Frank Gehry 453 ft. Hotel in Lehi will be Utah's new tallest. | PRO

[SLC Projects]

Utah is about to have it's new tallest building. A 453 foot 5-star Hotel in Lehi utah just 30 min south of Salt Lake City.

Here are the details...

Five-star Hotel at 453 feet.

Two condo towers at 250+ feet.

The city of Lehi will have it's own skyline!

Some pics of the project...

http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/8870/lehiskyline3zl2.jpg



http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9982/lehiskyline2hj6.jpg




http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/2792/lehiskylinept1.jpg


Architect Plans for 450 Foot Hotel at the Point of the Mountain
January 31st, 2007 @ 9:58pm

Sam Penrod Reporting

There's a lot of buzz over plans to build a ritzy development at the Point of the Mountain. It's expected to cost billions of dollars. So, who is it who wants to build it? And, is it just a field of dreams?

Most people have not heard of Brandt Andersen. He recently bought the NBA's development team franchise for Utah. Now he is preparing for a bold and ambitious project with the help of an architect who is known around the world.


Brandt Andersen, Developer: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Frank Gehry designed Lehi project."

This is the vision that world renowned architect Frank Gehry has in mind for a five star hotel, convention center and arena, in this property at the Point of the Mountain. It's something that would seem to fit right in, in Hollywood, California, but what about Lehi, Utah?

Brandt Andersen, Developer: "Utah to this point has not been known for its superior architecture and this is an opportunity to change that philosophy."

Brandt Andersen is the 29-year-old software executive who is putting his money and his dreams behind the project.

Brandt Andersen, Developer: "We're specifically focused on retailers and restaurants that will focus on actions sports, technology and healthy living."

He wants the hotel to be 450 feet tall, making it the tallest building in Utah. The rest of the development will be high-end residential condos with retail and restaurant space. Many people are curious of such an expensive development in Utah, specifically Lehi, and ask, just because you build it, will people really come and make it profitable?

Brandt Andersen, Developer: "If our zoning goes through, we will begin construction immediately. This is a project I want to see happen. I'm a resident of Utah County, I'm not going anywhere. I own a basketball team, so I'm not going to disappear, you are going to see me see this thing through."

Andersen filed the paperwork today with Lehi City, to get the zoning changed for his property. Construction could actually begin within a matter of months.

[SLC Projects]

Gehry envisions state's tallest building
Architect's Lehi proposal boasts 450-foot hotel tower
By Steve Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/01/2007 01:23:50 AM MST



LEHI - Move over, LDS Church Office Building. Here comes architect Frank Gehry.
Developer Brandt Andersen unveiled Gehry's 85-acre "high adventure" residential and retail development plan Wednesday, including a 450-foot, five-star hotel and convention center that would stretch 15 feet higher than Utah's current loftiest high-rise.
"It seems to make sense that the most iconic development in the state would be the highest building in the state," Andersen said. "I think church officials will understand."
Gehry has a record of designing iconic buildings. He created the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Gehry is now working on massive projects in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi, and was not at Wednesday's unveiling.
The hotel would have 200 to 300 rooms and could be made of glass. It would cover 220,000 square feet in a northern Lehi area Andersen calls "the gateway between Salt Lake and Utah County."
Andersen estimated the cost of the project to reach several billion dollars, and, he said, it will take five to seven years to build.
It would include a 10,000-seat arena - a little more than half the capacity of the EnergySolutions Arena - that would be sunken into the ground to expose a rippled rooftop. Andersen hopes to eventually use it for his NBA developmental
Advertisement

league basketball team scheduled to tip off later this year at the McKay Events Center at Utah Valley State College.
"Sports teams have to have a permanent arena to survive over time, as we've seen lately," Andersen said.
The arena may also connect to an amphitheater that will be built nearby.
But the wakeboarding lakes seemed to evoke the most excitement in the small crowd on hand for the unveiling. One of the two lakes - that cover a combined total of 22 acres - would accommodate large competitive wakeboard events and the other would function as a "cable park lake," using pulley systems to tug boarders along the water and launch them off ramps.
"People in Utah are really into wakeboarding more than anywhere I've seen in the country," said Billy McKee, a former professional wakeboarder who moved to the Beehive State from Florida three years ago. "This will be a huge hit."
About 1 million square feet of retail and restaurant space is planned for the project.
The residential space would include about 2,500 units, likely medium- to high-end condominiums, and cover 3 million square feet.
Andersen said over 70 percent of the overall project consists of open space.
"We're trying to create something environmentally friendly in an urban setting," he said.
The site would have its own off-ramp from Interstate 15 about a mile north of the Highland/Alpine exit and a pair of bridges running over the lakes for pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Andersen expects most of the parking would be underground to keep the site as open as possible.
He said the project intends to emphasize Utah's mountains and surroundings.
"Look at Bilbao where Frank took a blank canvas and created amazing art. Now that stands out as an icon," Andersen said. "We perceive this as the same sort of thing. It's an opportunity to change the philosophy in an amazing state with unbelievable natural architecture."
The developers have submitted rezoning requests to Lehi and, if they are approved, will commence construction immediately.
sgehrke@sltrib.com


* Frank Gehry's plans will be on display at Lehi's Hutchings Museum, 55 North Center St., and gcodeventures.com.

[wrendog]

I feel that this is really ambitious.. I personally don't know how well it will thrive, but with that said, I am excited to see this in my town!

[ctobsl]

Renowned Architect Designs a Building in Lehi
August 8, 2007



Amanda Butterfield Reporting

One of the most famous architects in the world is working on a development in Lehi that will be like nothing the state has ever seen.

Frank Gehry is known for his creativity and ability to design around the surrounding environment. Gehry is most known for creating the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain. He's also known for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.



The project Gehry designed in Lehi will be 85-acres on the east side of I-15.

It will be south of Point of the Mountain and north of Cabela's, so that's right between Salt Lake and Utah Counties.

It includes a five star hotel that will be 450 feet tall; the tallest building in Utah. There will be high-end residential condos with retail and restaurants space. It will also have lakes exclusive to wakeboarding. The cost for the project is in the billions of dollars.



The development is being funded by 29-year-old Brandt Andersen, a software executive. Gehry says he was drawn to the project because of Andersen. He liked Andersen's vision and energy.

The two have become good friends. Anderson said, "I've been trying to get him out on the snowboard." Gehry said, "I like to hang out with young kids. It fools me into thinking I'm one of them."

The project still has a long way to go. Andersen is still working with the planning commission, city council, and the mayor, but all seem supportive thus far. Andersen says the project has received great praise.

This is just the conceptual phase. Once they get the go ahead to build, it will really start to come alive.

Gehry describes the project as, "Unique, different people won't understand it, but in the end it will fit." And that's what he loves about his job, making it fit so people like it, and that's what he wants you to feel about it. "I would hope there would be a pride about having something special in their state."

If all goes smoothly, the groundbreaking could be next year.

[Scruffy]

again with the wooden blocks. for christ's sake Gehry, make yourself a decent render so we know what your freakin towers will look like.

[mcfinley]

^^

Seriously. At first I saw the blocks piled and off center and wondered what kind of structures they're suppose to represent.

Then I though, it's Frank Gehry, maybe that's exactly what it's going to look like. :shrug:

[CenIL_LA]

yeah if i had done something this simple in school, my professors would have argued that I really didnt take my idea beyond first base. I would call this a generally specific phase. He at least details the cars. Wait, is that important at all to this? I would say the context gets the idea across great for the site. Details shouldnt be left out though, this is for people not cars.