Posted Jan 5, 2009, 2:03 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Downtown Los Angeles
Posts: 19,314
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This particular junction of I-15, the new 92 Parkway, future TRAX lightrail extension, and soon to be under construction FrontRunner commuter rail is hardly the agricultural haven that perhaps you once thought of it as. Nor do I think Thanksgiving Point is barely making it. The buildup of class A office, commercial, and residential product has been phenominal over the past ten, five, two years, and even continues right now. This is considered by developers, who actually understand the area intimately, to be one of the hottest junctions, in one of the hottest growth markets, of now the fastest growing state in the nation. This is also the core of the wealthiest and fastest growing demographic in the intermountain region.
The hotel of which you speak is a mixed-use tower, accomodating approx. 200 suites for visitors. I would not consider 200 rooms to be a significant load on the current room total of the metro. Salt Lake City Metro has a half dozen 5 star properties either newly completed or under construction at this writing. Infact, for the past 15 to 20 years the occupancy rate for the metro has been among the highest average in the nation.
No offense meant and believe me I empathize completely, but you sound like your typical 'Laguna Nigel/BYU alumni', who hasn't been fully aware of what is going on here over the past 10 or even 5 years. If you actually lived in any of the many burgeoning communities such as Riverton, South Jordan, Draper, Alpine, Highland, No. Lehi/Traverse Ridge, etc., etc. then you would be as shocked as many long time residents are. My own dual residence of L.A. and Alpine has helped me to see first hand the crazy pace of change in new residential, commercial and tourist growth at this particular location and its surrounding demographic. Even if I'm only absent for six months to a year at a time, the ongoing changes have been stunning.
Of course, the national economy is a bit of a wreck right now, and we'll have to see what kind of effect that has on the long term construction industry in SLC's metro. Prognosticators generally feel that the Wasatch Metro will be one of the softest landings in the nation, and the quickest to change back into hyper-drive. Even now, the Wasatch is considered to have one of a handful of the comparitively best performing, highest growth economies in the nation. The unemployment here is still in the 3's percentile.
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