SANDY - An Orem-based developer hoisted the curtain Tuesday night on a big production planned for this southern Salt Lake County suburb.

Scott McQuarrie, president and chief executive of BTS Investments Inc., unveiled for the Sandy City Council plans for his 2 million-square-foot, 11-acre Proscenium development, which boasts a 2,400-plus seat Broadway-style playhouse.

The Proscenium also features three, 30-story towers - which would dominate Sandy's skyline - 600 condos, 800,000 square feet of offices and 400,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, including the Broadway theater.

"This is unbelievably exciting," Council Chairman Chris McCandless said. The 10-story Oracle office building at Jordan Commons is now Sandy's tallest tower.

Named for the arch that "framed" ancient Greek stages, The Proscenium is being touted as a cultural district, featuring not only the mega-theater, but also an "art walk," street performers, children's theater and black-box stage.

"It isn't exactly like Broadway in New York - wait a minute, it's exactly like New York," Proscenium spokesman Mark Hurst declared dramatically during Tuesday's presentation.

The $560 million project sits within an existing redevelopment area near 10000 South and Interstate 15, but it's unlikely to get a property-tax subsidy, said Sandy Economic Development Director Randy Sant.

Instead, the city plans to use the new property taxes spawned by The Proscenium to buy the $50 million-plus theater - it would be the first of its kind in Utah - from McQuarrie's Utah Pacific Holdings through a lease-to-own agreement. The city would hire a commercial operator.

But potential theater managers snubbed a March 13 application deadline imposed by Sandy, which still is seeking a company to run the playhouse.

Bob McTyre, McQuarrie's theater consultant and producer of "The Lion King" musical, noted an operator need not be in place until 2010, a year before the theater's scheduled opening with the rest of The Proscenium's first phase.

Farther north, Salt Lake City is racing to build its own Broadway stage downtown, where some arts enthusiasts argue such a playhouse would be best suited. Insiders say it is unlikely the Wasatch Front could support two such theaters.

Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan has said only one will be built - in his 'burb.

Salt Lake County has commissioned a cultural-arts study - due out late this summer - to determine the best spot for a Broadway-class playhouse.

To design Sandy's theater, McQuarrie has tapped North Carolina architect Phil Szostak, who crafted Durham's Performing Arts Center, now under construction. A rendering shows a modern aesthetic with a curvy, glass facade. Szostak is shooting for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Plans call for LEED standards at all Proscenium buildings - except the mammoth towers, which are planned to generate some of their own power through wind turbines.

Condos would range from $300,000 to two-level, $5 million-plus penthouses, said Darren Mansell, director of residential sales.

So, will buyers bite on high-rise lofts in suburban Sandy?

"We're breaking new ground," Mansell said. "I think we'll be surprised."

rwinters@sltrib.com