By Angela Fischer
Danceless Provo will soon be dancing again when The Vault, a dance club and lounge, opens this fall in the new Wells Fargo building.
After the closure of Club Omni, Provo has been clubless, but city officials and students support this new dance club downtown.
Construction on the interior will begin the end of May and the club plans to open in August ? just in time for fall semester
?We feel students deserve more than what they?ve been given as far as quality and expectations of a dance club,? said Mario Uceda, 25, UVSC student from New York City studying Business and co-owner of The Vault. ?The Vault has a better feel and look ? it?s a little taste of home for students from the East and West Coasts, yet with a clean and fresh atmosphere and BYU standards.?
BYU students are interested in a club that will maintain their same high standards.
?Everybody is up for clean fun and dancing,? said Nikki Seymour, 22, from Washington, majoring in communications. ?We often don?t go clubbing because it has a bad connotation among BYU students, but if it?s just good clean fun ? why not??
Uceda said the club will include an international mix blended to create a melting pot of dance and music. International BYU students such as Maria Manzos, 20, from Ukraine, studying art history, find this as a way to connect to their culture.
?I used to go to clubs in Ukraine, but apparently they are not the same in the states ? I heard they were dirty,? she said. ?I hope this new club will provide great entertainment for those who love to dance in a clean and nice atmosphere.?
The Vault will be complemented by an ultra lounge and caf?. The club will host theme nights with different genres of music and dance instruction from swing to top 40s. The Vault will invite DJs from New York City and California to bring a more coastal flavor of music to Utah.
Uceda and his brother John are partners in The Vault. They are originally from Peru, but spent sixteen years in New York City. They are fusing their travel experiences and culture to create a new mixture for their club in downtown Provo.
The Vault will cater to college students, especially BYU students with an alcohol and smoke-free environment. But the Vault will not only be for the young crowd, it will provide dancing for all people.
Some may fear that residents in the condominiums upstairs would oppose loud music into wee-hours of the night, but Karolee Mehew, Prudential Utah real estate agent selling the condominiums said residents, including a young couple, a BYU professor and a senior couple, are thrilled about the club and won?t be bringing a supply of ear plugs to their new condos.
?I don?t think the noise from the club will have any effect on the residents because the condos don?t start until the fifth floor and there is so much concrete and steel in between that I don?t think they?ll even know it?s down there,? Mehew said.
David Runnells, leasing agent for Wells Fargo building, said when it heats up at night, the club will provide a nice atmosphere for traffic in the downtown area, especially attracting students on weekends.
Provo City officials do not oppose the new club. Paul Warner, Provo City councilman, said the city tightened restrictions with security, camera surveillance and metal detectors for Club Omni, because there had been problems in the past; a boy was even shot and killed there. Club Omni complied with restrictions, but it cost money and the owner wasn?t able to keep the club alive. The Vault will adhere to the same safety restrictions.
?If it?s just a dance club with no alcohol ? forward ho,? Warner said. ?If it caters to a group that causes problems and brings an undesirable element, like a drug hangout, then the city council would have issues. But if it?s a wholesome club where the kids just dance and have a good time, that?s great and I don?t have a problem with that.?
