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John Daley reportingA major announcement is planned tomorrow in downtown Salt Lake City.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, owners of ZCMI and Crossroads Malls, is set to release its preliminary plans to redevelop those properties.
Since the Church bought the Crossroads Mall in March there's been plenty of discussion about just what the redevelopment project should look like.
Tomorrow morning, members of the Church's planning team will unveil their plans.
Downtown Salt Lake City is beleaguered with stores and shops not as busy as they'd like. But, the heart of the state's capital city is on the verge of getting a big redevelopment boost, as the LDS Church prepares to invest millions to redevelop its twin downtown malls.
This afternoon, the Mayor takes time out from primary day campaigning to visit the Church office building.
ROCKY ANDERSON, MAYOR OF SALT LAKE:"NOW I HAVE TO SHIFT OUT OF THE CAMPAIGN AND DO SOME OF MY MAYORAL WORK. BISHOP BURTON AND I SPOKE ON SUNDAY ABOUT GETTING TOGETHER AND REVIEWING SOME OF THE PLANS THAT ARE GOING TO BE ROLLED OUT ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN AREA."
A couple hours later, we caught up with the Mayor to ask him what might be expected at a news conference set for tomorrow.
Rocky Anderson, Salt Lake City Mayor: "I UNDERSTAND THERE'S GOING TO BE AN ANNOUNCEMENT. AND UH OUR DISCUSSIONS TODAY WE AGREED WOULD BE HELD IN CONFIDENCE UNTIL AN ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE. AND I'M GOING TO HONOR THAT AGREEMENT. QUESTION: WILL YOU BE THERE TOMORROW AT THE ANNOUNCEMENT? UH, I'M NOT SURE."
The plan is expected to include a department store-anchored fashion center... ...with a mix of commercial and residential development. Other questions remain. Will it feature a skywalk linking the two sides of Main Street--as has been discussed? And--is it possible Nordstrom--which has signed a letter of intent to move to the Gateway--could stay on Main Street?
Last spring--the official leading the rehab effort gave a general description of what's in store.
H. David Burton Presiding Bishop, LDS Church/March 2003: "WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT SOMETHING CAN COME OUT OF THIS THAT WILL BE A PLUS FOR THE CITY IN A BIG WAY. IT CAN BE A COMPATIBLE NEIGHBOR TO TEMPLE SQUARE AND THE INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE CHURCH AND JUST BE A POSITIVE OMEN, IF YOU WILL FOR ALL OF DOWNTOWN."
