Call it getting crowned by Whole Foods.

To clear space for that specialty grocer, developers plan to pluck Trolley's iconic water tower and nudge it 20 feet to the south as well as relocate the trolley car and venerable bank building to the mall's west end.

The metal moniker on 500 South, retrieved from downtown's old Orpheum Theatre, also will shift spots - albeit only yards to the west.

On Wednesday, Salt Lake City's Historic Landmark Commission is expected to greenlight the moves to make way for Utah's first Whole Foods store, a 50,000-square-foot market expected to monopolize Trolley's northeast corner.

But Tom Bard, principal at Oregon-based Trolley owner ScanlanKemperBard Cos., says developers will use a delicate touch to preserve the ambience at the old trolley complex.

"Our effort here is to make it consistent with its history," Bard said Monday. "They're beautiful, wonderful icons. The last thing in the world we'd like to do is to lose them."

Instead, uprooting the most visible item - the water tower - will be subtle. Provided city planners sign off, the tower - it no longer holds any water - is poised to take the spot of the neighboring trolley-car-turned-buffalo-wing bar.

Trolley Wing Co., as it is known, will be moved to the southwest side of the shopping center, where the dilapidated parking structure will be replaced with fresh retail and an outdoor terrace.

So, too, will the Sand House - the historic holding center for sand sprinkled on the trolley tracks in the winter - which now houses a Wells Fargo bank branch. Once relocated, the Sand House likely will host a new retailer, Bard said.

During a series of open houses, residents raised objections to any plan that ruined the mall's historic nature. But Nick Norris, project planner for the city, says the fears mostly have been eased.

"People are relatively supportive of the project," he said, "because the main character of Trolley Square is not being altered."

Count Councilwoman Nancy Saxton, whose district includes the mall, among the fans.

"I'm encouraged they're willing to keep the bank building," she said. "That's really admirable because it's expensive to move."

Saxton, who is running for mayor on a platform of preserving neighborhood districts, says the project will have a collateral effect.

"It's really a very important project for the city," she added. "That neighborhood is coming up and needs some help."

Moving the tower and trolley car means the end for a grove of trees and bushes. But Bard notes the makeover of the mall's west end will include plenty of landscaping.

"There will be pavers and walkways and fireplaces and benches," he said. "Having the trolley car there will just contribute to all that."

That portion of the work, including two new levels of underground parking off 600 East, should be complete next year to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the building of the trolley barns.

Whole Foods, which will include a mezzanine and two levels of rooftop parking, will open in 2009. The architectural design on the overhaul is expected to go before the landmark commission next month.

A residential component, planned for the parking lot south of 600 south, has been put on hold. The owners insist the move has nothing to do with the shooting spree at the mall Feb. 12, when 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic shot nine people in and around Trolley Square, killing five of them.

Meantime, Thomas Mutter, former chairman of the Central City Neighborhood Council, says he is pleased that Trolley's favorite fixtures will be saved.

"It seems like the developers are willing to listen."

djensen@sltrib.com

Relocating a relic

To better align with the downtown City Creek Center construction, developers want to relocate the ZCMI facade a little to the north. A petition by Property Reserve Inc., real estate arm of the LDS Church, to move the fixture at 15 S. Main St. will be considered Wednesday by Salt Lake City's Historic Landmark Commission.

Water tower

A new plan calls for the most visible structure at Trolley Square to be relocated 20 feet to the south to the spot now occupied by Trolley Wing Co.

Trolley Wing Co.

The trolley-car-turned-buffalo-wing-bar will be moved to the southwest side of the shopping center.

Sand House

The historic building will be moved to the southwest side of the shopping center. A Wells Fargo bank branch now occupies the building, but once relocated, the building probably will host a new retailer.