He said about 500 people have already expressed interest in buying housing in the project, although it is not expected that the units will go on sale for at least two years.

Doug Dansie, a staff member with the city's Planning Division, said the 100-foot midblock requirements are "soft," because the ordinance doesn't prohibit taller buildings, it merely requires a conditional-use permit.

The commission is scheduled to vote on the height exceptions Feb. 14.

PRI officials say the Tower 2 height is justified by the dramatic increase in the number of residents who would be able to live there. Moreover, they said, the buildings on the corners of 100 South at West Temple and Main — the Marriott and the Crandall-McIntyre building — are significantly shorter, so the block is not currently overburdened with tall buildings.

Preliminary plans for Tower 2, drawn by architects Zimmer Gunsel Frasca, show a restaurant and retail space at the tower's ground floor. The lower levels would have more units, with levels 24 through 32 only six condos per floor, ranging from 935 to 2,015 square feet.

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