Ogden's Union Station is the epicenter of a major economic development drive
OGDEN — Union Station and the surrounding railyards area may be reborn as the epicenter of economic and transportation vibrancy in the Ogden region, according to business, community and technology planners.
The impending 150th anniversary of the joining of the transcontinental railroad has drawn attention to what might be possible for economic development and expansion of freight rail and passenger transit.
“Our economy really does ride on the rails,” said Val Hale, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
Officials list several areas where the Ogden railyards sector may blossom in the decades ahead.
UNION STATION
In some ways, the vision starts and ends with Union Station. The 160,000-square-foot depot at Historic 25th Street and Wall Avenue was built in 1924. It anchored Ogden when the city was one of the nation’s major rail hubs.
“There’s a reason that for a few decades Ogden had the highest number of per capita millionaires in America,” Hale said. “Ogden was a railroad town, with all the railroad industries and banks. A lot of wealth went through there.”
By planning to fully restore the 95-year-old depot, Ogden City hopes at the same time to galvanize development in the neighboring area.
“It’s very important that we preserve Union Station for the community benefit in the long term,” said Tom Christopulos, the city’s economic development director.
“As a sole project, it will be very, very expensive, if it is done in the right way,” he said. “We have been slapping on patches for decades. We need to get it back up and fully restored, but we haven’t quite figured out how yet.”
UNION STATION PROJECT AREA
A large sector of underdeveloped Ogden is seen as the canvas for what in its early stages is being called the Union Station project area. It is bordered by Lincoln Avenue on the east, 20th and about 26th streets to the north and south, and west to the 20th Street Pond and the old landfill in West Ogden.
“That area in our outlook is underdeveloped as far as its potential for more intentional development, much the same as we have done in the central city,” Christopulos said.
Planners are drafting a 20-year plan that in phases may see housing, office space, other business developments, and recreationally involved “greenspace” projects around the Weber River, much as has been done along the Ogden River.
With Business Depot Ogden approaching maturity in its development, Christopulos said it is vital that the city create another job anchor area “to try to make sure we have another place to generate more tax revenue.”
As planners focus on rebuilding the Union Station area, it won’t be “back to a strictly transit-oriented strategy,” he said. So housing, office and recreation projects all “are on the table.”
Christopulos said it’s a concept only at this point, but officials plan to engage the community over the next two years to refine initial ideas and commence work on phases.
If results are as envisioned, not only will the area grow, but the city may have more resources to renovate the centerpiece, Union Station...
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