Ogden River plan coming
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Scott Schwebke
Standard-Examiner staff
sschwebke@standard.net
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strong>RFK Jr. may join Leshem
OGDEN -- Californian businessman Gadi Leshem will unveil plans next month for cleaning up a polluted 2-mile downtown section of the Ogden River, as a precursor for a possible multi-million dollar residential and retail development.
Leshem will make the announcement during a Dec. 7 event at the AmeriCan Center, 2030 Lincoln Ave.
Leshem said in a phone interview Monday that he will be joined at the event by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a national organization dedicated to keeping waterways free of pollution.
Kennedy and the organization could not be reached for comment regarding the planned visit.
Leshem, a California businessman who owns at least 28 parcels in the city, said the aim of the event will be to share his vision for remediation of a section of the Ogden River from Washington Avenue west to the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
Leshem has hired Jason Carey, engineer for RiverRestoration.org, a Glenwood Springs, Colo. based-company to develop a clean-up plan so the river can be used for recreational purposes and to spur economic development.
Carey said in a phone interview Monday that his efforts have centered on developing strategies to clean up river banks, plant new vegetation and integrate storm water discharge.
The cleanup will be part of Ogden Renaissance Village, a riverfront commercial and residential development Leshem is proposing to build in the second phase of the city's Ogden River Project area.
The boundaries for the project's second phase extend on the north bank of the river from Kiesel Avenue to Lincoln Avenue, north to 18th Street, and on the south bank of the river south to 20th Street, from Grant to Lincoln avenues.
All told, the project will encompass about 60 acres that straddle the Ogden River from Washington Boulevard west to Wall Avenue and will be a mix of residential, commercial and retail development.
Leshem declined to provide specific details about the development, but said it could cost several million dollars and take as long as seven years to complete.
Leshem has not presented formal plans for Ogden Renaissance Village to the city, said Dave Harmer, Ogden's community and economic development director.
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