Ogden City is considering another purchase in the East-Central region and is dealing with government redevelopment there

OGDEN – After almost seven years of start and stop, a new plan for the redevelopment of a coveted city block in Ogden’s east-central neighborhood is in the works.

Brandon Cooper, Ogden’s assistant director of community and economic development, said the city’s redevelopment agency is working to acquire $ 460,000 worth of land at 856 25th St. The property in question is on the city block bounded on the north by 25th and 26th Streets and south and Monroe Boulevard and Gramercy Avenue to the east and west.

Cooper, known in town circles as the “Rite Aid Block” due to the drugstore chain’s longstanding presence, called the area a prime spot for redevelopment. He said the property the city is looking to buy, which is currently home to the 4C laundromat, is a necessary component in fulfilling the city’s ultimate vision for the block.

Cooper said the city’s RDA has been working on pre-development activities for the block since 2015. It was then that the city began setting up a redevelopment area called Oak Den Urban Renewal Area, which included the Rite-Aide Block. This prospective borough was a nine-block section to east Ogden that comprised 413 lots of 84 acres and stretched from 23rd to 26th Streets between Madison and Jackson Streets.

The initiative was abandoned in 2016 after local residents in the Oak Den area partnered with the Virginia-based law firm Institute for Justice to combat a provision in the measure that allowed the use of significant domains. The city has no plans to use any significant domain for future work related to the block.

Despite the abandonment of the large redevelopment area, Ogden officials have continued to prioritize the Rite-Aid block. The city or its current developer for the area, JF Capital, already owns most of the real estate on the block, Cooper said. There were three significant purchases in 2015 including an old IGA food building, a Wheelright Lumber facility, and a large single family home. Since then, the city has continued its buying activities. Cooper said the city kicked the tires on a suggestion to bring a Walmart to the construction site in 2016, but that idea never came to fruition.

“We just didn’t quite get what we thought was a perfect use for this block,” said Cooper. “It’s in the middle of our east-central neighborhood and we wanted to make sure that everything we do there is compatible with the neighborhood.”

In 2019, Ogden City Council approved a resolution designating a survey area for the block. This is the first step in creating a community reinvestment area called the Gramercy CRA. Credit rating agencies can redirect the tax score for all properties in a given area for a period of time or up to a certain dollar threshold, while future real estate tax increases are fed back into redevelopment projects.

The tool known as Tax Increment Financing is widely used by Ogden City as an incentive for developers to build.

Cooper said the current vision for the block, a proposal called Capitol Square, takes the “best parts” of previous city maps and includes a mix of apartment types, as well as office and retail space. A grocery store, plaza, condos, townhouses, apartments, and improved access to Oasis Community Garden and Lester Park are earmarked for the area.

Cooper said some early environmental samples of the 4-C property revealed the presence of a solvent that is typical of dry cleaning. He said the city will continue to investigate the area and will shortly issue a full environmental report characterizing the level of contamination and the associated costs of remediation.

The funds to purchase the site would come from the rental income cache of the city’s Business Depot Ogden. Janene Eller-Smith, executive director of Ogden City Council, said the purchase will require a change to the city’s budget for fiscal 2021. A public hearing on the matter is tentatively scheduled for March 23rd.

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