Rumor Mill: New Hotel in Salt Lake City

[T-Stan]

I just heard over the weekend about a Hotel that will be built in SLC. - that as my source told me "nobody has heard about"

It will be located in the block south of Energy Solutions Arena (Delta Center) and will be a great addition to the city. I have no idea of the size and specs. I will add more if I hear anything.

The name of the Hotel starts with a W.... and is only one letter long.

[Utaaah!]

A 7-story La Quinta was rumored for that site a few years back. A "W" would be a big step up. It's a great location -- near Gateway, the ES Arena, the Salt Palace, etc. I hope it's tall. I really like the new one here in Dallas:

[wrendog]

a 15-20 story hotel would be nice there

[Wasatch_One]

where do these rumors come from? I have heard that zoning limits height of buildings immediately around the Gateway

[N2I.F.]

This sounds like great news! I'll celebrate when it opens.

Starwood has been trying to enter as a major player in the SLC Market for over 10 years. They were suppose to have built the 1,000 room hotel prior to the Olympics, close to this location.

Maybe they will finally make it work with a "W". And it would be great to have a "W" so close to the ESA, to remind and inspire the home team.

[Makid]

My understanding is that the Zoning ordinance only affects buildings from 4th West to I-15 for height. And from 4th west to 3rd west for ground level glass requirements.

I will try to find the exact information regarding the ordinances surrounding the gateway district.

However, I do think it would be a great location for a good size hotel of 1000 plus rooms.

[delts145]

First, We hear of a Frank Gehry tallest in Lehi and now a major W hotel downtown. I'll be pretty excited if just one of these pans out to be real.

New W for Shanghai

San Francisco

New York

[Makid]

http://www.slcgov.com/CED/planning/d...MasterPlan.pdf is the link for the gateway master plan. It does extend from 3rd west to I-15. So if they do want to build a large hotel on the site, they would need a waiver for building height from the planning commission.

I still would love a large hotel there.

[delts145]

Wow, look at this one opening in Vegas in 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jedikermit]

Great news--I hope the rumors pan out. That site's perfect for a hotel--close to the Gateway, restaurants, the Convention Center...it's long overdue.

[Comrade]

It'll probably be a smaller hotel, maybe only 5 stories is my bet.

[T-Stan]

Here is the W Hotel Seattle... this would look nice on that corner

[SLC Projects]

Cool, this is great news. Right now on that site is just a one story building that i don't think it's even being used. For years I would drive by that site for a Jazz game or just whatever and would think to myself that coner would be a great spot for a hotel since it would be close to gateway and delta center. That's right i'm still calling it the delta center. and the salt palace.
But i have never heared of "W" before. Does it mean anything?
I sure do like looking at all the pics of the "W" hotel. They seem like they built nothing but tall hotels so if that's true then let's hope they built a tall one here as well.

Great news on hotels these past few weeks with that tall hotel that could be built in Lehi and that 14-story hotel in PG. And now this.

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by Comrade Reynolds

It'll probably be a smaller hotel, maybe only 5 stories is my bet.

5 stories, that would be lame. Let's make it at least 20-stories.

[terryaki]

Where is this source from and how credible is it?

A W?!? To be frank, I'm highly skeptical. No offense to fellow Salt Lakers, but it just seems very.... out of character for Starwood Hotels (the parent company) to be considering SLC as a new location. W Hotel is all about urban youth and modernism, which is something I really don't correllate with Salt Lake City (unfortunately). Starwood building a Westin I can definitely see, but not W. Needless to say, if this rumor turns out to be true, then it would be a very, very good thing for our city.

[delts145]

Originally Posted by terryaki

Where is this source from and how credible is it?

A W?!? To be frank, I'm highly skeptical. No offense, but I'm seeing people conclude that we're getting one of the premier hotel brands in the entire world when we don't even have a confirmed source. We don't even have a Westin or Hyatt so what makes people think that we're going to get a W? If this turns out to be true, I will be shocked.

Terryaki, I don't know how credible the rumor is but it makes total sense to me. Starwood Hotelier's planned to put a hotel in before the olympics but the
Grand was built instead. Compared to the Grand, the Hyatt or Westin are
fairly commercial grade. Also, the last time our hotel occupancy levels were at this rate was when the Grand,Marriott Center and Monaco were announced.
One of the lowest vacancy rates in the nation, now one of the finest conventions centers in the nation and a multi-billion dollar lifestyle/commercial center coming on line. This week alone we have a 30,000 member convention downtown and one of the world's two most prestigious film festivals set to begin, which will draw thousands of glitterati and world tourists,not to mention that we are once again setting records at our urban ski-resorts. The announcement of a major upscale hotel to serve the Salt Palace should come as a NO BRAINER.

[Northernlad]

Originally Posted by terryaki

Where is this source from and how credible is it?

A W?!? To be frank, I'm highly skeptical. No offense to fellow Salt Lakers, but it just seems very.... out of character for Starwood Hotels (the parent company) to be considering SLC as a new location. W Hotel is all about urban youth and modernism, which is something I really don't correllate with Salt Lake City (unfortunately). Starwood building a Westin I can definitely see, but not W. Needless to say, if this rumor turns out to be true, then it would be a very, very good thing for our city.

It would be a very nice addition but I don't think Salt Lake has the image either that this Hotel chain looks for when building these trendy hotels. I could see a smaller scale "W" in Park City (maybe), but not SLC. But, a hotel on that space would be great no matter what brand name it may end up being. They would have to design a pretty conservative hotel to fit in with SLC. The images of W like the ones posted here and the ones I have seen in large cities would look out of place in SLC. But maybe we will be surprised.

[delts145]

The Monaco is considered anything but conservative and it has been HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL.

[Wasatch_One]

Starwood was the planned hotelier for the (now) St. Regis in Park City when it was originally announced...

[CoVol]

Originally Posted by terryaki

Where is this source from and how credible is it?

A W?!? To be frank, I'm highly skeptical. No offense to fellow Salt Lakers, but it just seems very.... out of character for Starwood Hotels (the parent company) to be considering SLC as a new location. W Hotel is all about urban youth and modernism, which is something I really don't correllate with Salt Lake City (unfortunately). Starwood building a Westin I can definitely see, but not W. Needless to say, if this rumor turns out to be true, then it would be a very, very good thing for our city.

I think SLC is a great city, but you're right. Starwood is VERY picky with the location of their W brand. However, there is another possibility.

In 2005 Starwood launched a new slightly more mass-market hotel called Aloft....what it calls a 'Vision' of their W hotel. It is built under the W umbrella and is considered to be the child of the W. Sharing the W's DNA according to the website.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/index.html

Here's a section from their pre-launch press release. They hadn't released the name yet, so just replace all the XYZ's with Aloft.
----------------------

STARWOOD HOTELS UNVEILS NEW BRAND
With the DNA of W Hotels, “Project XYZ” to Introduce Style, Design and Whimsy
at Comfortable Rates

New York, NY, June 6, 2005. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) will debut a new hotel brand to provide style, design and energy at comfortable rates. Currently referred to as “Project XYZ”, the brand is being developed by the team that created W Hotels, widely regarded as the most successful new hotel brand in decades. Sharing some of the characteristics of what the industry refers to as select service, XYZ will create a new category leveraging its W lineage and delivering a unique lifestyle experience which has been historically absent at this end of the hotel spectrum. Starwood is unveiling an experiential room to introduce the new brand to select real estate developers attending this week’s New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference.

W’s heritage will be evident throughout XYZ’s properties, from sight, smell, touch, sound and taste, to the integrity of design and materials, and will redefine the select service category in the same way W Hotels broke through the clutter of conformity in the upscale hotel arena.XYZ will feature urban inspired loft-like guest-rooms, landscaped outdoor space for socializing day and night, and an energetic lounge scene, providing a lifestyle alternative to brands like Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn.

“Affordable doesn’t have to be boring as brands like Jet Blue, Mini Cooper, West Elm and Target have proven so brilliantly,” said Steven J. Heyer, Starwood’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the DNA of W, XYZ will democratize design, and offer guests an environment that is extraordinarily social, striking a chord with travelers who crave style and fun on the road, even beyond the boutique trifecta of New York, Miami and Los Angeles.”

First “XYZ” Hotels Scheduled to Open in 2007 and more than 500 by 2015

Starwood’s XYZ concept was born of demand by developers looking to build a W-inspired product at a lower price point in cities like Raleigh-Durham, Tampa, Minneapolis, Palo Alto and Cambridge, MA. Even before formally announcing the concept, Starwood has received letters of interest from more than a dozen of the industry’s premier hotel developers to build more than 100 new XYZ hotels. In addition, the Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds, a joint venture between Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and Earvin Magic Johnson, have signed an expression of interest to develop XYZ properties in densely populated, ethnically diverse cities like Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, New York and San Diego. The Canyon Johnson Urban Funds are the country’s largest private real estate funds focused on the development of urban properties in underserved neighborhoods. The first XYZ hotels are anticipated to break ground early next year and open in early 2007.