Social Hall Avenue in the northwest portion of the downtown business district used to be called Motor Avenue during the golden age of automobiles.
Then the street was renamed Social Hall when local radio and television stations moved in. They vacated the plaza more than a decade ago, searching for greener pastures.Now Kennecott Corp. and the Internal Revenue Service have set up shop, and it looks as if they'll be a permanent fixture as a smartly designed six-story, glass-marble-and-steel office building was dedicated Wednesday afternoon by LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Zions Securities Corp., the real estate arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, constructed the 162,000-square-foot building and will manage the building.
President Hinckley offered a dedicatory prayer at the site, 200 E. Social Hall Ave. (41 South), as several dozen employees, business people and local dignitaries attended.
President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor, and President James E. Faust, second counselor, of the First Presidency of the LDS Church also attended, along with Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve.
"This is a good part of the city," President Hinckley remarked before the prayer. "It adds beauty, and it adds to the tax base of the area."
President Hinckley recalled how the area was home to many "progressive motor agencies . . . I'm glad I've outlasted a lot of those old buildings," he joked.
Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini said the building met one of the city's goals to beautify the central portions of downtown.
"We've had rundown areas for some time, and now this adds immensely to the area. It is a beautiful thing; the architecture and colors are striking," Corradini said.
W. Kent Money, president of Zions Securities Corp., said all but 3,000 square feet of the building has been leased to Kennecott and the IRS. The tax agency will occupy 69,000 square feet on the first three floors, while the Utah copper mine conglomerate will lease more than 77,000 square feet on floors four, five and six.
Three levels of underground parking include more than 500 stalls.
Layton Construction served as construction manager; 50 other firms helped raise the building.