We've been listening for three years to the LDS Church's promise of something really, really great to replace those behemoth box malls, Crossroads Plaza and ZCMI Center. And for too many years to count before that, we've watched the heart of downtown decay and crumble. The best minds have tried to resurrect the place as more businesses shuttered up and moved out.

Watching the church's unveiling of its project Tuesday felt like one of those perfect dreams where you get everything you want. It's so good you'd rather not wake up. To look out the window in the morning would mean certain disappointment.

This time it's real. When the city's biggest landlord steps up with its own financing and distinguished development team in place, you don't have to worry much about having the dream dashed.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't take LDS Presiding Bishop H. David Burton - basically the foreman of the project - at his word. He said on Tuesday he's looking forward to an open and thorough public vetting of City Creek Center in the next couple of months. The plans are available for comment on the Web - http://www.downtownrising.com - through November. And a model will be shopped around to the city's seven council districts.

This may be the most fascinating aspect of the project - beyond its construction, that is. The church clearly has learned something from the Main Street Plaza debacle at the dawn of this decade. You don't curry public favor with backroom deals and by stomping around like the 2-ton real estate gorilla. The church may own the downtown living room, but its leaders also know it takes all kinds of people to give it that homey, lived-in feel.

So let's all take Burton at his word. If you love the project, or if you hate it, let them know. If you have a suggestion for ways to make the site even more pedestrian-friendly, if you have an idea for a third anchor store (Nordstrom and Macy's being the other two), spit it out. What about the scheduled demolition of the historic Deseret Building (former home of First Security Bank) and Inn at Temple Square? Yes? No? Speak your mind.

My own reservations have to do with the ersatz version of City Creek that seems to be included. The real thing is flowing just one block away, after all. If we're calling it City Creek Center, couldn't we rely on its actual namesake as a design feature? And something else: Real estate developer Dan Lofgren of Utah-based Cowboy Partners was downright cagey about the anticipated price points for condominiums on the northeast side of the project. Reluctant to get even a wee bit specific, Lofgren minced around and took a pass under questioning by City Councilman Soren Simonsen about what defines the "moderately priced" section of housing.

If the goal is to entice people to live, work and play downtown, why not offer some serious options in real estate for the younger, just-getting-started set. Is a two-bedroom unit for under $175K all that unrealistic?

As for what truly reeled me in, it's the fresh sushi. At Harmons freakin' grocery store, if you can believe it. Finally, a supermarket downtown. Pinch me, somebody.

All things considered, you can sign me up, City Creek Center. Really, you had me at "California roll."

hmullen@sltrib.com