SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 8, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will hold a public open house Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., at its new building, a block from Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City.
This new structure will serve as a meetinghouse for Church members and as a commercial office tower, according to a Friday new release.
“The idea came to have a joint-use space and build an office tower and combine that with a meetinghouse, and it’s a very economical way to do it,” said Bishop L. Todd Budge of the Church’s Presiding Bishopric, which oversees the construction of places of worship for the global faith.
“We started construction in April of 2019. So, it’s been about three years, but it’s a magnificent 25-story building,” Budge said.
The building is the third tallest in Salt Lake City, standing at 395 feet, the news release said.
The new 39,000-square-foot, four-story meetinghouse is at the base of the new 95 State Office Tower, although it has a separate address from the office tower, the release continues.
“This downtown block has always really been a place of gathering, a place of community,” said Emily Utt, curator of the Church History Department. “It’s kind of exciting that there’s now a new building almost on the exact same site that is a place of gathering.”
A steeple was placed next to the meetinghouse entrance that faces Social Hall Avenue, once the location for Latter-day Saint pioneers to gather for social events. The original structure, known as Social Hall, was built in 1852 under the direction of President Brigham Young.
A memorial with remnants of the original structure is encased in an underground tunnel entrance to the buildings. The original Social Hall remained a place of social events until 1922.
Church leaders have named the place of worship as the Social Hall Avenue Meetinghouse, at 110 East Social Hall Avenue.
The new meetinghouse has two chapels and can host two congregations at the same time, each with a capacity of 500 people. Six wards (congregations) will gather in the building, including two for young single adults. It was built to accommodate a growing number of residential complexes in the downtown area and promote a more walkable community, the news release said.
The development includes a roof terrace, which can be used by office tenants during the day and Church groups in the evenings.
“A Sunday School room where the women’s Relief Society organization meets has all the features of a traditional classroom combined with a spectacular view,” according to the release.
“The unique development in Utah’s fast-growing capital city models some of the Church’s other urban meetinghouses around the world.
“New York, London, Brussels and Alexandria, Virginia are all cities that are expensive and real estate is difficult to acquire. And so, we’ve been able to do these types of joint-use facilities to make it a much more economical proposition,” Bishop Budge said.
“Having the office tower provides a source of revenue to pay for the meetinghouse. And so, we’re trying to be wise stewards of these sacred resources that the Lord has blessed us with,” he added.
Congregations can use parking in existing garages on Social Hall Avenue, with special needs parking available on the Harmons roof parking structure.
The tower and meetinghouse were developed by City Creek Reserve, a real estate investment affiliate of the Church. Okland Construction was the general contractor. Church tithes were not used to construct the office tower.
The dedication is scheduled for Sunday, April 10, and will be conducted by Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Utah Area president. For more information on the office space, visit https://www.95stateslc.com/.
