Property Reserve Inc., the real estate arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said Tuesday it is negotiating to buy out the lease of the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel, 122 W. South Temple in downtown Salt Lake City.

Dale Bills, a spokesman for the church, said in a prepared statement that the LDS Church has owned for some time the property where the hotel is located.

"If negotiations are successful, the majority of the building will continue to operate as a hotel," Bills said, "with remaining space allocated for proposed use as housing for LDS Business College students."

The LDS Business College is expected to move from its current location at 411 E. South Temple into the Triad Center in fall 2006. The LDS Church purchased the Triad Center, located between North and South Temple and 300 and 400 West, in June 2004.

Salt Lake City officials have said the relocation of the business college and BYU Salt Lake Center, also to be moved to the Triad Center, are key to an overall downtown revitalization plan.

In 2003, church officials announced a $500 million remodeling and revitalization plan for Salt Lake's two downtown malls, Crossroads Plaza and the ZCMI Center, both of which the LDS Church owns.

The existing malls, including The Inn at Temple Square, are expected to be razed to make way for the new mixed-use development, which may include about 900 housing units.

A time frame and specific details of the mall revitalization project have yet to be announced, but mall managers have put up signs announcing that the renovation is imminent.

Calls to the Plaza Hotel seeking comment were not immediately returned.

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