By What Will It Cost Us
Well, two interesting items today in the Standard-Examiner.
1) The mayor wants $1M to clean up property in the area of 12th and Wall Avenue, since the developer can't afford to undertake the cleanup:
OGDEN — The city council is leaning toward temporarily reallocating $1 million in capital improvement funds to spark massive retail development downtown.Excuse me... but in this economy can't they look around and see developers can't get the money to build these dreams? With Wal-Mart close how can another market survive?
The CIP funds would be used to finance the clean-up of contaminated soil at a 13-acre site at the corner of 12th Street and Wall Avenue that is targeted for the construction of a grocery store and half a dozen or so retail businesses.
The city council may decide Nov. 25 whether to appropriate CIP funds earmarked for several sidewalk, street and Centennial Trail improvement projects to remediate the shopping center property.
The shopping center has been tentatively named 12th and Wall Marketplace, Tom Christopulos, the city’s business development manager said during the council work session.
The shopping center could spur retail and commercial development on two other parcels encompassing more than 40 acres and extending south along Wall Avenue to 17th Street and west from 12th Street to Gibson Avenue, Christopulos said.
“I hope it will be the catalyst to large scale development,” he said.
Mayor Matthew Godfrey said Thursday night the shopping center fits in with the administration’s goal of transforming the 12th Street and Wall Avenue corridor into a major retail hub.
“One objective has been to make that corner a power center,” he said.
2) Another indoor rock climbing facility, ostensibly with private money... at least the article doesn't mention taxpayer money yet:
OGDEN — A Salt Lake City businessman says support is rising for a state-of-the-art climbing gym scheduled to open in the next few months at the AmeriCan Center.How will Irock take the news, since they were whining when Weber Rocks at the college opened up? Or has some of the city's economic development money already been hidden in the building, or the parking garage?
Dustin Buckthal said Thursday he has already sold 180 memberships to The Front-Ogden, which will be located in the center’s Building A at the southeast corner of 20th Street and Lincoln Avenue.
“People are excited for The Front to open in Ogden,” said Buckthal, who operates a similar climbing gym in Salt Lake City.
The Front will be the third indoor-climbing facility in Ogden. Others include the iRock climbing wall in the Salomon Center downtown and Weber Rocks at Weber State University’s Wilderness Recreation Center.
The Front may provide competition to Weber Rocks but will ultimately benefit local climbers by offering a place where they can congregate and flexible operating hours, said Tim Nguyen, assistant director of the WSU Wilderness Recreation Center.
