Lehi design will reflect Utah, architect Gehry says

LEHI — The hot lamp of a media camera shining on Frank Gehry's face was reminder alone that in the pop-culture world, this man is famous.

However, sitting down with the world-renowned architect in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, it was easy to get the impression he'd rather you not know — lest his fame become a distraction.

Gehry came to Utah on Wednesday to help entrepreneur Brandt Andersen prepare Lehi city officials for a public hearing that will take place tonight. At the hearing, planning commissioners will decide whether or not to recommend that City Council members amend the city's general plan to include Andersen's development.

If the council approves the amendment, which will add a "sports entertainment" zone to the city's plan, Andersen said his project will be "two-thirds of the way" through the city's lengthy approval process. After that, construction on the project will take another five to 10 years, Andersen said.

"I'm not in a hurry to make a mistake, so I want to make sure things are done right," Andersen said.

Gehry first unveiled a conceptual plan for the 85-acre Point of the Mountain project — with blocks and bodies of water — in January. But a clearer picture of exactly what those blocks will look like in the final product is still in the making. Andersen said the development will feature a five-star hotel, housing, high-end shopping, open space, an arena and a wake-boarding lake.

Beyond that, it's a mystery what the project will look like, even to Gehry.

"I have a sense of Utah," Gehry said during an interview Wednesday. "I come here skiing and I know a lot of people that are here. I've paid attention to the Utah culture, certainly to the (Mormon) Tabernacle Choir and all of those kinds of things. I think it's going to take me time to develop an architectural language for (Utah), and that's what I'm going to be doing.

"I would guess when I'm finished, you'd look at it and say, 'Oh, that's a Frank Gehry building.' But I promise you ... it will have a relationship to Utah. I don't know how I'm going to get there, but I will."

Although Gehry's name is well known in architectural and pop-culture circles, he said his name isn't what will make this project special. He shrugs off the suggestion by talking about the group effort it will take with Andersen, himself and the community in order to have a good product.