The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wants to purchase part of a Provo street for the conversion of the Provo Tabernacle into a temple.
Church spokesman Scott Trotter said Thursday the church told the city it wants to buy a segment of 100 South to the south of the tabernacle. Trotter said the church has also made an offer on the Nu Skin Enterprises parking deck west of the tabernacle, which will become the Provo City Center Temple.
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"The offers are subject to the regular approval processes," Trotter said. "We look forward to working with the community in the continued development of this new temple."
"The city has had an interest in that discussion for a while," Provo Mayor John Curtis said. "Both the city and the church are going slow and methodical, and making sure we answer all the questions about it."
Curtis said part of that process was a traffic study the city conducted in late 2011 to see what effect closing 100 South would have on downtown.
David Graves, the city’s engineer, said earlier the study found that closing the road improved traffic flow in the downtown area. The study looked at two scenarios, one closing the street between University Avenue and 100 West, and another with the closure extended almost to Freedom Boulevard (200 West).
The next step in the process, Curtis said, would be to determine the fair-market value of the portion of the street.
City spokeswoman Helen Anderson said the city’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA) paid $1.025 million for the portion of 100 West between Center Street and 100 South. The RDA then gave the property to Nu Skin Enterprises, which is building an atrium and plaza between its corporate headquarters and Nu Skin Innovations Center, which is now under construction.
Anderson said the city will make back the money through property tax Nu Skin will pay over the next two years.
Attempts to contact Nu Skin spokeswoman Kara Schneck about the offer to buy Nu Skin’s parking deck were not successful.
The 129-year-old tabernacle was gutted by a Dec. 17, 2010, fire. In October 2011, the church announced it would restore the building to its 1880s appearance — complete with a center spire that was removed in 1917 —and dedicate it as the second LDS temple in Provo.
The church purchased the Travel Lodge Motel and the Los Tres Amigos restaurant south of the tabernacle and has since razed those buildings. It also purchased the lot where the Hotel Roberts once stood.
Trotter earlier said the church purchased the properties to preserve options as it turns the tabernacle into a temple.
LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson said in October’s General Conference that the Provo City Center Temple would take pressure off the Provo Temple, which he said was one of the busiest in the church.
Twitter: @donaldwmeyers
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