Zions tower to get fresh look

Zions Bancorp.'s downtown Salt Lake headquarters is about to get a makeover.

The 18-story Gateway Tower East Building on the southeast corner of Main and South Temple will sport a vastly different look in a couple of years, by which time Zions and subsidiary Zions Bank will occupy most, if not all, of the structure.

Zions announced the renovation in March but released details Monday.

Plans call for refacing the building with a stone-and-glass facade. The interior also will be reworked with structural upgrades, including seismic reinforcement, bringing the building in line with current code standards.

"It will be a significant change," said Rob Brough, Zions senior vice president of public relations. "It will bring a new look to the building and, we think, a new freshness to the corner of South Temple and Main Street.

"We're excited for the renovation to take place. It will provide Zions Bank with a beautiful home for its headquarters. We've been at that location for many years, and we plan to be there for many more in this newly renovated facility."

The changes approved by Zions were proposed by Property Reserve Inc., an investment affiliate of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns the building.

"The copper panels on the exterior of the building will be replaced, and new stone panels will be added along with new glazing on the windows," said Mark Gibbons, Property Reserve's president. "Typically, office buildings have classifications as 'class A' or 'class B,' with 'class A' being the highest quality and newest kind of design. This building will look and feel and appear as a 'class A' building after the renovation."

Gibbons declined to disclose the project cost, describing it only as "substantial."

Built in 1965, the former Kennecott Building goes by the Gateway Tower East Building moniker now, but that will switch to the Zions Bank Building when construction is completed.

The project timeline calls for preparing the interior this fall and starting construction early next summer. Construction is expected to last about 18 months.

Zions Bank, which operates more than 400 full-service banking offices in Utah and seven other Western states, will continue to occupy the building during the work.