Restoring a historic jewel in downtown S.L.

A renowned Utah-based jeweler is working to restore new luster to a historic downtown gem.

Less than six months from now, O.C. Tanner Co. is scheduled to celebrate the grand opening of its new flagship retail store that will be located in the original Salt Lake City library/planetarium building at 15 S. State, next door to the Alta Club.

When completed in September, the store will have 20,000 square feet spread over three floors at a renovation cost of $23 million, according to Curtis Bennett, vice president of retail operations for O.C. Tanner.

O.C. Tanner Co. bought the building from Salt Lake City for $1.2 million in 2007 after submitting plans for the renovation and hoped that upon completion, the new store — replacing the current flagship store at Eagle Gate Tower, 20 E. South Temple, which opened in 2005 — will be similar to the Ralph Lauren mansion in New York.

"It's an old building that's been updated and made to be very modern and contemporary on the inside, but on the exterior it's a very stately building from the turn of the century," Bennett said.

"We hope that people come to this building to not only buy jewelry but to see what it's all about," he added.

Bennett said that one of the unique and eye-catching features of the building would be a three-story etched glass window.

The finished project will boast all of the original windows completely refinished, he said. In addition, the entire structure will be seismically upgraded and outside the store will have its own parking garage to mitigate the limited parking available on the surrounding streets, he noted.

"The exterior of the building will be finished and brought back to the way it was 104 years ago," said Bob Martin, who designs internal elements of O.C. Tanner stores. "The inside will have that tension created of very modern, warm contemporary finishes."

As for what kind of items the store will carry, Martin said that the store will stock gifts and merchandise ranging from $100 up to about $400,000.

"We'll have something in here for everybody," he said.

The building being renovated was constructed in 1905 and served as the city library for about 60 years before eventually becoming the Hansen Planetarium beginning in the mid-1960s.

After the planetarium relocated to the Gateway, the building sat vacant for several years, during which it was used for various activities, including law enforcement SWAT team training, Bennett said.