STREET Magazine ONLINE

RENAISSANCE

Ogden's Airport Gateway Center

Fly-boys. They were the playboy adventurers and the techno-geeks of yesteryear. They tinkered with gliders and contraptions of just about every conceivable design. Known for their giant egos and soaring spirits, they were the fools and dreamers who built the defining industry of the twentieth century. More than anything else…they were visionaries.

In 1903 Theodore Roosevelt was president. William Glasmann was mayor of Ogden City, which was thriving on railroad business. Twenty-fifth Street was a bustling city center with some of the finest shops in the West. Electric-powered street lamps lit up manicured streets and avenues. We had the best water supply in all of Utah. Canneries, mills and granaries shipped local products to every state in the Union. And the internal combustion engine was still a new invention.

In Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilber Wright mounted one of these new engines onto a simple glider, and for the first time in history a man-operated machine flew under its own power. It was no more than a puddle-jump – a mere 120 feet – but it launched the new century into an era of aviation travel and commercial transport.

Well, not right away. The practical application of manned air-travel was not yet evident to investors. The sky belonged to flamboyant daredevils and clowns known as barnstormers until the 1920s when mass production of light aircraft with air-cooled engines put flying within financial reach of many enthusiasts.

That is until young Charles Lindberg almost single-handedly changed public opinion of aviation by making the first transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. The year was 1927. His flight convinced investors that the industry had a bright future and attracted millions in investment dollars.

In Ogden, a group of businessmen and enthusiasts took notice. They formed the Red Raven Flying Club consisting of a single Lincoln Standard plane and canvass hanger. The next year in 1928, Ogden City had the foresight to establish the Ogden Municipal Airport at the southern end of the city. Robert Hinkley and Dean Brimhall jumped on the opportunity, starting the Utah Pacific Airways, which became a business anchor for the airport. At the end of 1929, the Great Depression hit the United States and slowed further development of the fledgling airport industry.

During the Depression era, cargo and postal service drove the air transport industry. Passenger service was limited by the state of airplane technology until mid-1940 when comfortable pressurized cabins were manufactured as standard features. With these newer passenger planes, Western Airlines and United Airlines began scheduling passenger and mail service to Ogden. In 1960 those services were discontinued locally in favor of the larger facilities at Salt Lake Airport.

That was then.

In the new millennium, the Salt Lake Airport is congested with activity – more so now that homeland security measures have been added to regular departure procedures. Industry in the Ogden area has grown with the Information Age. The 2002 Winter Olympics and Everwood television series give the city visibility. A new destination resort at nearby Snowbasin Sun Valley adds to the area’s attractiveness. Ogden City offers an enticing package of incentives to draw and retain businesses. And according to a Boyd Company study, the Ogden area is one of the least expensive cities in the West to run a corporate office.

Many of us have become hopeful, even enthusiastically bullish on Ogden. This magazine was founded to highlight the city’s achievements and history to showcase our pride in the community. We are not alone. Among those who share our optimistic view of the future of Ogden City and the surrounding areas is developer Mel Kemp. He, along with Dan Kemp and Project Manager Bryce Gibby envision a thriving new commercial center for aerospace and allied support industries at Ogden-Hinkley Airport.

Currently under construction, the Ogden Airport Gateway Center is a privately owned thirty-acre business air park. Their plans call for over forty-five structures ranging from a balanced mix of premier hangars, class A office space, warehouses, a hotel, restaurants, and upscale retail centers. This commercial center is for tenant businesses offering jet maintenance, repair, overhaul and support for local corporate jets, business and traveling visitors.

An independent study by Thomas Consultants estimates the center will produce 1,000 on-site jobs in 2006 increasing to a total 1,221 jobs by the end of 2010, and paying out $55 million of annual gross employment income. Those salaries are expected to result in $32 million in local retail sales. In addition the study estimates that by 2010 the center will be serving up to 488,000 customers yearly, resulting in $9.6 million in direct retail sales.

Like flying and life, all business ventures are a calculated risk. Even then, in the end it comes down to a healthy dose of judgement, faith, and an instinct for knowing which way the wind blows.