25th Street housing development receiving public criticism prior to completion
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- This undated photo shows an aerial view of the Summa Terra Ventures housing development taking shape at 144 25th St. in downtown Ogden.
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- This image shows a rendering of the five-story building taking shape at 144 25th St. in Ogden. Springville-based Summa Terra Ventures is the developer.
OGDEN — As a new housing development on Historic 25th Street takes shape, Ogden residents are expressing their frustration with the city’s approval of the project.
The five-story mixed-use building comprised of 49 dwelling units and two commercial spaces, being developed by Summa Terra Ventures, has attracted attention mainly due its height, but some people also fear its presence will take away from Historic 25th Street’s charm.
While the stepped-back feature of the development, in which the top two stories are inset by 12 feet, reduces the impact of the five-story building on the street, Ogden resident Michelle Deanna Wesson said she is sad to lose her view of the mountains.
Ogden resident Chris Rogerson Quick called the development “a terrible monstrosity,” asking why the city did not regulate the height of the building.
Ogden City Councilwoman Marcia White said she was taken aback when she saw the building for the first time.
“It’s big, I’m not going lie,” she said.
While the building height reaches the maximum 55 feet permitted on 25th Street, it does not meet density guidelines as the project calls for 306 units per acre.
City staff, however, stated the proposed density would not be detrimental to the development of downtown, but rather a much needed addition to bring vitality and support to businesses on 25th Street.
According to White, density downtown is needed in order to solve a common complaint about how ghostly 25th Street becomes after 6 pm.
If there were more people downtown, White said, there would be a need to keep shops and restaurants open later versus only a few bars.
Significant increases in density are to be expected in the downtown area in the coming years as part of the Make Ogden initiative.
Some of these changes include replacing parking lots with parking structures, which will reportedly ease any additional strain on commercial parking availability, as the housing development is not proposing on-site parking.
Required parking for residential use is assessed at a rate of 1.5 stalls per unit in the Central Business District Zone; however, parking reductions have been granted before following certain criteria.
The Ogden Planning Commission determined a reduction in the parking requirement and allowing the residential units without designated parking would contribute to the vitality of the district.
Residents will have to rely on publicly available parking stalls. That said, the Ogden City Redevelopment Agency will allow residents to utilize available spaces in the parking lot on the north side of the so-called Electric Alley, located behind businesses on the north side of 25th Street.
Because the development fit within the zoning, planning and design standards, it was not required to go before the city council for approval.
Summa Terra Ventures, of Springville, received approval from the Ogden City Landmarks Commission in September 2019 for historic appropriateness following the incorporation of several design elements.
Mike Watson, CEO of Summa Terra Ventures, said the Landmarks Commission along with the city pushed to have historically accurate architecture.
“We took extraordinary lengths to make it look and feel a part of the historic district,” Watson said of the extra costs in having windows with wood trim, historically accurate coloring of brick and pillaring.
Watson said the company is trying to be a great partner with the city and neighboring businesses and wants people to be happy.
White said she understands change is hard and people are tired of seeing apartments going up all over the city. But unfortunately, she added, it’s going to be that way for a while.
“Growth is coming whether we want it or not,” she said.
