Many shops in the malls have moved or closed. And Taubman Centers Inc., the Michigan-based company working on the redevelopment with the LDS Church, hoped to begin a major overhaul on what it is calling The Shops at City Square.

Didn't happen.

Will it this year?

The LDS Church isn't saying. And after talking with Mayor Rocky Anderson on Tuesday about downtown, LDS Presiding Bishop H. David Burton declined comment about what they discussed or the construction timeline. So did Anderson, citing the private nature of the meeting.

The church plans to reconfigure its two malls and add up to 900 housing units on the two blocks.

City planners expect action this year because that's what they were told last year.

And the church is making headway on clearing out tenants from the KeyBank Tower, 50 S. Main St., which it wants to demolish. But the owner of another key piece of property remains in the dark.

"We don't know where we'll be, where we're going or a timetable," said Bart Stringham, president of Utah Woolen Mills, 59 W. South Temple. "We thought we would know something last year, by the end of last year. We keep expecting. . . . The rumor that we've heard is it could be as much as a year before anything gets going."

Utah Woolen Mills is an important piece in the puzzle because it has a long-term lease and owns property on the Crossroads block. The church must figure out where to place the shop before proceeding.

Nordstrom is set for part of the Utah Woolen Mills space, as well as space occupied by the adjacent Inn at Temple Square. The hotel was once scheduled to end operations last month, but is guaranteeing reservations at least through April.

Bruce Reading, with the law firm Scalley & Reading, said his 40 employees are moving this week from KeyBank to Gateway Tower West, 15 W. South Temple, and he said other KeyBank tenants are emptying out.

He noted that the church wanted to pull down the tower last fall. He hasn't been told a new deadline.

"They're just being very close to the chest about it. When you're [also] dealing with firms like Vancott and Richards Brandt [two KeyBank tenants] - they're sizable negotiators. Two fairly large gorillas in a very small jungle," Reading said of the two law firms.

Bennion Jewelers is supposed to move from a storefront on the ZCMI Center block to 107 S. Main St. this month. Owner Bill Bennion said the move was fast-tracked so the church could tear down three buildings on the ZCMI block to make room for a housing tower.

He said he would be "floored" if the buildings aren't demolished this spring.

Louis Zunguze, director of the city's Community Development Department, said planners are ready when the church is. The city has not issued any building or demolition permits related to the malls, he said.

"Something is about to happen sometime. We are ready. We're just waiting for their word."

hmay@sltrib.com