Intermountain takes 1st step to transform old Sears site into 'urban hospital'
Intermountain takes 1st step to transform old Sears site into 'urban hospital'
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SALT LAKE CITY — Intermountain Healthcare is taking the first step toward reimagining a downtown block as demolition crews inch closer to tearing down an old Sears department store that stood there for decades.
A law firm for Intermountain Healthcare filed an application with Salt Lake City Tuesday, seeking to rezone the Sears block from a downtown support district (D-2) to a central business district (D-1) to "accommodate a new downtown, urban hospital," according to an application obtained by KSL.com.
The document also asks for the city to amend its D-1 zone requirements to allow for ambulance service and other elements related to a hospital.
"As the city has known for some time, the Sears property has been in dire need of improvement and redevelopment for many years. The unique location of the block, directly on the southern border of downtown and right along State Street, makes it a prime location for a unique project in general, and an urban hospital in particular," the law firm wrote in an adjoining letter.
Intermountain Healthcare owns more than just the old Sears building property. It holds 10 parcels totaling 9.22 acres, the document notes. It spans from 700 South to 800 South and Main Street to State Street, just south of Salt Lake City's downtown skyscrapers.
The health care company acquired the land last year, three years after Sears closed its department store on the block. Crews started tearing down the building last month.
It's unclear what an urban hospital would look like. KSL.com reached out to Intermountain Healthcare regarding the rezoning proposal but a spokesman declined the comment on it. He said that Intermountain has no "immediate announcements" to make and that it is "still working to finalize plans for the site."
The application letter does offer some additional details about what Intermountain Healthcare has in mind, though. It states that the project would "create and serve as an anchor and bookend on the south end of downtown," noting that the current zone for it offers constraints, including building height.
The law firm writes that the rezone would offer "flexibility in building height" but would not be "out of character for the area" because there are buildings like the Grand America Hotel two blocks from the site. It adds that it would allow for a project design that "better incorporates permeability and walkability of the property" as compared to the current zone.
At the same time, the application argues that the project falls in line with the city's long-term downtown vision.
"A hospital will accomplish the goals of reurbanizing south State while not disrupting the integrity of the neighborhoods to the east," the law firm writes. "It would also serve those neighborhoods by providing needed health care services within walking distance to many residents."Demolition crews continue work to tear down an old Sears department store Thursday in Salt Lake City. Representatives for Intermountain Healthcare filed paperwork on Tuesday to rezone the property to make way for a "downtown, urban hospital." (Photo: Carter Williams, KSL.com)
The rezoning proposal will also have to go through a public process before it's approved by the Salt Lake City Council.
Intermountain Healthcare currently operates two hospitals in Salt Lake City: LDS Hospital in the Avenues neighborhood and Primary Children's Hospital by the University of Utah. It's unclear how the proposal would impact services for either of those hospitals.
A new downtown hospital would tack onto other plans in Intermountain's future. The company also acquired 35 acres in Ephraim, which will be used for a new hospital in central Utah, Ephraim Crossing, a master-planned community in the city, announced in September.
Intermountain will serve as an anchor tenant of the new community, the development company said. The other remaining 105 acres will offer a variety of housing and entertainment, as well as retail and office space.×
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Carter Williams is an award-winning reporter who covers general news, outdoors, history and sports for KSL.com. He previously worked for the Deseret News. He is a Utah transplant by the way of Rochester, New York.
Emily Ashcraft joined KSL.com as a reporter in 2021. She covers courts and legal affairs, as well as health, faith and religion news.
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