Ogden for sale
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Sunday, August 26, 2007 | 
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Scott Schwebke
Standard-Examiner staff
sschwebke@standard.net
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By Scott Schwebke
Standard-Examiner staff
sschwebke@standard.net
City hot investment for developers
OGDEN -- Armed with optimism and fat wallets, several developers within the last 21/2 years have bought numerous properties downtown in the hope that Ogden's hot real estate market will provide a cool return on their investment.
A Standard-Examiner analysis of data provided by the Weber County Recorder's Office reveals 368 properties in an area extending from Adams to Wall avenues between 17th and 20th streets were purchased between January 1, 2005, and Aug. 6.
There are about 1,500 properties within that geographic area.
One of the most active buyers has been California businessman Gadi Leshem, who has at least 28 parcels in Ogden, valued by the county at $1.5 million.
A dozen of Leshem's parcels are located downtown along Wall Avenue, Washington Boulevard and Grant Avenue, with several located within the boundaries of the city's ambitious Ogden River Project area.
Leshem also owns seven adjoining parcels on West 20th Street outside of the River Project, one of which was previously occupied by AAA Auto Salvage. He also has a 6-acre parcel off Stephens Avenue near Wall Avenue and 20th Street.
Although Leshem hasn't officially unveiled plans, he may submit a proposal to the city by the end of the year to participate in the River Project, said Dave Harmer, the municipality's community and economic development director.
Leshem, who is chief executive officer of Cover-All Inc., a Chatsworth, Calif.-based floor-covering company that operates throughout the country, said in a phone interview he's interested in a role in the River Project.
"I love Ogden," Leshem said. He has hired experts to help him determine appropriate development along the Ogden River. "I see a vision (for the city) for the long term," he said.
Leshem declined to say when he may present a River Project development proposal to the city and declined to provide additional details regarding the plan.
Not to be outdone by private developers, the Ogden Redevelopment Agency spent $5.1 million in 2006 to acquire properties as part of the River Project's first phase.
Development of the first phase of the River Project is under way and extends from 20th Street north to the Ogden River, between Washington Boulevard and Grant Avenue.
The initial phase encompasses about 12 acres and will be subdivided into eight lots. Four of the lots will front the Ogden River. The remainder will be south of the newly constructed section of Park Boulevard.
All told, the River Project will encompass about 60 acres that straddle the Ogden River from Washington Boulevard west to Wall Avenue and will have residential, commercial and retail development.
To develop property within the River Project area, Leshem would have to comply with mixed-use zoning requirements adopted by the city council in June.
The mixed-use zone governs about 50 acres in the second and third phases of the River Project from 20th to 18th streets between Washington Boulevard and Wall Avenue.
The zone allows multifamily dwellings, commercial and retail buildings, cultural facilities and open space to be combined into a single development.
Despite Leshem's success in acquiring downtown real estate, there has been at least one glitch.
In June, Ogden River Front Development Co., a company that Leshem is affiliated with, filed a civil suit in 2nd District Court against Raymond and Mary Jensen of Ogden.
The suit alleges the Jensens breached a contract to sell the company a 1-acre parcel at 1803 Grant Ave. for $310,000. The Jensens are countersuing, contending Ogden River Front Development failed to follow through with the purchase of their property.
Leshem said he is confident there will be a "fair and gentle resolution" to the lawsuit.
While Leshem busily bought properties, Dave Goode, president of Goode Ski Technologies, purchased a significant downtown real estate property through involvement with New Brigham Investors LLC.
The corporation purchased the New Brigham Building at the corner of Wall Avenue and 24th Street and an adjoining structure, both of which have a combined market value of about $1.5 million, according to the Weber County Recorder's Office.
Goode did not return phone calls or an e-mail from the Standard-Examiner regarding his affiliation with New Brigham Investors and the corporation's plans for the buildings.
James A. Wood, director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah, said it's difficult to predict how property acquisitions downtown over the last two years will affect the local economy. "Downtown investments are risky at best," he said.
Still, the amount of real estate activity is encouraging, Wood said. "It gives some evidence that people are hopeful and are looking toward the future of downtown Ogden," he said.
David Kubly, a developer from San Clemente, Calif., is hoping to sell a 1.4-acre parcel at the corner of 23rd Street and Washington Boulevard that he and two other investors bought in April 2006.
Kubly said a company, which he declined to identify, is considering buying the property for the possible construction of a six- or seven-story building that would contain a mix of retail and office space and condominiums.
Ogden's downtown's real estate market is hot at the moment because land and buildings are affordable and most city officials are pro-development, Kubly said.
"There is great opportunity to do something neat, and there are fewer obstacles than other places," he said.
Nearby on Historic 25th Street, the Windsor Hotel, owned by Ogden Properties II LLC, is slated to undergo a $2.5 million face-lift.
A few blocks away, John Peddie, a developer from Steamboat Springs, Colo., and several unidentified investors in January purchased most of the American Can Co. complex from the Ogden Community Foundation for slightly more than $3 million.
Amer Sports, a leading manufacturer of outdoor gear and apparel, will lease about 57,000 square feet in the complex, which has been renamed the AmeriCan Center.
Another significant downtown transaction occurred in December 2006 when John Andersen, who lives in Riverside in Box Elder County, bought a building and property at 26th Street and Adams Avenue.
Andersen said he paid a little less than $800,000 for the 32-unit apartment building.
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