Borders Group Inc. confirmed Tuesday it will close its Crossroads Plaza store effective July 21, a move it attributed to the LDS Church's planned downtown redevelopment project.
The Borders closure is the latest in a slow tenant procession away from the two downtown malls, started when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced nearly three years ago its plans for a massive mixed-use development.
Now, with two anchors remaining — Nordstrom at Crossroads and Meier & Frank (soon to be Macy's) at ZCMI Center — amid a dwindling array of smaller vendors, the church remains mum on the progress of the project. Spokesman Dale Bills declined to comment Tuesday on the Borders closure or the larger redevelopment plan.
But others suggest that the Borders closure signals movement, bringing the project one step closer to its start date — that when the church's Presiding Bishop H. David Burton told the Salt Lake City Council in April that there were some tenant issues left to be resolved, perhaps Borders was among them. And, now that the book store is vacating, perhaps it is an indication that the church's plan is progressing.
"From day one, from the very beginning, we knew that as these malls were torn down and reconstructed, we knew we'd see the majority of tenants either relocated, or out of their space so they (the church) could go ahead and accomplish their purpose," said
Lane Beattie, president and chief executive of the Salt Lake Chamber.
"The fact that there's one more, all you have to do is go to Crossroads or to ZCMI Center to know that there is a trend. They are moving ahead, and unfortunately, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Some tenants will have to be relocated, and some will close. We hope that they will come back once the project is completed, but we are confident that the decisions the church has made were made with sound business principles."
Beattie declined to speculate on when the church will unveil its final plan.
"I'm not predicting that it will happen next week or next month," he said. "But we are more confident in the process that they're going through to do it right. They're going to do it in the right way and in the right timetable — and that doesn't mean it doesn't create frustration. We know it does."
Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White said the upscale retailer had nothing new to report since it confirmed plans to remain at Crossroads as part of the redevelopment. When complete, Nordstrom said back in August 2004, the retailer will have a 124,000-square-foot store on two levels somewhere in the retail complex. Once tentatively slated to open in 2007, White said that has now been pushed to a 2009 target date.
"We are still committed to the project and hope to open in 2009," White told the Deseret Morning News recently. "As you know, it's a complex redevelopment project with many moving parts. We believe the church and Taubman have the ability to make this project come to life."
Macy's did not immediately respond to requests for information regarding its plans.
Borders, a Crossroads tenant since 1997, will close its doors at the end of business July 21, according to spokeswoman Holley Stein.
"This (closure) was based on the redevelopment plan at that facility," Stein said. "For this particular site, it was no longer viable for us to remain there. It just made good business sense to close the store at that time."
Stein declined to comment on whether there were lease issues at Crossroads, where it occupied 20,000 square feet on two levels. Nor is Borders committing to returning to downtown Salt Lake City when the church's project is completed.
"We can't commit to anything specific at this time," she said. "I can say that we're always looking at various options and ways to serve the communities that we're in. We're keeping our options open."
Borders has three remaining stores in Utah in Murray, Provo and Logan. The company also operates two Waldenbooks stores in Logan and Provo.
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com