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OGDEN — More safety concerns for an apartment building under construction in downtown Ogden as inspectors say the proper fire-retardant-treated wood is not being used, and now the city has noted several structural problems inside.
It's a big enough problem that the city has staff keeping an eye on the building at 144 25th Street from sunrise to sunset. They say it poses a danger to the general public because parts of the building could collapse.
The look and feel of Ogden's Historic 25th Street are important; it's part of the draw.
"I sit at my bench and work, and I'm facing the street, so I've watched this from day one," said Carl Cox, owner of Alaskan Gold Connection across the street.
It's why business owners like Cox say they're not thrilled with the construction that halted here back in March.
"My first concern was, well, what's it going to look like when it's done, especially since it sits much higher than the other buildings here," Cox said.
But now there's a bigger concern for safety. A notice of "dangerous building and order to abate," issued by Ogden last week, cites numerous structural issues, including deflecting and sagging floor joists.
Some examples in the report include joists being cut and others missing the proper hangers to keep them in place. Inspectors note roof trusses tilting, leaning, no longer in a vertical position and framing members bowing, all issues they say could cause the building to collapse under further stress and weight.
I would think that if I were spending this kind of money to build this kind of a building here, I'd be on top of every code and of the construction as it was taking place.
–Carl Cox, business owner
"I would think that if I were spending this kind of money to build this kind of a building here, I'd be on top of every code and of the construction as it was taking place," Cox added.
Several other neighboring business owners echoed the same kind of concerns, though most did not want to go on camera. Summa Terra Ventures, the developers of the property, previously told KSL-TV their contractor made changes to the agreed-upon architectural plans. Neither responded to messages Tuesday.
According to the order, the city can move to demolish the building within 15 days. If the developer can come up with a plan to fix the problems, they'll get 60 days to carry that out.
