History preservationists can't celebrate yet, but they - and the public - have persuaded church officials to hold off on demolishing the historic structure while the church studies alternatives.

"We have heard loud and clear there is interest in trying to preserve the building," Mark Gibbons, president of the church's real estate arm, said Thursday. "We've listened to public comment and want to make certain every rock has been overturned."

Gibbons, the head of Property Reserve Inc., didn't know how long it would take before deciding what to do with the 87-year-old structure. Meantime, the church will work on demolishing other structures on the Crossroads Plaza and ZCMI Center blocks to make way for an estimated $1 billion development called City Creek Center. The new mall will include less retail than the existing malls, around 400 housing units, a grocery store and a representation of the south fork of City Creek running through much of it.

The church planned to tear down the Deseret Bank building, 79 S. Main St., and replace it with a new office tower. Church officials said a seismic renovation of the 1919 tower would cost "tens of millions" of dollars and even then couldn't accommodate office or housing units and be profitable. The floors are too tightly spaced and the structural columns too close together for modern office design, according to the church.

But last week, the Utah Heritage Foundation publicly pleaded with the church to reconsider. The group also urged the public to voice their opinions.

Gibbons said he has been in contact with members of the Eccles family, whose banking empire was headquartered in the building. From 1932 to 2000, the bank housed First Security Bank, founded by the Eccles family. Gibbons wouldn't say whether Spence Eccles, former CEO of First Security Corporation, or Lisa Eccles, executive director of the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, which is housed in the tower, had urged the church to save the building.

The church's retail partner, Michigan-based Taubman Centers, has OK'd the reprieve, Gibbons said. There had been speculation among some downtown stakeholders that the church had to go forward with the demolition because retailers were counting on it being replaced with nicer office space, which would mean more tenants and more potential shoppers. An effort was under way to pressure the Utah Heritage Foundation to back off so that City Creek Center wouldn't be delayed.

Kirk Huffaker, assistant director of the foundation, said he is "very pleased" with the church's decision. He believes one of the best preservation options is to convert the space into housing. "We think that the building has great reuse potential and we look forward to sharing more information."

But City Councilman Carlton Christensen said he would be surprised if the church can preserve the building as it is. The church already had studied for two years whether it could protect the structure and concluded it couldn't, Christensen noted. He wonders if the church will try to save the façade, like another developer did with the Brooks Arcade building on the corner of State Street and 300 South, to the derision of preservationists. ''Then I have to scratch my head and say, 'What are they really saving?' ''

Still, Christensen added: "I have to give them credit for rethinking it."

The church is moving forward with the demolition of another historic building, the Inn at Temple Square. The Utah Heritage Foundation didn't seek to protect that 1930 building, and it will be torn down next month to make room for a residential tower.

hmay@sltrib.com