OGDEN — In a unanimous roll-call vote on Tuesday, City Council members approved two resolutions before them to allow for redevelopment of the historic Ogden Union Stockyard Exchange Building despite no changes being made to the land transfer and development agreement or the participation and incentive agreement, which received two “no” votes when the issue came before them last month.

Councilman Richard Hyer offered an apology to Denver-based developer Q Factor for his previous vote against the plan, saying it was never his intention to kill the project, to take shape within the Trackline Economic Development Area in western Ogden.

While Hyer said his concern has always been with the proposed height of the future building, he explained that he has warmed up to the proposed design after taking a trip with Ogden City Director of Community and Economic Development Brandon Cooper and others to view similar projects by the developer in Salt Lake City.

“I am now a big believer that it is something that can be done,” Hyer said of architecturally marrying the old with the new while upholding the building’s historical integrity.

Hyer said he believes the decaying building would not be saved without Q Factor’s interest.

During the public comment portion of the city council meeting, Timothy Smith, founder of Ogden’s Own Distillery, located west of the Stockyard Exchange Building, said he is very excited to see the project moving forward, bringing continued growth to the area.

While in full support of the project and the developer, Ogden resident Angel Castillo challenged the city to rethink its process in doing so, claiming developers are neglecting to do their fair share when comes to tackling problems such as aging infrastructure, water scarcity and underfunded schools.

“We are staring down the barrel of a very big water infrastructure problem,” Castillo said.

Ogden resident Heath Satow shared in Castillo’s sentiments regarding infrastructure, asking the council what good are developments that could provide future revenue for the city when doing so is putting a strain on the city’s outdated and failing infrastructure?

Satow said the average citizen does not benefit from developer deals, but sees increases to their taxes.

Having just learned earlier in the meeting that Selle Royal, a bicycle parts manufacturer offered incentives to build in Ogden, relocated to California after fulfilling the company’s five-year commitment, council Chair Ben Nadolski said he has concerns with the amount of money put toward the Stockyard Exchange Building project.

“I think we need to be giving even more scrutiny than we have to the money we are giving out,” he said.

But despite his worry over money given to developers as an incentive, Nadolski said he is also deeply concerned with the potential loss of the historic building if no expedited action is taken.

The land transfer and development agreement and reimbursement agreement allow the city’s Redevelopment Agency to convey 1.81 acres of property to Q Factor for $195,000 while also providing an incentive of up to $800,000 in capital improvement funding.

Proposed amendments to the fiscal year 2022-2023 budget needed for the project also received a unanimous vote of approval in Tuesday’s meeting.

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