Zions Securities Corp. Thursday unveiled a massive $10 million renovation of the ZCMI Center that will bring the 15-year-old downtown shopping complex into the 1990s and beyond with a totally new look and some 20 new stores.
"The project reflects a carefully planned contribution to the history, tradition and long-term preservation of downtown Salt Lake City," said W. Kent Money, president of Zions Securities, the real estate arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns the center."At the same time, the ZCMI Center will move into the next decade in visual presentation and retailing," Money said.
Construction is scheduled to get under way in January with a completion date planned for November, in time for the holidays.
Plans for the 600,000-square-foot mall feature a complete redesign of the interior including color scheme, lighting, landscaping, ceiling and flooring. Major changes include a new food park and garden, four fountains, new four-story entry ways to the mall on South Temple and Main streets and as many as 20 new stores.
The most spectacular element of the renovation project will be a 35,000- square-foot, four-story atrium housing a food park and garden at the mall's South Temple entrance.
Mel Pearson, general mall manager, said the new food court will be created by moving Deseret Book Store into the mall's interior from its South Temple location and by covering and creating interior space from what is now the outdoor courtyard between Deseret Book and O.C. Tanner jewelry store.
Facing South Temple, the food park walls and about half of the ceiling will be constructed of transparent glass, flooding the court with natural light. Some 13 restaurants will be located in the area with 650 seats to serve their customers.
Pearson said a walkway will be constructed along the east side of O.C. Tanner that will retain the elegant, high-style look of that store.
Also to come under complete renovation is the mall's center court, which Zions Securities division manager Richard Coles said will feature brass railings, new balconies around the second level and two brass and glass elevators that will descend dramatically from the upper levels of parking directly into the center court.
"The enhanced center court will include palm trees and will continue to be a landmark for Salt Lake City," said Coles. Pearson added that the entire complex will have significantly more greenery than in the past.
Other interior changes will include the taking of some space from the ZCMI department store along the mall's Main Street corridor. The entry way to ZCMI will be renovated with a much bolder, dramatic look and four to six new shops will be added in the space now taken by interior display windows.
Pearson said the two new exterior entrances on Main and the one on South Temple will be constructed with limestone columns reminiscent of historic South Temple buildings. The four-story columns will be framed in contemporary "glass curtain walls."
Only the First South and State Street entrances will remain unchanged. Those will be updated at a later date in what Pearson anticipates will be three separate phases of construction. The upcoming renovation is considered phase one.
Andy Feola, partner in Feola, Deenihan, Archuleta Architects, said the new design recalls the historic buildings of downtown Salt Lake, melding classical and contemporary architecture. The firm is working in conjunction with John Brunt and Associates, Salt Lake City, on the new design.
Pearson said precise placement of the relocated Deseret Book has not yet been determined, but he said the store will be downsized to about half its current square footage. Other new stores will be spotted at various locations throughout the mall.
All stores will remain open during construction, said Pearson, and marketing programs will be undertaken to help keep sales stable throughout the year of renovation. He said the construction comes at a good time because leases on many of the mall tenants are expiring in coming months. Some will want to leave the mall, making room for new tenants, others will renovate their own spaces, and still others will relocate within the mall.
Pearson said center leasing agents are currently in negotiations with some 20 prospective new tenants. The largest will need 15,000 to 18,000 square feet, but most will be in the 1,000-2,000 square foot range. The mall has historically been about 98 percent occupied, said Pearson, but is currently below that while preparing to accommodating new tenants.