First Security Bank building, Ogden’s tallest structure, focus of planned overhaul
The First Security Bank Building at the southeast corner of 24th Street and Washington Boulevard, shown in this photo taken Tuesday, July 21, 2020, has been acquired by Logan-based Cache Valley Bank. Cache Valley Bank plans to overhaul the vacant structure, the tallest in the city.
The inside of the First Security Bank Building at the southeast corner of 24th Street and Washington Boulevard is pictured Tuesday, July 21, 2020, as photographed from the entry off Washington Boulevard. The structure has been acquired by Logan-based Cache Valley Bank, which plans to overhaul the vacant structure, the tallest in the city.
OGDEN — Ogden’s tallest building will be getting a massive makeover.
Cache Valley Bank acquired the 12-story First Security Bank building at the corner of 24th Street and Washington Boulevard in the heart of the city in late 2018 and it plans to restore the vacant structure.
“We’re going to develop and renovate the entire building,” said Mike Lemon, chief financial officer for Logan-based Cache Valley Bank. “We’re excited to see what we can turn it into.”
Cache Valley Bank has a history of acquiring old buildings and renovating them, and Lemon said the Ogden plans will move forward after some other restoration projects already underway are finished. The work could start in as soon as three months, but he offered no definite timeline other than to say renovating such a large structure will “take a little time.”
At any rate, leaders here are excited at the prospect of the landmark structure, Ogden’s tallest, getting an overhaul.
“It’s the absolute best-case scenario for Ogden to have them come and pick it up,” said Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell, citing Cache Valley Bank’s status as a known Utah entity versed in such renovation projects. “I can’t imagine a better partner to be going down this road with.”
Weber County Commissioner Jim Harvey also spoke glowingly of the prospects. The Weber Center just north across 24th Street from the First Security Bank building serves as the seat of county government. “It will just change the landscape of Ogden. That’s on the 50-yard line of Washington Boulevard,” Harvey said.
The building, placed by the Ogden City Council on the Ogden City Register of Historic Places in 2018, has sat vacant since around 2006, according to Tom Christopulos, director of community and economic development for the city. The interior has been gutted, Christopulos said, and the tall structure will require some seismic retrofitting, but city leaders are awaiting details of Cache Valley Bank’s plans. It previously housed Wells Fargo Bank operations and still has Wells Fargo signage on top of it.
Cache Valley Bank is the third owner of the building since 2010, according to Weber County property records. Cache Valley acquired the building from Financially Fit Holding Corp. of West Jordan on Nov. 20, 2018, “at a good price” at a bankruptcy auction, according to Lemon. But he didn’t reveal terms of the deal.
Though plan specifics have yet to be revealed, Cache Valley Bank has big ambitions. The bank plans to occupy the first two or three floors of the structure and develop the rest for commercial and possibly residential use. In all, it contains about 80,000 square feet of space, and Lemon foresees interest in the the building, believing possible tenants can be lined up even before the upgrade is complete.
“We hope to restore and help build up downtown Ogden with this building when we’re done,” he said. “It’s kind of a sore point truthfully in downtown (Ogden). But that’ll change.”
According to the 2018 application to put the First Security Bank building on the Ogden City Register of Historic Places, the structure was built in 1927 and features attributes of Prairie Style architecture.
“Although there is some vertical focus, the main lines are horizontal with the rows of windows, the trim on the mezzanine, the trim on the 11th floor, the roof overhang and the Prairie elements in the geometric pattern in the cornice,” reads the application. “The horizontal emphasis makes it consistent with the Prairie Style, and the building is considered to be Utah’s largest Prairie Style structure.”
The application also notes the role of the structure in the growth and development of Ogden’s finance industry. The First Security Corp. was incorporated by Marriner Eccles, George Eccles and Marriner Browning in 1928, who all played important roles in Ogden’s history.
The Standard-Examiner offered praise for the structure around the time it was built, calling it a symbol “of the spirit of Ogden,” according to the Register of Historic Places application. “It typifies growth and faith in the future.”
Cache Valley Bank also took part in the renovation of the building at 101 N. Main St. in Logan that serves as its corporate headquarters, according to the Cache Valley Daily.