New documents reveal more about Intermountain's LDS Hospital 'replacement' plans

SALT LAKE CITY — Intermountain Health revealed more details about its planned hospital near Salt Lake City's downtown core, nearly two years after securing a landmark rezone at the site of the city's old Sears location.

Representatives of the healthcare provider submitted a pair of documents to Salt Lake City on Thursday, sharing new renderings of the proposed site while answering a list of questions about how it plans to operate services at the lot, located around 754 S. State.

The primary building would top out at approximately 208 feet, per the documents. It would be surrounded by a series of separate, shorter buildings scattered throughout the block and an adjacent parcel.

Two parking garages located on the block and an adjacent parcel would hold a little over 1,200 stalls. The facility would also include an outdoor plaza, gardens and additional open space, including a court for food trucks, along with some additional surface parking stalls.

The hospital itself will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week when it opens, with a helipad that will operate as needed.

Outpatient services would run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and visitor hours for inpatient areas would be from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Peak hours are expected to be between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The documents detail everything from utility uses to environmental impacts. Intermountain estimates it will need a little less than 150,000 gallons of water per day, while it's seeking to reach the silver level of LEED Certification — the third-highest of four certifications tied to environmentally friendly construction.

Renderings suggest the site will also feature murals and other art installations.

Intermountain Health also appears to indicate what it plans to do with LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City's Avenues neighborhood, referring to the Sears block as the "LDS Hospital replacement site." The healthcare provider has been mum on the Avenues site since it began pursuing land near downtown, previously suggesting it could split operations between its current and new properties.

It's unclear when construction will begin on the new hospital or what Intermountain Health plans to do with its current LDS Hospital property once it's complete. A spokesperson for the company told KSL it plans to announce more about the project later this year.

Intermountain Health acquired the old Sears property in late 2021, three years after the long-standing department store shuttered. It submitted initial plans for an "urban hospital" a year later, launching a long process to rezone the site to the same zoning as the downtown core.

Salt Lake City leaders signed off on the rezone in 2024, along with a development agreement that outlines certain conditions the city wants at the site. It's something the city has pursued with other recent large-scale projects, such as the "sports, entertainment, culture and convention district" near the Delta Center.

"This project is intended to be a transformational project for the area," Intermountain Health wrote on Thursday. "The availability of over 9 acres on the block is suitable for the large scale of this development."

Development of the old Sears site has been slow, though, leading to plenty of online jokes. Residents even named a pond that formed at the site the "Great Sears Lake" on Google Maps.

Beyond construction timelines, it's unclear when the project update will be brought before the Salt Lake City Planning Commission.

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