The shock of demolition and raw excavation has been replaced with the optimism of concrete and steel rising in downtown Salt Lake City.

Workers in orange and green reflective vests swarm daily in and around the City Creek Center project. There is a steady flow of cement trucks and other construction vehicles in and out of the area. Several fixed cranes rise above the skyline.

"Construction at City Creek Center is well under way, on schedule and increasingly visible above ground," according to Dale Bills, a spokesman for City Creek Reserve Inc., an affiliate of the church.



The project, which according to President Gordon B. Hinckley is to "protect the environment of the Salt Lake Temple," is about 2 1/2 years along since the beginning of demolition at the end of 2006. It primarily covers the blocks directly south of Temple Square (the former Crossroads Mall) and the Church Office Building (the former ZCMI Center).

Elements of the new City Creek Center will be opening as they are completed over the next three years, concluding with the retail center in 2012. The development will include retail, residential and office components.

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This story is provided by The LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by The Deseret News.