The church has offered an as-yet undisclosed amount for the Devereaux House, 334 W. South Temple, and the surrounding 3 acres.

Because the 148-year-old building is historically significant, there would be conditions.

The church would have to "maintain the historic character of not only the building but the grounds. It's a guarantee it will remain as is, well-cared for as a historic site," F. Keith Stepan, director of the state's Division of Facilities Construction and Management, said Tuesday.

The church doesn't yet have long-term plans for the mansion, church spokesman Dale Bills said.

Bills didn't say how long the church would continue to allow a private company to stage wedding receptions, banquets and luncheons in the mansion. When it bought out the nearby Triad Center last year to house a Brigham Young University satellite campus and LDS Business College, the church became the mansion's landlord. And a complicated lease arrangement with the state has the church running it through almost 2060, Stepan said.

Heritage Gardens has been using the Devereaux as a catering and reception center since 2003. General manager Kent Wilcox said the church hasn't given him notice that Heritage's year-to-year lease soon could end. He expects to continue to lease the mansion next year.

At the church's request, Heritage stopped serving alcohol in January, Wilcox said. The church lowered the rent in exchange.

"They were very generous with their lease negotiations. They asked us if we would not serve alcohol, which was no hard decision on our part. We'd done very, very few bars," Wilcox said.

The Devereaux became the Salt Lake Valley's first mansion in 1857. Mormon leader Brigham Young entertained dignitaries there. One of his sons bought the house and later sold it to William Jennings, a polygamist and prominent Salt Lake City merchant thought to be the city's first millionaire. Jennings named the mansion after his family's Devereaux estate in England.

The state bought the mansion in 1979, the same year the home almost burned down. It was renovated in 1984 and is listed on national and city historic registers.

Stepan said the church approached the state about buying the mansion. Because the parties are still negotiating, Stepan wouldn't reveal the price. And while the state normally would have to seek bids if it put a building up for sale, it isn't searching for other buyers for the Devereaux.

"With the restrictions on it, [it is] probably pretty limited in who would be interested," he said.

hmay@sltrib.com