By Steven Oberbeck
The Salt Lake Tribune
Questar Corp. is getting ready to move from its long-time headquarters building in downtown Salt Lake City to new digs four blocks away.
The energy company, whose Questar Gas Supply utility provides natural gas for most Utah homes and businesses, will be the anchor tenant in a new $45 million downtown office building to be built on State Street between 300 South and 400 South. The new structure is expected to have retail and restaurant space on the ground floor.
The building, to be constructed by Wasatch Commercial Management, will be energy-efficient and is going to change the Salt Lake City skyline, Wasatch spokeswoman Vicki Varela said Friday.
"It is going to be a spectacular addition to the south end of downtown."
Varela declined to reveal when construction would begin, the square footage or how many stories the new Questar headquarters will have, indicating those details will be unveiled during a formal announcement Tuesday.
"I have to keep something back for Tuesday."
However, the recently opened 461,000 square-foot, 22-story office tower at 222 S. Main St. cost approximately $125 million to build, or around $271 per square foot. If the square-foot construction costs for Questar's new headquarters are similar, the $45 million building could have approximately 166,000 square feet.
Questar's existing headquarters on the southwest corner of 100 South and 200 East was built in 1957, when the company was known as Mountain Fuel Supply.
The original four-story building was expanded several times over the years. A major $21 million expansion took place beginning in 1994 when an eight-story addition was added to the L-shaped headquarters building, turning it into a rectangle.Questar owned the building with its familiar blue-flame sign until 1999.
"Our board of directors decided to sell the building — the current owner is Wells Real Estate Investment Trust — and use the capital in part to expand the company's exploration and production business,"said Questar spokesman Darren Shepherd.
He said the company's lease on the building runs out in 2012.
Last month, Questar spun off its unregulated oil and natural gas exploration and production units into a separate entity based in Denver that is now known as QEP Resources. Questar's shareholders received a tax-free dividend of one share of QEP stock for each share that they owned of Questar.
Questar kept its regulated businesses, which include Questar Pipeline and Questar Gas.
Shepherd said there are approximately 400 Questar employees who will be moving from the existing downtown headquarters to the new State Street building once construction is completed.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The new vision for Salt Lake City encompasses ideas large and small, bold and restrained - for shaping downtown's future. 