Toaster unplugged, awaits fate
Though it is now vacant, the future of the Golden Toaster church at 650 N. 1200 East is still uncertain, according to university officials.
The Golden Toaster has been a part of the Logan community for more than 60 years. The building, nicknamed for its box-like shape, belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until May 2012, when the church agreed to exchange the property for nine acres of university-owned land at 1200 E. 1100 North.
Since the university bought the property two years ago, USU students have speculated what the building would be used for.
“I’ve heard a few different things, but my understanding was that the university was using it for office space,” said Ryan Larsen, a senior.
USU student Megan Hewlett said she heard it would be used for the art department. Another speculation was that the property would be made in to a parking lot.
David Cowley, vice president for business and finance at USU, said the university is still unclear on what it will do with the property.
“We’ve really wanted that property in that location for decades,” Cowley said. “It’s never been about what we specifically wanted to do with the property. It’s more that the location is desirable.
“So now that we own the property, we can start considering options for what we might do there someday.”
Part of the exchange agreement was that the church could continue to use the building until a new church building was built. The church occupied the Golden Toaster until fall 2013 and has been vacant ever since.
The building will remain vacant until it is demolished, most likely within the next 18 months, according to Cowley.
Jeff Counts, the director of production services for Caine College of the Arts, said USU’s art department was interested in the property.
“At one point, there was hope we’d be able to use it for classroom space and studio space,” Counts said. “But there would have been a lot of expenses to get the building up to university code, and it wasn’t the kind of money we wanted to put into it. We never did anything other then think about it, and it never came to pass.”
Because the property is adjacent to the Caine College of the Arts, Cowley said it would make sense for a new building to be built to support the college.
“On the other hand, we’re not ready, and we do not have funding to do a project like that,” he said. “So even though that is the desire of the Caine College of the Arts, it’s going to be a project that they would have to fundraise for.”
Another option to pay for a new facility on campus is to acquire state funding. However, it is usually the highest-priority projects that receive financial help from the state.
According to Cowley, the Golden Toaster property is not the university’s highest priority. USU is working to receive funding for an “instructional buildings project,” which consists of a new building on the campus in Price, Utah, and one at the Brigham City campus.
“That’s our highest university priority right now,” Cowley said. “The next project after those buildings would be looking at a new science building that is intended to be located where the old Ag Sci building used to be, between the Building of Natural Resources and the Eccles Conference Center.”
Cowley said defining the highest priority for the institution comes down to looking at space needs.
“Right now we have need for additional class laboratories, which is why that science building makes such good sense,” he said. “At the center, we’re always trying to make sure that our facility projects are in line with serving the needs of the students.”
If the Caine College of the Arts isn’t able to raise enough money for a new building at the Toaster site, the property will be left as a grassy area until the appropriate project comes along.
“Beyond the college of the arts, there’s nothing else that’s being considered for that site at the moment,” Cowley said. “We don’t really have a plan B.”
-sarah.men@aggiemail.usu.edu