Downtown Ogden will be hosting a new high technology center for research, education and training. The High-Tech Center is also expected to bring 1,700 new jobs to the area. This unique project will be housed in the historic American Can Facility located at 20th Street and Lincoln Avenue. As currently conceived, the educational facilities are expected to support up to 1,000 students, while the center’s research park should employ between 1,200 to 1,500 students, researchers, and office support staff. The Ogden City Business Development Office is currently working with Ogden City Schools Superintendent Ted Adams to establish a high-tech high school within the center. Ogden has recently procured a $900,000 contract with Utah’s Industrial Assistance Fund to initiate the project. Developers are currently being interviewed to renovate the American Can Factory into an educational and research center. Additional property is being sought to provide sufficient parking to support the center’s expected commuter population. The center is expected to be open for business and classes to begin Spring Semester of 2003.
Ogden City 'new' Mall
The Ogden City Mall is now a piece of city history. It is gone - completely demolished.
Design Workshop prepared a master plan for the entire two-block site. The architecture will be an interpretation of Ogden architectural styles. A central entertainment plaza for community activities will include a zero-depth pop jet fountain in the summer and temporary ice skating or curling in the winter. This new mixed-use facility will include a combination of entertainment, recreation, restaurant, housing, retail and office uses. Although the plan describes the types of uses envisioned, the developer (or developers) selected by the Redevelopment Agency to undertake the project will significantly impact who the actual tenants will be.
Prospective developers have been provided copies of the plan and asked to submit letters of qualification and interest. The Redevelopment Agency expects to start selecting developer(s) in January 2003. Buildings will be constructed based upon tenants being ready, willing and able to move into the new space. Although the timeline is tentative, the City is hoping to see construction start sometime in the Fall.
River Project
The River Project is the redevelopment of a 28-acre area that includes part of the Odgen River. After some public controversy, work will begin in the area bound by Washington and Wall Avenues, and between 20th and 18th Streets, just north of the American Can Factory. The Ogden City Redevelopment Agency envisions a mixed-use community that preserves Ogden history while creating a new public space for culture, entertainment, urban housing, business, government and transportation. This area was declared a Redevelopment Area in August 2002. Prospective developers have been solicited and asked to submit letters of qualification and interest. These items will be reviewed when the RDA board meets in January.
The RDA board plans to purchase property in the area in increments called phases. The first phase planned for purchase in about one year is the area bound by Grant and Lincoln avenues. The property will then be sold to a developer, or several developers, for improvements. The City has hired a relocation specialist to assist current residents in finding and moving to a new home.
Union Square
This is the first of the mixed-use facilities to be started and completed by the Ogden Redevelopment Agency. Located on the 100-block of Historic 25th Street, Union Square will be a combination of 60 luxury town homes, landscaped courtyards, and 14 retail outlets on ground level.
Proterra Companies, Inc. is the primary development firm responsible for the project. Proterra specializes in revitalization projects in Utah cities. Grubb & Ellis Utah Realty and Prudential First Choice Real Estate are marketing the commercial and residential units. Nine residential units and four retail units are already sold.
Construction broke ground on March 15, 2002. At the time of this writing, the foundation has been poured, and the front commercial spaces have been framed. The Redevelopment Agency expects the first 30 residential units and all retail units to be completed early in the summer of 2003, with the entire project to be completed by next winter.
Floor plans, prices, and contact information are available on the Internet at JAMES BOHNE
www.proterrainc.com/unionsquare.
Winter 2003
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