The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-11-21
BUILDING BOOM
is GROWING FAST
Construction Activity to Be
Even Greater Next Year
Than This.
GREAT RISE. IN VALUES
ALL SECTIONS OF CITY BENEFIT
ING FROM BIG ADVANCE.

Building activity in Salt Lake is at
a point OF greater activity than ever
before in the history of the city, and
proposed structures for next year in
dicate that in 1919 the record of the pres
ent year viii be exceeded by many
hundred thousand dollars. The SKY
line of Main street, which has changed
every month, and almost every week,
of the last year, will show many more
changes in the next year, and If there
be any "skysCraper district at the
end of 1910 it viii have to include all Of
Main street from North Temple to
Fourth South streets, and probably
State street will be included.
Building activity is by no means con-
fined to the business district, although
to the casual observer the changes are
most marked in the region Chat in
cludes Main, State and West Temple
streets to Fourth South street. Pave
ments in Third South street, from West
Temple TO the site of the new Denver
& Rio Grande passenger station, will
hasten the building operations which
have been contemplated in that street
since the announcement of the plans of
the railroad TO erect the passenger sta
ton.
Beginning about three years ago, real
estate values in Third South street al
vanced sharply with the first 1cw pur-
chases in anticipation OF the erection
of the new passenger staciOa. Some
fifteen or twenty lots changed hands
within a few months and IT is said
that several owners nave only been
waiting for the demand for business
buildings that will come with the open
ing of the new station and the increase
IN traffic on the street which viii fol-
low Immediately.
Increase in real estate values in
Third South street was assisted by the
erection of the Judge building, and
later by the NewhOuse, Boston, Com
mercial club and Stock Exchange
buildings. which virtually added an
other full block to the business district
in salt Lake and this move also slim
ulated building in Third and Fourth
South streets. between State and Main,
but the most striking effect of the
"NewhOuse deal" has been in upper
Main street.
Effect of skyserapers.
When the plans for the Newhouse
and Boston buildings were first an
nounced there We're frequent express
siOns of the opinion that the result
would be simply the moving of Salt
Lakes business district one or two
blocks south. With these comments
came speculation as to the probable eff
feet on the values OF property in upper
Main street, and there were several ex-
perienced real estate men who believed
that the extension of the business dis
trict TO the south would be little short
of disaster to the owners of Main
street property north of First South
street. Then came the surprise.
Business men who were especially IN
toTested in upper Main street property
took the cue Immediately. and there
started an era OF Improvement in that
part of the business district which has
resulted in more new building-pre-
posed, completed or in course of cree
tion-than upper Main street has ex-
perienced in the last twenty years
"Shacks" gave way to handsome bust
ness. blocks. with a frontage aggregat-
ing nearly 400 feet on both sides of
Main street, between South Temple and
First South streets. The z. C. NJ. L
began the erection Of a four-story I'd
ditiOn to its building facing South Tenn
pie street, and the Mormon church
erected a new administration building
and the magnificent gymnasium and
the Vermont building, and the move
ment was topped with the organization
of the Utah Hotel company, which has
begun the erection of a hotel which viii
cost nearly 81. SOC. 000
1t is certain that a part of this build
ing activity was encouraged by the
competition in building up the district
I'm the vicinity of the federal building.
How much was due to this condition
may be matter for speculation. but in
che minds OF real estate dealers there is
TO question regarding the effect which
has been Of vast benefit to the upper