The Church's new assembly building, under construction on the block north of Temple Square, will be named the Conference Center, according to a decision made Aug. 19 by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve.
Construction on the newly named building is back on track after it escaped serious damage in a tornado that hit Salt Lake City Aug. 11. The building was directly in the path of the tornado, according to Thomas Hanson, who is managing the project for the Church.
Although construction work was held up for a couple of days after the tornado, Brother Hanson said, "We don't feel the impact was serious enough for us to worry about it setting back the completion date."
The April 2000 completion date still remains the goal. The Conference Center will have a capacity of 21,000 in its fan-shaped auditorium for general conference sessions, pageants and other events.
Brother Hanson said the most significant damage from the tornado was done to a stationary crane that had one of its arms blown down onto the roof of the building. The toppled crane did some damage to the roof and some of the granite facing on the building. However, Brother Hanson said the damage wasn't as serious as it could have been and that the crane was no longer needed on the site. It was scheduled to be removed the following Monday anyway.
Other damage included the loss of some large styrofoam blocks that were to be used as fillers in planter boxes on the roof, trees from the roof landscaping and the toppling of scaffolding on the exterior of the building. Brother Hanson said the cost of the destructive storm is still being assessed.
But, he added: "We were extremely fortunate that we were not further along on the construction or there would have been more damage done. The building is still open so the pressure was equalized as the tornado went over. If we had had all the windows in, it could have been much worse."
There were 80 construction workers on the roof of the building as the tornado approached, but they saw it coming and were able to get inside to safety, Brother Hanson said. He noted that four workers needed medical attention and no one was seriously injured.
"In our view, we were extremely blessed that we didn't have more damage to the building and injuries to people," he concluded.
Meanwhile, finish work is beginning in the orchestra foyer on the south side of the building with drywall installation steadily progressing. The finish work is progressing from the southeast corner of the building to the northwest, the same as with the rough construction. The granite on the exterior is nearly finished on the south side of the building and doors and windows are being installed.
At the same time, the footings have just recently been poured on the northwest corner.
