Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[i-215]

Originally Posted by SLCHenry

Would love an NHL team but a SLT article says that a new arena may be needed for the Jazz and the rumored NHL team. Bet it would be in the suburbs. Big no no.

Gail Miller just spent $500 million renovating Delta Center. And the airline just signed a long-term deal.

The Jazz (at least) are goin' nowhere!

[wrendog]

Rumored NHL arena at old prison site. Would love NHL in Utah, but don't love suburban arenas

[Rileybo]

If Utah ever gets NHL or similar, they’re gonna play in the burbs. Sorry guys.

Before anyone calls “Rileyboe, you’re basing your thoughts on what?”… refresh yourself on the valley’s very recent history when it comes to this kinda thing.

This is a very cold take.

[RC14]

I said it a few months ago and nobody believed me but.. I have heard a very specific rumor that the plan is to move the Jazz to the suburbs next to the future NHL facility, should we get one. This may or may not be true but I don't think the movers and shakers in this state care much about Salt Lake City. Unfortunately.

[Rileybo]

Originally Posted by RC14

I said it a few months ago and nobody believed me but.. I have heard a very specific rumor that the plan is to move the Jazz to the suburbs next to the future NHL facility, should we get one. This may or may not be true but I don't think the movers and shakers in this state care much about Salt Lake City. Unfortunately.

The state’s movers and shakers are incentivized to hurt SLC.

[TheGeographer]

I live in the burbs and think putting sports teams down here is a silly idea. Anyone who’s a sports fan and has been to a professional game knows there is a certain vibe you get going downtown to see your team play. There is a vibrancy in the air not found outside of a downtown. Not to mention there is more entertainment and dining options before and after the event downtown. Professional sports belong near and around downtowns. Movers and shakers in Utah are chasing the dollar bill in building their own owned and operated “entertainment districts” instead of spreading the wealth among many. Looking at you millers moving the bees out to my neck of the woods. Selfish big business monopolization. Shame on the millers and any developer that moves our sports teams/locates future sports teams away from the urban heartbeat and soul of Utah that is SLC to the burbs.

With all that said…Go Avalanche! But I have room in my heart to like a second NHL team, especially a Utah one, so let’s get them here!

[wrendog]

I hope the prison site plan has room for a massive entertainment district right next to the NHL arena. That's the only way it will potentially be a palatable move.

[Paniolo Man]

The Salt Lake Tribune published a great article about the Main Street Tower this morning.

The Texas-based firm now says it has run into financial difficulties after a key equity partner “recently pulled out of the project due to the unprecedented market changes over the last several months,” forcing the developer to miss its legal benchmark to start building.

Hines remains “absolutely fully committed” to the upscale tower’s success, a spokesperson said, but offered no estimates on how long the delays might continue.

After talks on a path forward involving Mayor Erin Mendenhall and RDA chief operating officer Danny Walz, the city reportedly has opted not to overturn the whole deal, avoiding a route one source called “the nuclear option.”

Instead, the RDA is negotiating with Hines on modifying contract terms and deadlines in hopes of keeping 150 Main Street Apartments afloat, although, an agency spokesperson added, those talks now include a request the city be compensated for construction delays.

So it sounds like the tower is in limbo until Hines finds financing, and RDA is going along with it.

I was going to head to SLC today to take pictures and enjoy warmer weather, but my LDS friends informed me that Salt Lake is going to be bonkers this weekend, so that'll wait.

[Paniolo Man]

DFCM has published the full list of state capital projects for the coming fiscal year.





They have also published the full list of capital improvement projects.

[Comrade]

The Bees relocating out of Salt Lake the way they did might prove a blessing - as there was a huge uproar and that was over the Bees. Not something like the Jazz.

It would be so Utah, though, to embrace the failed strategy that pretty much every suburban NBA team is doing the opposite of today, and move out to the suburbs.

The only team that is looking to relocate out of their downtown are the Clippers and that's a special situation since they share an arena with the Lakers

The Kings relocated to downtown Sacramento after spending their entire history in the far-flung suburbs of Sacramento (tho, I think technically still within the city limits).

The Rockets used to play for years miles and miles out of downtown Houston before locating there 20 or so years ago.

The Warriors now play close to downtown San Francisco after playing years in suburban Oakland (well, as suburban as Oakland can be lol).

The Sixers are looking into a downtown arena.

The Bucks built a new arena downtown to replace their already downtown arena.

The Pistons relocated to downtown Detroit in 2017 after spending a chunk of their history out in suburban Auburn Hills.

I think had the Millers kept the Jazz, they probably would have moved 'em out of downtown. But I don't know if Ryan Smith would do that.

[bob rulz]

Originally Posted by i-215

Gail Miller just spent $500 million renovating Delta Center. And the airline just signed a long-term deal.

The Jazz (at least) are goin' nowhere!

Gail Miller also doesn't own the Jazz anymore, so that's pretty irrelevant.

That said, I don't think Ryan Smith would be dumb enough to move the team to the suburbs. Then again, we can't know what goes on in his head.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by bob rulz

Gail Miller also doesn't own the Jazz anymore, so that's pretty irrelevant.

That said, I don't think Ryan Smith would be dumb enough to move the team to the suburbs. Then again, we can't know what goes on in his head.

I actually think Gail and the Miller family would move the team out of downtown if they kept control. I know they renovated the Viv but $500 million to get by for a few years is probably what they planned to do long-term.

After all, Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee (I'll use that over Chase since it's probably a similar situation to Salt Lake instead of comparing Salt Lake to a Bay Area team) cost $1.2 billion.

$500 million is chump change at that point.

Maybe Smith commits to renovating the Delta Center so it's compatible with hockey.

Seattle completely renovated the old Key Arena but it cost about the same amount of money in 2021 as the Bucks' arena. So...

[bob rulz]

There's a 100% chance that the Millers would've tried to moved the Jazz to Daybreak if they still owned them. Very glad they sold.

[Atlas]

With the recent significant investment in the Delta Center, and the renaming deal with Delta, it seems more likely to me that the Jazz stay downtown. That said, it would not surprise me at all if they are trying to push a new NHL arena to The Point. Bleh.

Obviously, it would be much better on Block 40 (Main & 400S), the Fleet Block, or even at the Smith's Ballpark location.

[RC14]

^
The Smith's Ballpark location would be perfect! We are loosing the Bess but if we gain an NHL team that would be a good trade. Unfortunately, I doubt the planets will align for that.

[Blah_Amazing]

Originally Posted by Orlando

/\/\/\
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I do know that the typical SLC Design Standards prohibit the ramped side of the garage to be exposed to a public street like that. I also believe there are other requirements that require it to be screened, etc.

However, it looks like those requirements are not required in the D-1 zone. ??! I have no idea why SLC would not want those requirements for the D-1 zone also.

See 21A.37.060 Table D
https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/code...ut/0-0-0-68150

I think we should apply these standards to all parking structures in the D-Zones, but in particular any that would be 'visible from a street' not just fronting a street.

For example, one of my main issues for 150 S Main as proposed is that the exposed parking garage would be very visible from West Temple, especially with the little RMP building and the park basically permanently preserving that view.



These changes need to be made NOW, if the City wants to avoid basically every major structure that gets proposed in the city potentially having a hideous exposed parking structure at the base of it. Especially because these towers will likely remain for around 50-100 years at this point.

I wouldn't be shocked if the final Sundial design removes the cladding for 8 or so floors of parking and leave it exposed at this point too. Due to 'market conditions' and 'cost savings.'

If Downtown Salt Lake City wants to be taken seriously by developers and architects and be seen as more than just a third rate city that will allow basically anything to be built no matter how crappy the design, serious changes need to start to be made this year. We need to take advantage of this slowdown to start implementing real changes to code and design requirements (including greater requirements for public art (not just murals) and public spaces from developers). Otherwise when the market improves again we will likely be stuck with bad design for a century to come.

I've seriously done a 180 in my thinking on a lot of this. For the most part, I have been personally very accommodating to developers back when the Salt Lake City was basically begging for projects to come to the city. I would bend over backwards on this forum explaining why it was too difficult for developers to add retail in a sketchy neighborhood or that it was too much to ask for street engagement when only one developer wanted to build in Ballpark or North Temple or by the Gateway.

Now, with well over a hundred active major projects in Salt Lake, I think we are beyond the point when we can start demanding much higher quality from builders. The fact that some developers, such as Urban Alfandre and Lowe Property Group are able to build high quality designs and still make a profit proves that it can be done here. All the whining and saying 'it can't be done' continues to be proven false and I've grown sick of bad developers' excuses.

The message from Salt Lake City from now on needs to be clear: build it right, or don't build at all.

Sorry, minor rant over.

[Blah_Amazing]

A view of Astra from the north end of State Street yesterday.

I feel like we don't get to see this view very often, so I thought I'd post it.

The tower already looms large over the block with plenty left to go.

[bob rulz]

From the corner of A Street and 1st Avenue, there was the perfect view of Astra popping just barely above the skyline. Wish I would've gotten a picture.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Atlas

With the recent significant investment in the Delta Center, and the renaming deal with Delta, it seems more likely to me that the Jazz stay downtown. That said, it would not surprise me at all if they are trying to push a new NHL arena to The Point. Bleh.

Obviously, it would be much better on Block 40 (Main & 400S), the Fleet Block, or even at the Smith's Ballpark location.

I wish Salt Lake had a proactive mayor. I have no faith in the current administration to pull out all the stops to get a NHL arena built downtown - even if the attempt failed like with RSL's stadium and the initial push by Deedee Corradini's administration to build a hockey arena next the Delta Center (before WVC swooped in with the E Center).

[Schmoe]

I am extremely bearish on the NHL coming to Utah anytime in the next 15-20 years. Just don't see it happening.