"The church is pleased to be working with a company of Taubman's stature and reputation," he said. "They are one of the pre-eminent retail developers in the country. Efforts to finalize a development agreement with Taubman reflect the church's unwavering commitment to the continued vitality of downtown Salt Lake City."

Bills did not disclose current occupancy rates at the downtown malls, but he said that "given the anticipated scale of this project, tenant turnover is inevitable.

"During this period of redevelopment, flexible lease agreements are being negotiated," he said. "For some tenants, negotiations have been unsuccessful, resulting in relocation outside the downtown malls. Additional terminations are possible."

However, Bills said, "Taubman representatives have said they expect a number of new merchants will be attracted to this redevelopment project once plans are finalized and announced."

Last week, the Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency Board said it would lend a hand to displaced downtown mall tenants.

The board decided it will provide financial help to displaced mall tenants who locate elsewhere in downtown. That assistance will come in the form of grants and low-interest loans. The board also decided to let The Gateway shopping center accept displaced mall tenants without incurring a financial penalty. Because it is not in the city's central business district, tenants who move to Trolley will not be eligible for incentives.

Christensen said it's possible Iceberg will return once the reconstruction project is complete. Tabula Rasa will not.

"When we did this store in Crossroads five years ago, everybody was so excited," Dean said. "The new store will be even bigger, and better."

Tabula's 4,000-square-foot Trolley location will be nearly twice as big as its Crossroads store, Dean said, allowing it to expand its selection of Monte Blanc pens and introduce a Vera Bradley boutique.

Incentives or no, downtown's flux might still be Trolley's boon, said Jim Wood, director of the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

"Particularly for the small, specialty stores, I think they will compete for tenants," Wood said. "Trolley has a fair number of those specialty stores, and I'd imagine they'll be the beneficiary (of the planned downtown mall renovation), at least in the short term."

At 250,000 square feet, Trolley calls itself a "festival marketplace," Katter said. Its retail tenants occupy as much as 13,000 square feet, and as little as 300 square feet.

"We have a unique tenant mix," Katter said. "We don't have a department store. We look for stores that are unique to Utah, tenants you wouldn't normally find in a typical regional shopping center."