History speaks, and Amer Sports Corp. names its complex the AmeriCAN Center
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Scott Schwebke
Standard-Examiner staff
sschwebke@standard.net
OGDEN -- Gazing up at the massive wooden beams that stretch from floor to ceiling inside the former American Can Co. complex, Amer Sports Corp. President Mike Dowse marveled at what will be his company's new home.
Dowse said during a Friday tour of the building, renamed the AmeriCan Center, that it will be a showcase for economic revitalization downtown when $6 million in renovations are completed in July.
"As a business we always want to be pioneers," he said.
The complex was originally going to be renamed the Wasatch Mountain Center, said Jon Peddie, a developer from Steamboat Springs, Colo., who along with several unidentified investors, owns nearly all of the structure.
However, it has instead been given the AmeriCan Center moniker to reflect its original name and the entrepreneurial spirit of the renovated facility.
In January, Peddie and his partners purchased 205,000 square feet of space in the complex from the Ogden Community Foundation for slightly more than $3 million.
The purchase includes all of the complex except for about 40,000 square feet occupied by the DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts.
Amer will lease about 57,000 square feet on three floors in the AmeriCan Center. The facility will serve as the headquarters for three Amer brands, including Salomon, a maker of snow-sports equipment and apparel; Atomic, a ski manufacturer; and Suunto, which makes underwater watches and other diving products.
Amer expects to eventually employ about 230 workers in Ogden.
The building's rustic exterior will be preserved and will be complemented by amenities throughout the structure, Dowse said.
An amphitheater with seating for about 50 people and a fire pit will be built just outside of the AmeriCan Center's entryway.
Inside the center will be a massive atrium, and the first floor will feature a theater with a stage and elevated seating for movies and fashion shows touting Amer products, Dowse said.
Salomon's administrative offices also will be located on the first floor.
The second floor will house offices for Atomic and Suunto products, while Amer's administrative offices will be located on the top floor.
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