Image supplied, City of Ogden

OGDEN — The City of Ogden will move forward with the purchase of two parcels owned by the Ogden School District — one for park development, the other for a new housing subdivision.

At a meeting earlier this week, the Ogden City Council voted down a proposal to buy a third school-owned parcel. The officials took no action on the ex-Grandview Elementary parcel in south Ogden, meaning it will likely be put up for sale on the open market.

Las year, the Ogden school board declared four parcels the district owns as surplus, paving the way for their sale, with the city having first dibs, as spelled out in state law. The properties are the 5.87-acre ex-Lynn Elementary property at 625 Grant Ave., two adjoining properties in the 600 block of North Jackson Avenue measuring 6.55 acres and 0.56 acres and the 5.15-acre ex-Grandview location at 3865 Jackson Ave.

The availability of the land prompted intense debate among city officials dating back to late last year, spurred in part by Steve Van Wagoner, the leader of Ogden Soccer, a soccer club. He had pressed the city to acquire all the parcels for conversion into public park space.

In the end, city officials unanimously decided to move forward with purchasing the ex-Lynn Elementary property for development into a park and acquisition of the 6.55-acre parcel at 605 N. Jackson Ave. for housing. In a 5-2 vote, they rejected a measure to buy the 0.56-acre parcel at 685 N. Jackson Ave., which already contains a home.

Image supplied, City of Ogden

Councilmember Luis Lopez lauded the public involvement the issue generated. Van Wagoner and many others, including numerous Ogden Soccer players, pressed the City Council at several meetings to buy all the land for conversion into parks. “We need you to keep us accountable,” Lopez said.

Though officials didn’t fully heed his calls, Van Wagoner said the City Council’s decision to buy the ex-Lynn property for park space was “a huge success.”

The ex-Lynn land abuts the 4th Street Ball Park baseball fields and Romrell Park. In Tuesday’s action, the City Council voted to add $3.04 million to the city budget for 2023 for “future park property purchases,” including $955,000 for the ex-Lynn land and $40,000 to come up with a master plan to convert the space into a park.

Janene Eller-Smith, the City Council administrator, said no firm timeline for park development has been put forward, though several preliminary concepts have emerged.

The plans for the land at 605 N. Jackson Ave. call for acquisition of the parcel using money from the Quality Neighborhoods Initiative, meant to “stabilize and revitalize” Ogden neighborhoods. The preliminary concept put forward by Jeremy Smith, a deputy manager in the Ogden Department of Community and Economic Development, calls for perhaps 26 single-family homes on the undeveloped land. He didn’t spell out a timeline, but said the city would oversee development and individually sell homes to buyers once completed.

Image supplied, City of Ogden

Mayor Mike Caldwell’s administration has said the ex-Grandview Elementary land, abutting Grandview Park, should be left for acquisition and development by the private sector.

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