This Utah Capitol complex building will be demolished. Here's what is slated to replace it
https://www.ksl.com/article/50338570...-to-replace-it
A segment of the article:
Quote:
The Utah Legislature is working to fund a new five-story, 151,535-square-foot building just north of the Utah Capitol that would give the collection the permanent home that state historians have requested for years. In addition to the museum, the building plan calls for a new conference center, office space, 400 parking stalls and electric vehicle charging stations.
However, its most distinctive feature is the space set aside for a state history museum and history collection area, It's a building that will give Utahns a chance to see pieces of the state's past they may have never seen before. Jennifer Ortiz, the director of the Utah Division of State History, is excited about that prospect, calling Utah's history collection "truly incredible."
"It's such an incredible opportunity — a once-in-a-generation opportunity," she told KSL.com. "To get to participate in thinking about how we can highlight the state's history and the collections is really just a beautiful gift that we can give to the state and to Utahns."
The massive project will replace the aging and abandoned State Office Building that was constructed over 60 years ago. The old building is slated to be torn down in mid-August, according to Jim Russell, the director of the Utah Division of Facilities and Construction Management. Construction of the new building should begin in the fall.
The entire project is estimated to cost $219 million, with $110 million coming over from money saved from the construction of the new Utah State Prison, Russell said. Gov. Spencer Cox has requested that $85 million go toward the North Capitol project, with another $7 million in ongoing funds, according to his 2023 budget. As of Monday, SB6, the legislative bill that covers all sorts of infrastructure and general government spending, lists $68 million toward the project.
It's unclear whether the proposed funds in SB6 would complete the remaining cost of the project.
There are also economic variables that can change the total cost of the project.
"Of course, we are concerned with the continued escalation of the construction market due to labor and material shortages," Russell added, in an email to KSL.com.
Still, the new building is now projected to open in either late 2025 or early 2026 — about 12 to 18 months later than originally anticipated because of earthquake mitigation work that is expected to lengthen the project timeline, Ortiz said.
The delay, however, puts the building right on track to open just in time for a major nationwide celebration.
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I am so excited!! We have known that something has been brewing to replace the State Office Building for a while as well as that the State has been contemplating building a Utah State Museum for some time now. BSL
reported as far back as 2016 that it was once considered for the Station Center redevelopment project, though that clearly never panned out.
I had hoped such a museum would be closer to City Hall, City Library, and The Leonardo - helping to further expand the Civic Center aspect of the area (all of our museums are unfortunately super spread out from each other, and this will be yet another one).
I still think a Utah State History Museum would be the perfect place to locate the Utah (Pantages) Theater skylight so that it would be much more accessible to the public than have it be used in a private residential tower. Heck, some of the chandeliers, some of the plasterwork (if preservable) or other detailing elements from the theater could possibly even be reused. If we are going to lose the theater, it would be at least nice to see some of the artifacts from it incorporated into the museum's design.
I'd argue incorporating at least a few elements would be a very nice and a somewhat healing move by the city and the state for those that aren't radical, but are still very sad to see the theater demolished.
Here's hoping those involved reads some of these posts and agrees.
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