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There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Tuesday, January 9, 2007
By Scott Schwebke
Standard-Examiner staff
sschwebke@standard.net
Ogden mall's recreation center, cinema scheudled to open in May
OGDEN -- Winter weather hasn't put a damper on construction at The Junction, a sprawling multi-million dollar residential, retail and entertainment complex being built off Washington Boulevard downtown.
Work is proceeding on schedule for an $18.5 million high-adventure recreation center being built by the city and a 13-screen cinema that will be owned by entertainment and sports mogul Larry H. Miller.
Both buildings are slated to open in May at the former Ogden City Mall site.
Those structures will be followed by the four-story, 65,000-square-foot Wells Fargo Center at The Junction, set to be complete later this year by The Boyer Co. at the corner of 24th Street and Washington Boulevard.
Work is currently under way to erect the steel exterior of the building that will house Wells Fargo Bank, the law firm of Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy, and other tenants, said Jeff Gochnour, a senior project manager for Boyer.
Boyer is also finalizing designs for a structure fronting Kiesel Avenue that will include 114 townhomes, lofts and flats and 42,000 square feet of retail space slated to open in early 2008, he said.
All told, the Wells Fargo Center and retail and residential complex will cost about $30 million.
A focal point of The Junction will be a 125,000-square-foot high-adventure recreation center scheduled to open in May.
The city will own the $18.5 million structure and will lease space to Gold's Gym and FatCats Fun Center.
Work on the building's exterior is mostly complete and efforts are now shifting to the interior, Mayor Matthew Godfrey said, describing the progress as "very exciting."
The first floor of the building will house FatCats Fun Center, featuring an arcade, 32-lane bowling alley, billiard room, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf, bumper cars, children's play area, sports shop, Champ's Sport Bar, Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill, The Pizza Factory, and Striker's Grill.
Also located on the first floor will be Skyventure Utah, a vertical wind tunnel that will simulate free fall skydiving, a Flowrider surf pool, and a 50-foot indoor boulder and rope climbing wall.
Dave Rutter, co-owner of FatCats, said his company is excited about operating in the recreation center. "We think it's going to be a home run," he said.
The building's second floor will house Gold's Gym, which will feature a multipurpose health and fitness center, indoor track, basketball and racquetball courts, along with a whirlpool, steam room, and sauna.
Work is also progressing at The Junction's six-story Earnshaw Building, which will feature condominiums along with office and retail space, and at the adjacent four-story Ensign Plaza South building.
Ensign Plaza South will be complete in the fall, said Gary Chaston, senior property manager for Zions Securities Corp., which along with Property Reserve Inc. is constructing the building at the southwest corner of 22nd Street and Washington Boulevard.
Three tenants have announced plans to occupy the building.
J.D. Clark & Co., an administrative, accounting and advisory firm serving the hedge fund industry, will relocate from Pleasant View and will occupy the top two floors of Ensign Plaza South, encompassing 33,000 square feet.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage and Equity Title Agency, both based in Ogden, will occupy about 10,000 square feet on the first floor.
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