At the height of the summer construction season, projects around Salt Lake City are progressing, including the completion of the steel frame at the One Utah Center Wednesday and an announcement that The Inn at Temple Square will open in mid-September.
Projects include:Utah Jazz Arena
Tom Mabey, president of Sahara Construction, said excavation work to move 170,000 cubic yards of soil should be completed by the first of next week.
At the same time, about 15 percent of the concrete footings have been installed. The first part of the foundation wall for the 20,400-seat arena will be poured Thursday, Mabey said, adding that crews are currently working from about 7 a.m. until 2 a.m. to keep up with the schedule and complete the arena by October 1991. Ground was broken on May 22 after Larry Miller announced he had received a $66 million loan from a Japanese bank. Work began on the site on June 11.
One Utah Center
Concerns about the safety of the next-door Utah Savings & Trust Building haven't slowed work on the 20-story tower. The steel frame of the tower was completed Wednesday morning and topped with the ceremonial evergreen tree. Stone work has begun on the building's facade, said Kevin Brown, construction manager with Jacobsen Construction, contractors on the project.
"We are ahead of schedule," Brown said.
Richard Turpin, with Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency, said the Boyer Company is still faced with two decisions concerning the historic Utah Savings & Trust Building - shore it up or notch a planned parking structure around it.
"Thus far it (the Utah Savings Building) hasn't impeded construction," Turpin said.A seismic sensor has been installed in the old building and survey points have been made to help detect movement, Turpin said.
Airport Parking Terrace
Richard W. Shipley, job superintendent with Layton Construction Co., said construction has been completed on about one-quarter of the suspended concrete slabs in the $30 million structure. Almost all of the concrete work on the ground has been completed.
"We are right on schedule," said Shipley.
The 2,500-stall parking terrace being built by the Salt Lake Airport Authority was begun in January and is scheduled to be completed in 1991. Two shifts of workers are working on the structure, Shipley said.
Hotel Utah building
Christiansen Bros. Inc., and Bodell Construction, contractors awarded the bid for renovation work on the hotel, said they are still finalizing their $41.8 million contract with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said Grant Gibbs, vice president of Bodell.
The firm is also waiting for all necessary construction permits from Salt Lake City. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 1992.
The church announced earlier that the hotel would be converted into a combination of church offices, facilities for downtown congregations and public facilities, including a meeting room, dining area, public computer stations for family history research and a large-screen theater that will show a film on the early history of the church to tourists and visitors.
The Inn at Temple Square
The former Temple Square Hotel should be completed by end of August, said Don LeFevre, with LDS Church Public Communications.
"It will be opening by mid-September, but the specific date not been announced," he said.
The two-year renovation has turned the 190-room church-owned building into a European-style 90-room hotel that will include a library, five bridal suites, restaurant and suites with parlors.
In addition, the hotel's south entrance will be turned into a "Carriage Court" and will become the main entry with 25-foot wrought-iron gates.
ZCMI Center
Robert Money, architect with Zions Securities, said that work is expected to be completed by November on the interior portion of the mall. The planned food court will not be completed until November 1991 because of design delays.
Other work is also proceeding on the Main Street and 100 South corridors.
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 entryways and as many as 20 new stores.
State Capitol
The State Capitol is undergoing Phase 1 of a five-part reconstruction program. And since this phase is only about 40 percent complete, it looks like the dust, noise and slight inconveniences will continue well into December.
Neil Stowe, director of the Division of Facilities Construction and Management, said the $3.8 million reconstruction project has turned into a real challenge for his office. Because of the age of the structure, many of the blueprints were not a true composite of the wirings and other systems inside the walls and ceilings, Stowe said.
The reconstruction has not had a major affect on tourism, Stowe said. However, people working in the State Capitol have had to endure continuous noise, dust, changing offices and at times no air conditioning.