It used to house the universe. Now it's just available space.
Still, the 98-year-old Hansen Planetarium building on State Street — empty since the actual stars and planets moved to The Gateway a year ago — is arguably the city's most charming vacant building. All it needs now is at least a couple million dollars and a tenant with a good idea.
The city is working on a draft request for proposal (RFP). In the meantime, the state's Division of International Affairs has looked into the site, as has the Springville Art Museum, the University of Utah and several private businesses. Local art promoter Derek Dyer, who two years ago built the world's largest disco ball, wants to bring some sparkle back to the building by turning it into a community arts and education center.
Originally built in 1905 to house the Salt Lake City Public Library, the landmark was transformed into a planetarium in 1968 and is on the National Historic Register. The city owns the building, and its future use is ultimately determined by the mayor. The City Council has the right to request a public hearing prior to any sale, but not for a lease, according to City Council member Dave Buhler.
Last fall, the mayor put the building on a list of possible bond items, but the City Council eliminated it from the six bond projects put on the November ballot.
"It would have to be someone with financial wherewithal," Downtown Alliance executive director Bob Farrington said about the building's future tenant. "One of the challenges with that building is that you'll need $2 to $3 million just to make it liveable."
The original bond request was for $6 million.
The roof needs replacing, the furnace may have to be upgraded, and the elevator and restrooms would need to meet disability requirements. If the future tenant decides not to keep the dome in place, the building likely will need seismic upgrades as well.
Although several commercial groups have looked into transforming the space into offices and retail space, the city isn't interested, Mayor Rocky Anderson said.
"I think my view, as well as the City Council's, is that it should be dedicated to a public purpose," he said. "We're definitely not interested in someone coming in and patching a few things together."
Whoever comes forward with a proposal will need "a credible board and aggressive fund-raising schedule," said City Council chairwoman Jill Remington Love.
The U. looked into using the building as a downtown presence for selling tickets to U. events, offering continuing education classes, and as a way to showcase university exhibits. The stumbling block, said Fred Esplin, U. vice president for university relations, was how to generate enough revenue to pay for operation and maintenance costs.
The Springville Art Museum also looked at creating a Salt Lake satellite museum in the building but has since decided to partner with the proposed Utah Museum of Art and History on Main Street. The new museum will provide the Springville museum a gallery of its own in return for the Art and History Museum's promise not to become an acquisition museum.
Dyer's Utah Arts Alliance envisions a combination of art galleries, exhibition space, theater and arts classrooms. The 28-year-old Dyer, who has a flair for the dramatic, dreams of a grand opening on the building's 100th birthday in October, 2005. Dyer is a graphic artist, painter and "projection artist." His previous promotions have included an all-cat art show called "Cataclysmic," a "Metal Only" show featuring metal sculptures and heavy metal bands, and the 10-foot disco ball he built for First Night celebrations on New Year's Eve 2002.
The disco ball, which resides in a storage unit in Draper, has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. If his Utah Arts Alliance were allowed to occupy the old planetarium, Dyer said, he would install the ball in the spot where the globe used to sit.
"It could be a tourist attraction in itself," he said.
Although the Salt Lake Art Center is just down the street, and the Utah Museum of Art and History is planned around the corner on Main, Dyer said his proposed Utah Arts Center and Utah Arts Academy would offer "a more complete range of classes" and provide a venue for more small and medium-size exhibits and community productions. Now he just has to convince the city — and find some money to pull it all off.
E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com