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Members of the public gather at an open house on Ogden's proposed WonderBlock development, held Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Ogden Municipal Building. The model in the center of the photo depicts the WonderBlock plans.

Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner

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A site plan showing the WonderBlock area in Ogden, as envisioned. J. Fisher Cos., working with the city, came up with the plans.

Image supplied, City of Ogden

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Brandon Cooper, head of Ogden’s Community and Economic Development Department, addresses the Ogden City Council on the WonderBlock proposal at a Nov. 15, 2022, meeting.

Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner

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OGDEN — As city leaders and residents debate the $188 million WonderBlock development proposal in downtown Ogden, questions are swirling.

Can the city manage the WonderBlock proposal and other development plans in the works?

Will the housing in the proposed development hinder the market for affordable housing?

Why is the city getting involved in development of the high-profile parcel of land?

In a bid to address the queries, city staffers have compiled a list of answers to some of the most common questions they’ve fielded and they took more queries at a public meeting on Tuesday. The officials were also to discuss the proposal to shift to paid parking in the downtown area, another key element of the WonderBlock plans, but the meeting ran late and they tentatively plan to focus on that issue at next Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Here are responses from the city to a few of the queries that have emerged.

Q: Why use public funds for the project? Why not leave development of the largely vacant 5.9-acre parcel north of 26th Street between Lincoln and Grant avenues to the private sector?

A: “Private development investment alone was not sufficient to achieve the vision and maximum impact for the site,” reads the response prepared by the city.

The WonderBlock plans have an estimated price tag of $188 million, with J. Fisher Cos., a Centerville-based developer, to put up $124 million of that and the city proposing a bond issue of $64 million or more to cover the balance. The city is also proposing a second bond of $53.3 million to $85 million as part of the plans to cover the cost of building two parking garages in the WonderBlock footprint and shifting to paid parking throughout downtown Ogden.

If the city didn’t get involved in development of the site, former home to a Hostess factory — now razed — that made Twinkies and other baked goods, it would likely still be a factory, the city argues. Moreover, alternative development options probably wouldn’t have included the broad array of elements envisioned.

As is, plans at the location call for several four- and five-story structures that would house 354 market-rate apartments, 100,000 square feet of office space, 50,000 square feet of retail space, a 20,000-square-foot grocery store and a boutique hotel fronting Historic 25th Street.

A public walkway and plaza connecting 25th and 26th streets through the WonderBlock area are also key elements of the plans, meant to facilitate public activities.

Q: Will WonderBlock construction, if the plans proceed, adversely affect businesses on Historic 25th Street?

A: Brock Loomis, land acquisition and development director for J. Fisher, said it shouldn’t as most of the work will be contained to the undeveloped parcel where the WonderBlock development is focused.

“Inside the site is where the majority of the work will be done,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting. The hotel that’s part of the plans will front 25th Street, but the rear of the site is accessible via the vacant WonderBlock land, which should minimize construction disruptions to 25th Street.

Construction on 25th Street east of Washington Boulevard as part of the Utah Transit Authority’s separate bus rapid transit system project wreaked havoc on operations of several businesses in that area, including The Monarch, which houses a gift store and art spaces.

Brandon Cooper, head of Ogden’s Community and Economic Development Department, says the construction workers handling the WonderBlock work will need places to eat and could boost Historic 25th Street activity.

Q: Does the city need 100,000 square feet of office space, as proposed?

A: Cooper said 100,000 square feet “isn’t a lot, comparatively speaking,” noting plans moving forward near Farmington Station in Farmington to develop 1 million square feet of office space.

Northern Utah has “a significant deficit” of office space, he said, noting moves in the Ogden area to recruit smaller businesses in the aerospace and defense sectors to serve larger defense companies working in and around Hill Air Force Base.

Q: Why are the 354 proposed apartments all envisioned as rental units? Why won’t any be offered for sale?

A: Mitch Vance, a development associate at J. Fisher Cos., said condominiums are typically successful only after rental apartments have been established at a location. He studied the issue previously as a planner for the city of Sandy.

Moreover, more common locations for condominiums are stand-alone apartment structures surrounded by parking, not the mixed-use sort of development envisioned with the WonderBlock plans, he said.

Q: Will the proposed apartment units lead to gentrification or limit the stock of affordable housing?

A: As is, the city said some of the affordable housing in the city is seemingly being acquired by those with moderate and higher incomes given the lack of housing options. Creating the 354 market-rate units in the WonderBlock, by contrast, “will help fill the need for higher-end market rate housing and potentially make affordable housing more available,” reads the online question-and-answer document prepared by the city.

What’s more, adding housing stock could potentially reduce rental prices by increasing the supply in the city.

Q: Will the financial requirements of the WonderBlock preclude the city’s ability to pursue other development plans and proposals, including redevelopment of Union Station, construction of a new Marshall White Center and development of the ex-Rite Aid site?

A: No, the city maintains, because the projects have different funding sources.

The WonderBlock bond would be paid with lease-revenue funds the city gets from operation of Business Depot Ogden and tax-increment financing, or TIF, funds. The parking bonds would be paid through fees generated by the shift to paid parking.

Q: What entity will operate the grocery store?

A: “Several grocers are being considered and have expressed interest at this time,” reads the online info.