Salt Lake plan remains on track

"We're frankly looking at all the alternatives in terms of phasing the project or doing it over time," Bishop Burton said. Whether "Nordstrom opts to stay open or closed, I think, is still an item we need to decide and discuss. From a sales-tax perspective, it's difficult to give you any definitive judgment about what kind of revenue source those two parcels will be doing the next two to four years."

Bishop Burton's presentation offered little new information, but it was still good to hear in public what he had said in private, said Dave Buhler, council chairman.

Now, "I'll wait for the other shoe to drop in demolition and ground-breaking," Buhler said. "I think they're done giving dates until they're more certain."

Also unknown are the precise plans for the redevelopment. Bishop Burton confirmed Tuesday that the LDS Church is still considering a sky bridge over Main Street.

"The retail community feels very, very strongly" about having a walkway connecting the two malls without forcing pedestrians down a floor and onto the street, Bishop Burton said.

Nordstrom also was a concern for several council members who wanted to know whether the LDS Church was on good terms with the Crossroads Plaza anchor.

"We're very hopeful and optimistic that Nordstrom will be a part of it, but there is a lot of time between now and when that takes place," Bishop Burton said. "I don't want to cast any aspersions to the contrary, but until it's signed, sealed and delivered, one never knows."

While Bishop Burton seemed optimistic that Nordstrom would survive the project, he was less certain about the Inn at Temple Square on the corner of West Temple and South Temple.

"The Inn at Temple Square was renovated 13 years ago as a 10-year place holder for development," Bishop Burton said. "It was never intended by the church that that hotel remain a hotel in a long period of time."

The mall redevelopment will follow serious renovations of the Triad Center west of downtown, which the LDS Church plans on using for a Salt Lake center of Brigham Young University and LDS Business College, Bishop Burton said.

The church also expects to break ground soon on an archives and church history center on the corner of North Temple and Main Street, Bishop Burton said.

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E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com