LDS get final OK on project
Salt Lake approves work on City Center ZCMI facade
The city's Historic Landmark Commission issued the final stamp of approval for City Creek Center Wednesday night, unanimously supporting the conceptual design for reconstruction of the historic ZCMI facade as part of the $1.5 billion project.
"This is an important decision for us," said Dale Bills, spokesman for City Creek Reserve Inc., a development arm of the LDS Church. "We're grateful to the commission for their careful deliberation and their recommendations."
The ZCMI facade, a staple of downtown since the 1870s, is slated to return to Main Street as the storefront for Macy's. Plans call for the department store to serve with Nordstrom as co-anchors for the 20-acre retail, residential and office development.
The developers needed permission from the Historic Landmark Commission because the facade is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Wednesday, developers presented a revised design of the new building using the historic facade in response to concerns expressed by the Historic Landmarks Commission at a June 4 meeting.
Another issue was the opaque glass planned for the second- and third-level windows, which some commissioners felt created dead space.
Working with the city's architectural review committee, the developers did away with the set-back entrance and modified their plans for the windows to meet commissioners' approval.
The revised design calls for most of the street-level windows to be used for displays, replacing what had been the recessed entrance. Upper-level windows will use reflective glass with lighting hidden between the facade and the new building to illuminate the historic architecture.
Kirk Huffaker, executive director of the Utah Heritage Foundation, said many buildings historically were lit in a similar fashion.
"I think it's a great plan," Huffaker said during the public discussion. "I commend this version."
The three-story ZCMI facade underwent careful disassembly last fall and was put into storage so the old Macy's building could be demolished.
The Historic Landmark Commission approved that action in June 2007, along with developers' plans to move the new Macy's building — and the facade — 25 feet to the north at approximately 15 S. Main.
The approved design calls for the new building to be the same height as the facade, leaving the decorative peak atop the facade to stand alone as it did in 1910 — unlike the most recent reconstruction in the 1970s.
Recent comments
One, the church owns: A business, that’s in business to make money…
Re Frustrated: | Oct. 24, 2008 at 5:17 p.m.
So let's see, a multi-billion dollar shopping mall improves the Utah…
Frustrated | July 23, 2008 at 12:06 p.m.
Let me come over to your house and re-paint it. Plant some new trees…
mall rat | July 13, 2008 at 11:32 a.m.
