BDO on the way up -- Hershey, Barnes, Southern Classic Food moving in

There are 2 comments for this page [ View ]

OGDEN -- The conversion of the city's former Army depot into a top-notch industrial park has been so successful that managers at Business Depot Ogden say it's time for a new traffic light at its main entrance.

"We're just seeing a lot more traffic these days, and it's only going to grow," said Steve Waldrip, project manager for The Boyer Co., which manages the park and splits leasing revenue evenly with the city.

New traffic lights are likely not coming anytime soon, transportation officials say, but it's hard not to notice all the new buildings and activity that continue to transform the 1,120-acre park into one of Northern Utah's largest centers of employment.

Since its conversion to private, commercial use began in 2000, BDO has become a thriving center of industry.

It now has 80 tenants employing a combined 3,400 workers, who build everything from nutritional supplements to jet engines to kitchen sinks.

"It's amazing to think we have tripled the number of employees since the Army depot closed," Waldrip said.

Much like the trees planted along its major roads, growth at the park has been steady and noticeable, and progress continues despite a general slowing in the overall economy. With 1 million new square feet of space scheduled for completion this year, "this will be our best year ever," Waldrip said.

Several new tenants are getting ready to move in and push the park's job total to about 4,000.

A metal frame is up for a 540,000-square-foot building in the northeast corner of BDO that will become a major distribution center for Hershey Co. and the largest building in the park.

The iconic confectioner plans to employ 125 at the facility after it is finished this fall. Hershey's BDO presence has attracted one of its major suppliers, Southern Classic Food Group, for which a 75,000-square-foot building is well under way just around the corner from the Hershey site.

Southern Classic, which makes flavored syrups for Hershey in addition to salad dressings and sauces for other companies, is expected to employ nearly 100.

Contractors are finishing the interior on the Barnes Aerospace building, a 120,000-square-foot facility that will double the company's current space in the Ogden Commercial Industrial Park.

The nearly 200 Barnes employs initially coming to BDO will just be a relocation from down the street, but the larger, more state-of-the-art space gives the company room to expand locally if it so desires, spokesman Stephen McKelvey said.

"Any job growth would be based on demand for work," McKelvey said. "We outgrew the old facility, but we're glad that we're able to stay in Ogden. It's a good location near our customers, and there's a highly skilled and dedicated workforce there."

Barnes has been bringing equipment in for the new facility, including a giant press that required 27 truckloads.

Across from the new Barnes building, crews are preparing the ground for a 150,000-square-foot building.

An announcement on who will occupy that space should be forthcoming "any day now," Waldrip said.

Conditional incentives that some major new BDO tenants have accepted from the state require the companies to commit to a long-term presence, and pay wages that are well above the Weber County average.

At the end of this year, the park will have a total of 6.7 million square feet of commercial space, up from 4.2 million square feet at the time of transfer from military to city ownership in 2000.

Since then, local and state governments, Boyer and tenant companies have invested a combined $250 million in infrastructure, new buildings, renovations and other costs, Waldrip said.

That investment is beginning to pay off, city officials say.

Ogden City and Boyer are projected to receive $2.7 million each in revenue from BDO for the fiscal year that ends June 30, said Richard McConkie, deputy director of community and economic development for the city.

That's up from an estimated $2.4 million each in March.

While the housing market and growth in the overall economy have started to slow recently, commercial real estate in general, and BDO in particular, have remained strong.

Leasing rates are up, and BDO is currently 90 percent occupied.

Ironically, Waldrip said, record-high fuel prices have been a big reason behind the park's recent success.

"With rising fuel costs, east coast companies can't afford to ship their products across the country, so they're looking west to expand and cut costs," he said. "We're seeing a lot of development around that."

But if the overall economy doesn't start to improve fairly soon, the commercial sector could start to feel some pain, he said.

"There's very good strength in the market right now, but if the housing situation doesn't turn around in a year or so, we could see things slow down," he said.

All the growth at BDO has brought an inevitable increase in traffic, which has raised some safety concerns.

Officials will soon prohibit left turns from 12th Street onto Stewart Drive, just west of the railroad tracks at the park's east boundary. Left turns from Stewart Drive onto 12th Street will also be eliminated.

BDO officials approached the Utah Department of Transportation last year about the possibility of installing traffic signals at 12th Street and Depot Drive, the business park's main entrance.

After studying the issue, UDOT determined the intersection didn't meet any of the criteria needed to justify a signal.

"It's all done according to very strict regulations. We don't just wave our magic wand," UDOT spokesman Vic Saunders said. "Traffic engineers view signals as a last resort to a deteriorating traffic situation."

But as traffic continues to increase around the park, signals could come into the picture in the future, Saunders said.

"We can come back and study later if requested. We're happy to do that," he said.

With more major tenants likely coming down the road, Waldrip said it's likely not a matter of if, but when.

"We're always working on the next big deal."

Comments

Add a comment...

Name:
Comment:
Security Code:	Type the characters to the left in the box exactly as they appear.
Your IP:	38.103.63.60 This address is recorded for security purposes.