OGDEN — Ogden leaders are moving forward with plans to purchase a historic art deco building from the U.S. government and envision converting part of it into affordable housing for artists.
The Ogden Redevelopment Agency Board, made up of City Council members, approved moves last week to finalize a purchase agreement for the four-story building at 507 25th Street, completed in 1934 and home until recently to the U.S. Forest Service. Ogden would pay $3.6 million for the building, and the officials authorized appropriation of $360,000 in earnest money to acquire the structure and $240,000 more to cover building maintenance in the near term pending finalization of a deal.
The action notwithstanding, Janene Eller-Smith, who manages the Ogden City Council office, indicated Monday that conversion of the building could take time. Salt Lake City-based Giv Group has submitted a plan to redevelop the building after any deal with the U.S. government goes through. But she said the developer may need up to two years to finalize financing plans, which potentially include use of federal tax credits aimed at promoting creation of affordable housing.
Acquisition plans passed on Dec. 10 in a 5-2 vote of the Ogden Redevelopment Agency Board. Bart Blair, who cast one of the two “no” votes, called the proposal a “want rather than a need.” Mayor Ben Nadolski, however, who favors the plans, noted the distinctive features of the building, which he feared could be put in jeopardy without the city’s involvement.
“For me it was the historic element and nature of building that I just couldn’t put at risk,” Nadolski said. The Forest Service building ranks with Ogden High School and the Ogden Municipal Building as key examples of the art deco projects of Ogden architects Leslie Hodgson and Myrl McClenahan.
Monday was the deadline for the city to formally accept the $3.6 million sale offer for the building of the U.S. General Services Administration. Congress would need to sign off on the transaction, which could take three to four months. Meantime, details of the planned use of the structure are emerging.
The building is located within Ogden’s Nine Rails Creative District, a zone the city is promoting as an arts destination, and the Giv Group proposal, with the backing of Ogden administrators, aligns with that vision, as city officials see it. The Giv Group plan, said Sara Meess, economic development director of Ogden, is a “unique opportunity” to preserve the building and use it as an arts hub.
The developer proposes a mix of studio and performance space on the main level and basement and 40 to 50 housing units on the upper floors geared to “artists and other creatives,” according to Meess. The housing would be earmarked for households earning 45% to 85% of the average median income. What’s more, the preliminary proposal calls for creation of a “perpetual housing fund” allowing building tenants to get a share of proceeds from project development to help them build wealth.
The city would issue up to $4.5 million in bonds to cover acquisition costs and then likely sell if for perhaps around $1 million, recouping the balance through tax-increment financing, essentially the property tax revenue the building would generate, or at least a share of it. As is, the building is federally owned and, as such, the city doesn’t collect taxes on it.
According to earlier city estimates, the building could need $13.3 million to $22.5 million in additional investment for renovations, seismic upgrades and parking lot development.
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