Church to buy Crossroads Plaza mall

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Wednesday it has reached an agreement to purchase Crossroads Plaza.

The "agreement in principle" includes the shopping mall and the adjoining office tower, the church said in a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed, though the church indicated the funds would be paid from investment reserves.

The transaction is expected to be complete in the next several weeks, pending finalization of terms with the mall operators.

The church has long owned the majority of land upon which the mall stands, which it leased to Maryland-based mall operator Foulger Pratt. It also owns, through its real estate arm, the adjacent ZCMI Center mall. The two have shared marketing and promotional operations for several years.

LDS Church Presiding Bishop H. David Burton told the Deseret News on Wednesday that Foulger Pratt approached the church some time ago, suggesting it might be interested in purchasing Pratt's interest in the mall.

"As they (Foulger Pratt) have tried to negotiate with Nordstrom and other potential tenants, they have not been as successful as they would have liked," Burton said. "They suggested that perhaps their interest could be made available and that we might consider it."

Representatives from Foulger Pratt did not immediately respond to requests for interviews.

When asked about the future of Crossroads, Burton said it is not likely that the church will make any significant changes in the mall's operations. It will continue to work with ZCMI Center, he said, which hopefully will result in "synergistic approaches to leverage our interest between those two blocks."

Burton also said it is not likely that Crossroads will close on Sundays, as ZCMI Center does, at least in the short term.

"We haven't even crossed that bridge," Burton said. "There are tenants that have leases there that need to be honored. Nordstrom, as an example, will be there at least until 2005 and hopefully longer than that. I would not foresee that there would be many operational changes in the short term."

What is possible, Burton said, is a transformation to a mixed-use retail project, blending retail with residences or office space.

"Most urban areas are looking at multiple-use kinds of things, not just retail," he said. "But the kind and variety of retail and other elements has yet to be determined."