Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[bob rulz]

Aesthetically speaking, Austin's skyline is pretty boring.

[Atlas]

The best building going up in Austin right now is the sail-shaped Block 185, imo. I think it will be their signature tower going forward despite it not being the tallest.

I like the towers SLC is getting, for the most part, regardless of their boxy shapes. Perhaps the Sundial Tower will be our Block 185.

[meman]

It appears the Kensington Tower is already under construction.
There was heavy equipment on the site this morning tearing up the parking lot.
There was also a small construction trailer on the site this morning.

Also I was talking with an employee at Peoples coffee on the Worthington Block and he told me all of the tenants in the building should be out by the end of May and Construction was scheduled to begin on the Worthington tower in June!

Things are moving fast!!@

[SLC PopPunk]

My work is moving to full time remote so I went into the office to clean out my desk. Snapped a pic of what would have been the view from my desk.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Atlas

The best building going up in Austin right now is the sail-shaped Block 185, imo. I think it will be their signature tower going forward despite it not being the tallest.

I like the towers SLC is getting, for the most part, regardless of their boxy shapes. Perhaps the Sundial Tower will be our Block 185.

I don't mind 'em but nothing stands out where I think Salt Lake is finally going to get that signature tower - or even something that ties itself to the city.

Maybe we don't need it. But I feel like Salt Lake is turning into a mini-Phoenix here and frankly, I'd take Austin's skyline over Phoenix's.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by SLC PopPunk

My work is moving to full time remote so I went into the office to clean out my desk. Snapped a pic of what would have been the view from my desk.

This photo is a bit ironic when you couple it with your caption.

[Schmoe]

Originally Posted by meman

It appears the Kensington Tower is already under construction.
There was heavy equipment on the site this morning tearing up the parking lot.

Just demolition of the Carl's Jr. and then clearing the lot so Jacobsen Construction can use it for staging while it finishes Liberty Sky across the street.

[rockies]

I doubt we will get a signature tower anytime soon... The temple is probably as good as it's going to get when it comes to being recognizably SLC

I hope I'm wrong though

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by rockies

I doubt we will get a signature tower anytime soon... The temple is probably as good as it's going to get when it comes to being recognizably SLC

I hope I'm wrong though

I doubt we'll get a tower that alters the skyline but a signature tower could be one that is just iconic.

I still think of the US Bank Tower in LA as more iconic than their tallest. Same with the Pyramid in San Francisco or the Empire State Building in New York.

Even Denver, I'd wager the Wells Fargo Center is the most iconic (the Cash Register) and it's only the third-tallest there.

[meman]

Schmoe, where did you get your information about the Kensington site?

[rockies]

Originally Posted by Comrade

I doubt we'll get a tower that alters the skyline but a signature tower could be one that is just iconic.

Oh for sure, that's why I think the Salt Lake Temple is probably going to remain the only 'iconic' building in SLC for a while. The church is the first thing people think of when they think of SLC/Utah so it would have to be a pretty unique building to overtake that.

Developers don't seem interested in anything but these cookie cutter high-rises anyway and I assume SLC will end up with a skyline like Phoenix, sadly. I agree with the comments above that we would be lucky to end up with a skyline like Austin (and imo Austin's skyline is pretty boring). I wish they would take some kind of inspiration from the church buildings, industrial buildings, or even the mountains and develop a unique building style here.

[ajiuO]

They tore down arctic circle and panda buffet on North Temple. I wonder when some of the burn down buildings will be torn down.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by rockies

Oh for sure, that's why I think the Salt Lake Temple is probably going to remain the only 'iconic' building in SLC for a while. The church is the first thing people think of when they think of SLC/Utah so it would have to be a pretty unique building to overtake that.

Developers don't seem interested in anything but these cookie cutter high-rises anyway and I assume SLC will end up with a skyline like Phoenix, sadly. I agree with the comments above that we would be lucky to end up with a skyline like Austin (and imo Austin's skyline is pretty boring). I wish they would take some kind of inspiration from the church buildings, industrial buildings, or even the mountains and develop a unique building style here.

It all is very mediocre. I am sure it's like that for a lot of cities. But I do wish they'd take advantage of the blandness and a developer step up and blow the roof off things, so to speak.

I'd love something like 2222 Market in Philadelphia:





Even at 20 stories, that would instantly stand out in Salt Lake's skyline and add a bit of progressive architecture to a skyline that is just so dang conservative.

I will say, that I seriously do like the proposal for the Utah Theater site. But who knows if we'll ever get that?

[Atlas]

I also like the Utah Theatre Tower proposal. As someone pointed out on Reddit, it's kind of an inversion of the Astra (Kensington) Tower design. Both are sort of postmodern hodgepodges of textures from around the city, with sections of solid glass and sections with windows separated by white/gray tones (think Hotel Utah, Key Bank tower, etc). That outdoor space on the 21st (?) floor is going to be nice and I really wish they had plans for a public restaurant or bar up there (they don't). Those two towers are going to change the whole dynamic of the skyline.

I also think the Worthington proposal will turn out to be a really handsome residential tower, provided that they use the copper facade like the renderings show. It'll be much better than Liberty Sky or many of the copy/paste apartment towers of bigger cities.

The CCH is okay, nothing special design-wise but it will fill in the skyline and at least add some roundness to it. To me, the elongated shape is reminiscent of a Las Vegas hotel. SWT likewise looks pretty generic but I'll wait until seeing some real drawings before I pass judgement on the design. Again, the facade looks like it could be pretty unique. The leaked Regent Street design from HKS is fantastic and I hope that or something similar is what is truly in the works for that site.

And imo, SLC already has a skyline on par with Phoenix and I like our proposals more than theirs. The exception is perhaps their 500+ ft "Astra" tower, which I would love to see in SLC.

By the way, u/gusam26 shared this image of the city earlier today:

Originally Posted by RC14

Is there any word on when construction will start on the 600 South TRAX station? I had thought it was supposed to start this spring.

Also, I don't know if a name has been chosen for the station but I think they should call it Midtown.

The RDA is still actively working in it, at least. Not sure about the timeline. It's definitely a natural spot for a station and now there's a clear need for it.

Midtown Station for the win!

[Comrade]

I think SLC's skyline is only on par with Phoenix because theirs is spread out between two clusters. I do think if everything was centralized, it would look way better than it does.

But to be honest, I don't think any of the new proposals help us shake the inevitable comparison to Phoenix. Both skylines have the same ceiling effect - with a cluster of towers all within 100 feet of each other. And, of course, their skyline remains boxy (and so do most their new proposals).

I still believe Salt Lake is lacking in non-boxy towers. I'd love something like this:



That's the Pinnacle at Symphony Place in Nashville. It's 417 feet, about right in line with Salt Lake's likely limit. So, if Salt Lake can't get anything taller than 500 feet here - at least get something with a crown.

[RC14]

If I remember correctly, the Phoenix skyline is limited in height due to it's proximity to Sky Harbor airport. I think the max height was somewhere around 650'? Given that detail, if both cities continue to grow than Salt Lake City's skyline should eventually pass Phoenix in height.
At least, their "main", downtown skyline.

[felixg]

Originally Posted by Atlas

I also like the Utah Theatre Tower proposal. As someone pointed out on Reddit, it's kind of an inversion of the Astra (Kensington) Tower design. Both are sort of postmodern hodgepodges of textures from around the city, with sections of solid glass and sections with windows separated by white/gray tones (think Hotel Utah, Key Bank tower, etc). That outdoor space on the 21st (?) floor is going to be nice and I really wish they had plans for a public restaurant or bar up there (they don't). Those two towers are going to change the whole dynamic of the skyline.

I also think the Worthington proposal will turn out to be a really handsome residential tower, provided that they use the copper facade like the renderings show. It'll be much better than Liberty Sky or many of the copy/paste apartment towers of bigger cities.

The CCH is okay, nothing special design-wise but it will fill in the skyline and at least add some roundness to it. To me, the elongated shape is reminiscent of a Las Vegas hotel. SWT likewise looks pretty generic but I'll wait until seeing some real drawings before I pass judgement on the design. Again, the facade looks like it could be pretty unique. The leaked Regent Street design from HKS is fantastic and I hope that or something similar is what is truly in the works for that site.

And imo, SLC already has a skyline on par with Phoenix and I like our proposals more than theirs. The exception is perhaps their 500+ ft "Astra" tower, which I would love to see in SLC.

By the way, u/gusam26 shared this image of the city earlier today:




The RDA is still actively working in it, at least. Not sure about the timeline. It's definitely a natural spot for a station and now there's a clear need for it.

Midtown Station for the win!

Hahaha that person on Reddit was me!

I full agree with everything you’ve said here as well, and the Hyatt’s likeness to Vegas style towers is something I immediately thought too. I didn’t know how I felt at first but now I think it’ll definitely shake things up visually which will be nice. I also like that it sort of binds us to that shared part of the southwest, something that’s uniquely regional and not a copy/paste or imitation of a building designed for someplace else. I also like worthington for this reason, to me all the copper feels subtly unique to our city and state — not to mention will look mega in 50 years time when it’s green hahah

I think for as much shit that our potential/future skyline gets, it’s not as bad as it could be. While definitely restrained, modest, and somewhat conservative, I think most if not all the towers going up right now are going to age remarkably well. They’re generally quite timeless, which while boring, is a much better option than having something that looks like the Wells Fargo or one Utah Center 20 years from now imo. And like others have said, a signature tower could look extremely out of scale and place in salt lake if constructed today, we just don’t have the infill yet. Lots of medium Midwestern and southern skylines kind of give me that vibe, places like Oklahoma City, Nashville or Omaha. It’s like they build 2 or three massive, signature, New York scale buildings anticipating more to rise up around them, which then just don’t. I think it gives the skyline a lopsided, unbalanced look, really not a style I hope we ever get

At this point my hope is that salt lake just fills out vertically away from state and main streets — I think that will massively help lift our skyline from any angle

Of course a few 500 footers put anywhere would also look amazing too

[Ironweed]

Most of us want some 500-600 footers.

Many of the locations I thought of for those type of buildings are rapidly being bought up and built on. (I can't complain really.)

If we are fortunate to get a few of these, where would be good places to build them without skewing the skyline?

[taboubak]

Originally Posted by Ironweed

Most of us want some 500-600 footers.

Many of the locations I thought of for those type of buildings are rapidly being bought up and built on. (I can't complain really.)

If we are fortunate to get a few of these, where would be good places to build them without skewing the skyline?

The Federal Reserve Bank lot on the corner of 100s and State would look amazing. The parking lot on 300s in-between main and West Temple. The Grass field across from the COB next to Brigham Young Historical Park. And of course the Zion Bank lot on Main St. Tall towers would look great in all if those places.

[felixg]

Yeah I agree about the federal reserve bank lot 100%, though I do love that building. Also yeah of course really anywhere on the old zions bank lot, especially with everything going up right there around it. i think almost anywhere on 100-200 south would be fantastic as it’d be both central from an east-west view and also help bridge the gap between our two current north-south clusters