Ogden hotel plans abutting Weber State campus seem to be edging forward
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- The site of a proposed hotel in Ogden between the Dee Events Center on the Weber State University campus and Harrison Boulevard is pictured on Dec. 27, 2022, as trees on the parcel are being removed.
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- A rendering of a proposed hotel that would be built on a parcel in Ogden between the Dee Events Center on the Weber State University campus and Harrison Boulevard.
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- The tree-filled site of a proposed hotel in Ogden between the Dee Events Center on the Weber State University campus and Harrison Boulevard, pictured on June 23, 2020. Some of the trees were subsequently removed.
OGDEN — A grove of trees has been downed on a piece of property abutting the Weber State University campus in apparent anticipation of construction of a new 130-room hotel affiliated with Marriott International.
The Ogden City Council rezoned the parcel at 4400 Harrison Blvd. in 2020 and though developers involved in the project didn’t respond to Standard-Examiner queries seeking comment, work — more than two years later — seems to be edging ahead. Numerous trees on a portion of the sloped parcel were recently razed and a city official says the developer — Pillar Investment Group of Holladay — has maintained contact with city planners.
“They have preliminary site plan approval but don’t have the final site plan approved,” said Barton Brierley, Ogden’s planning manager. That said, reps from the developers “are continuing to communicate with us so it appears it’s moving forward.”
With the rezone in July 2020 allowing for commercial development on the parcel, the City Council doesn’t have to sign off on any element of the plans. Brierley, though, said the developer will need to get building permits from city staffers before construction can start.
The 2.34-acre Pillar Investment Group property sits off the east side of Harrison Boulevard just south of Fieldhouse Way, the entry into the parking lot around the Dee Events Center, and west of the Dee. According to preliminary site plans, the four-level structure would contain 130 rooms.
The plans identify the hotel as Element Ogden South and a rendering included with them shows the structure with signage indicating it’ll be part of Marriott International’s Element Hotels chain. The hotel is on the south side of the parcel while a parking lot covers the land north of that.
“Stylish and sustainable throughout, Element offers extended stay comfort with a conscience and lots of signature amenities,” reads a company blurb about the Element line. Element hotels operate in Salt Lake City and Moab, according to the Element website.
When the rezone was up for discussion in 2020, city officials said the hotel was envisioned as on-site lodging for people visiting the Weber State campus and McKay-Dee Hospital to the west across Harrison Boulevard. The Ogden bus rapid transit line, to be completed later this year, runs along Fieldhouse Way.