (despite shorter skyline)

[mattreedah]

Originally Posted by rockies

In an earlier post about the most likely downtown residents, I definitely agree that young professionals are probably #1. I graduated from the U and was super intent on staying downtown... but I ended up in Utah county for work. Target demographic but could not make it work.

I thought I would be SLC proper for a long time. Lived on Capitol Hill, Sugarhouse, and by Trolley Square during and after college at the U. Then North Salt Lake and later West Jordan when I was first married. Moved away for law school and spent a decade in Tuscon. Recently moved back...to Utah County. I kind of really like it here with a family. Eventually I'd like to move back up but we'll see. I don't want to live in an apartment.

[adelaide52]

Downtown San Jose is directly in the flight path of Mineta International. That's the reason for the city's flat, tabletop skyline.

[adelaide52]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Omaha is kind of like Oklahoma City, where there are 1 or 2 or 3 tall buildings that stand out dramatically higher than most of the buildings in the downtown. Look at San Jose, they're a very large metro, but none of their buildings are even 400 feet tall.

Downtown San Jose is directly in the flight path of Mineta International. That's the reason for the city's flat, tabletop skyline

[delts145]

I wouldn't fret too much over a development slump over the next five to ten years. Just between Property Reserve and SEG there will be a number of major mid-rise and even a handful of 350-plus tower developments. Given what has happened in the past 48 hours, no one can predict with any certainty how the new world financial alignments will mature over the next 6 months to a year. I definitely wouldn't bet doom and gloom for Salt Lake City. Personally, I predict Salt Lake City will again be one of those national markets that continues to thrive. Not only will downtown continue to grow upward and outward, but we'll start to see vertical movement nodes in several possible places like No. Temple, Sugar House, Murray, Sandy, and Vineyard's Utah City. Maybe not 400-plus footers, but definitely new highs for their respective areas.

Like everyone on this forum, I'm just hoping for SEG to break the 600 ft. barrier downtown.

Question?...Makid or anyone who might be hearing some knowledgeble underground talk. What do you think will be Property Reserve's next big move during and after the wind-down of Temple Square? I guess Utah Woolen Mill's replacement would be a safe bet. I'm thinking, they would want to begin another project in addition to the Woolen Mills mid-rise, (or could the Woolen Mills be a taller mixed-use replacement)? Could we see action east of Harmon's or the big Elk's Lodge area redo on South Temple or perhaps even Cascade finally. I think we're about to enter a very exciting period for Salt Lake.

[mattreedah]

Ryan Smith was on KSL Sports radio the other day talked about the new development across from Delta Center and he specifically mentioned they don't want to do high-end retail there (like Gucci) to compete with City Creek but instead were courting hotel brands that have not come into the SLC market and that we didn't think would ever come. I wonder if that's like a JW Marriot -- similar to the Edmonton Ice District which I'm pretty sure is an inspiration for this project. https://icedistrict.com

[John_Walker]

Originally Posted by mattreedah

Ryan Smith was on KSL Sports radio the other day talked about the new development across from Delta Center and he specifically mentioned they don't want to do high-end retail there (like Gucci) to compete with City Creek but instead were courting hotel brands that have not come into the SLC market and that we didn't think would ever come. I wonder if that's like a JW Marriot -- similar to the Edmonton Ice District which I'm pretty sure is an inspiration for this project. https://icedistrict.com

What high-end retail does City Creek have outside of Louis Vuitton that would compete with Gucci? All of the Nordstrom locations in Utah are at the lowest tier nationally. Tumi, Swarovski, and Tiffany & Co. are not direct competitors. And Porsche and Rolex (another non-direct competitor) both closed. Maybe some people consider Lululemon, Alo, and Psycho Bunny high-end but they are at least two tiers below Gucci, let alone the other ultra-luxury designer brands.

[John_Walker]

Originally Posted by rockies

I think with the Omaha comparison it is mostly two things, like Comrade said, a big one is probably the lack of Fortune 500 companies downtown. In an earlier post about the most likely downtown residents, I definitely agree that young professionals are probably #1. I graduated from the U and was super intent on staying downtown... but I ended up in Utah county for work. Target demographic but could not make it work.

I was also surprised to learn SLC is something like 7 years older than Omaha - albeit significantly more geographically isolated. I think the geographic isolation has faded over time, but that is probably a large reason it feels like we got a later start.

Omaha's CSA population is about 1/3rd of SLC's CSA pop. If SLC was more of an island, and Ogden/Provo metros didn't exist, then maybe we would have more concentration like Omaha. SLC certainly has more strengths IMO and I think it is on a better trajectory long term (despite shorter skyline)

Omaha also has 5 Fortune 1000 companies, but outside of First National's 633 ft tower downtown they've all built in nodes like Aksarben Village, Old Mill, and Heartwood Preserve.

I've sometimes wondered if the geographic isolation at times helps SLC. Within a I know a lot of young professionals that have left Omaha for jobs in competing metros that are very close to Omaha. Boise and Las Vegas are the two major CSAs within a 6.5 hour driving radius from SLC. In the same driving radius around Omaha there's Kansas City, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Des Moines, Lincoln, and St. Louis, with Chicago being 7 hours away.

I agree that SLC has more strengths and a better long term trajectory than Omaha. Obviously Omaha has a lot of strengths as well. Just curious what you're referring to for the strengths and trajectory?

[mattreedah]

Originally Posted by John_Walker

What high-end retail does City Creek have outside of Louis Vuitton that would compete with Gucci? All of the Nordstrom locations in Utah are at the lowest tier nationally. Tumi, Swarovski, and Tiffany & Co. are not direct competitors. And Porsche and Rolex (another non-direct competitor) both closed. Maybe some people consider Lululemon, Alo, and Psycho Bunny high-end but they are at least two tiers below Gucci, let alone the other ultra-luxury designer brands.

Dude, I don't know what's in your wheaties today. That's just what he said in the interview. People here were concerned the dev would compete with city creek on retail. He gave an example of the type of shopping that would not be going in there. that's about it.

[rockies]

Originally Posted by John_Walker

I agree that SLC has more strengths and a better long term trajectory than Omaha. Obviously Omaha has a lot of strengths as well. Just curious what you're referring to for the strengths and trajectory?

Demographically, I think SLC is stronger because the region is just 3x larger and growing far more quickly - Omaha is growing too but at a slower pace.

Economically, Omaha is strong here but more mature and less growth-oriented. SLC (regionally) seems to be more diversified and has thriving future-oriented industries with a very large university pipeline. Omaha has solid schools as well, but I think Utah and its young population have sheer volume in addition to being solid institutions

For the downtowns, SLC has a lot of proposed residential tower projects in addition to everything else and what is under construction. Surely some of those proposed projects will go through at some point. It just feels far more residential-focused. They had good convenience stores downtown but nothing like Harmons (and aren't we getting another actual grocery store in WQ2?). I loved that new park in the heart of Omaha, though.

Also SLC has trax and frontrunner, downtown transit accessibility is somewhere SLC punches far above its weight in even in other city comparisons.

Population Growth: SLC
Economic Diversification: SLC
Urban Development: SLC
Transit Infrastructure: SLC
Housing Investment: SLC
Business Legacy & HQs: Omaha
Stability: Omaha

This is all my 2 cents though - and I enjoyed Omaha a lot for what was just a 2 day work trip

[delts145]

I like how 'The Luma' turned out. If anyone is in the vicinity of The New Spark and its neighbor 'The Gauge' update, could you snap some pics? I don't know why the news releases didn't include any pics of the So. Temple engagement of The Sparks. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place. That front engagement is what I like most about the project.

The Luma:

https://www.apartments.com/luma-salt-lake-city-ut/fr9cr9r/#fr9cr9r-0-photos

.

[John_Walker]

Originally Posted by rockies

Demographically, I think SLC is stronger because the region is just 3x larger and growing far more quickly - Omaha is growing too but at a slower pace.

Economically, Omaha is strong here but more mature and less growth-oriented. SLC (regionally) seems to be more diversified and has thriving future-oriented industries with a very large university pipeline. Omaha has solid schools as well, but I think Utah and its young population have sheer volume in addition to being solid institutions

For the downtowns, SLC has a lot of proposed residential tower projects in addition to everything else and what is under construction. Surely some of those proposed projects will go through at some point. It just feels far more residential-focused. They had good convenience stores downtown but nothing like Harmons (and aren't we getting another actual grocery store in WQ2?). I loved that new park in the heart of Omaha, though.

Also SLC has trax and frontrunner, downtown transit accessibility is somewhere SLC punches far above its weight in even in other city comparisons.

Population Growth: SLC
Economic Diversification: SLC
Urban Development: SLC
Transit Infrastructure: SLC
Housing Investment: SLC
Business Legacy & HQs: Omaha
Stability: Omaha

This is all my 2 cents though - and I enjoyed Omaha a lot for what was just a 2 day work trip

Thanks for breaking down your thoughts! It does definitely feel like economies of scale, SLC is bigger with more and therefore is accelerating at a compounding rate. Omaha has a few hurdles to get over that they are working on, but definitely a few tiers below SLC.

[John_Walker]

Originally Posted by mattreedah

Dude, I don't know what's in your wheaties today. That's just what he said in the interview. People here were concerned the dev would compete with city creek on retail. He gave an example of the type of shopping that would not be going in there. that's about it.

lol sheesh, it wasn't anything personal. I was just questioning out loud what Ryan Smith said because:
1. Designer stores like Gucci and LV usually benefit from competition and being in an area where there are multiple designer brands. Every shopping area I've been too that has designer stores have 5-10 brands, except City Creek. City Creek just has LV so this new development having Gucci and maybe Bottega, Loewe, Celine, Prada, etc would be a benefit to both shopping centers and possibly result in Nordstrom moving up a tier.
2. Not having Gucci or similar brands so they don't compete with LV at City Creek means you have more brands in the tiers of the rest of the City Creek stores which creates.....competition.

Ryan's comments didn't make much sense to me, so I was questioning the logic. Didn't expect an explanation from anything he had said or the interview, was just asking to see if anyone had any thoughts/insight.