Brigham Young University begins demolition of Deseret Towers

PROVO — A crew began to tear down a Brigham Young University landmark on Tuesday.

A track hoe ripped the exterior walls off of W Hall in the Deseret Towers student dorm complex. A wrecking ball was standing by, but might not be necessary, university spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said.

The process could take a week. Then the crew will begin to tear down neighboring V Hall.

The other five seven-story dorm halls will remain in use until August. They, too, will be razed, though no timeline has been set, Jenkins said.

BYU has not announced what it will to do with the DT complex site once the buildings are gone. Jenkins said the university is still completing a housing master plan. BYU opened half of its married student housing at Wyview Park for single students displaced by the closure of the two Deseret Towers buildings.

Jenkins said the rest of Wyview Park will be converted to single-student housing in July. Married students at Wyview will have first priority for openings at Wymount Terrace, the university's other campus housing complex for married students.

BYU had applied last week for permission to implode the buildings, but the Utah Division of Air Quality board denied the request. The implosion would have taken place over Christmas break.

Since implosion was not an option, the university decided to proceed with tearing down the buildings.

Jenkins said using a track hoe and wrecking ball will cost about the same as implosion would have, but did not disclose the amount.

The first Deseret Towers dorm was completed in 1964.

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