The board of The Leonardo apparently has had an epiphany of pragmatism. It has scaled back and phased its plans for the building, the former Salt Lake City Library on Library Square, so that it can open The Leonardo within the limits of available funds, including the $10.2 million that city voters approved for this purpose in 2003.

The board will take this plan to the City Council on Tuesday. We congratulate the council for performing due diligence on this project in the past, and we encourage it to continue. After all, it is council skepticism of the previous plans for The Leonardo that has forced its backers to offer a much more realistic proposal.

So far, the council has refused to commit the bond funds until it is assured that the institution's business plan has a reasonable chance for success. Our cursory look at the latest plan suggests that it is much closer to meeting that standard.

The Leonardo's board now says it can open the building in 2009 as a fully functioning art and science center for about $11 million. That amount would include $2.5 million for asbestos removal and a seismic-safety retrofit.

In the meantime, however, The Leonardo already has done about $85,000 worth of upgrades to the building in preparation for hosting Gunther von Hagens' “Body Worlds 3,” a controversial though fascinating exhibition of authentic human bodies that have been preserved with plastics and are displayed to show the various human systems and organs. It's art meets anatomy.

The exhibition is scheduled to open Sept. 19 for a four-month run. It should be a spectacular way to introduce the public to The Leonardo and what will be possible there, and thus to build fund-raising momentum.

And fund-raising will be key. The Leonardo is estimating a $3.3 million annual operating budget, about half of which will be covered by earned income. Whether the goal for donations is realistic is one thing the council must evaluate.

But even if The Leonardo were to fail, the taxpayers' money from the bond will have been spent to upgrade a public building that the city still will own. Little would be lost, except the opportunity to create a wonderful institution combining education in the arts and sciences. In the spirit of Leonardo.