Salt Lake MSA Development Thread

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Sandy reconsiders plans for Broadway theater, high-rises

By Rosemary Winters
The Salt Lake Tribune

Sandy » An architect has been asked to re-cast the vision for a mega Broadway theater surrounded by soaring office-and-condo towers. The playhouse may or may not keep its starring role.

Sandy recently bought eight of the 11 acres that were once slated to give rise to The Proscenium, a $500 million housing, lodging, shopping and office complex near 10000 South and east of Interstate 15. Sandy paid $5.2 million for the land, which had gone into foreclosure and was appraised at $6 million.

Sandy plans to contract with Russell Platt, the architect hired by the previous landowner, to create a master plan for the entire area between City Hall and the South Towne mall.

It will be a "wish list," said Sandy spokeswoman Trina Duerksen of what the city wants to see built under current economic conditions. She expects a developer to purchase or lease the land and start construction next spring.

But the vision likely won't be as grand as the original Proscenium, which was billed as an arts district for Sandy with galleries, four theaters and a performing-arts school.

"I'm taking a fresh look at it," Platt said. "We'll be revisiting the scale of the project, but it's still slated to be a mixed-use development."

It would be "fair to say," he added, that the buildings won't be quite so tall. Last year, the Sandy City Council approved 600-foot heights in the area so that three Proscenium towers could reach 40 stories. That would have made the buildings the tallest in Utah.

Sandy Economic Development Director Randy Sant said he thought 20-story towers could still be possible.

The master plan is scheduled to be done in the next three to four months.

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