While the economic crisis has silenced hundreds of real estate projects around the country, 1,100 construction workers are toiling on a 20-acre development here that is springing up across the street from the Mormon Temple in the center of downtown.

A private development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, City Creek Center will be the largest mixed-use project in Salt Lake City.

When completed in 2012, it will encompass 900,000 square feet of retailing, including an outdoor pedestrian shopping mall capped by 115 apartments; 1.6 million square feet of office space in eight buildings; a grocery store; and five residential towers with about 600 condominiums.

Located at the intersection of the city’s primary commercial and ecclesiastical corridors, Main and South Temple Streets, the City Creek site, which is owned by the church, previously housed two poorly performing malls.  The development will also feature six acres of public spaces and a retractable glass roof over the retail component. A man-made creek will run through the property.

The project features sweeping promenades and urban plazas “in line with the great plazas in Italy,” said Joe Collins, a project architect with Zimmer Gunsul Frasca.

Fountains that include fire and bells — designed by the company responsible for water features at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas — will grace one of the plaza. 

City Creek’s retractable glass roof will provide protection for shoppers during inclement weather. To integrate the project with the surrounding neighborhood, City Creek planners put all parking underground.

City Creek’s two-story 100-store retail center consists of several structures and will be developed by Taubman Centers, a developer based in Michigan, which is investing $75 million.  The center will provide more upscale shopping than currently found in Salt Lake City.