As Ogden's WonderBlock project takes shape, officials discuss paid parking downtown

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The WonderBlock development, calling for 354 apartments, a hotel and retail space in downtown Ogden, is coming together.
Parallel to that, city officials are launching debate on paid downtown parking, a key element of downtown development plans.
An eight-level parking facility in WonderBlock is complete and the first housing units and offices should be ready for occupancy by year's end.

OGDEN — The varied elements of a major development in downtown Ogden that calls for 354 apartments, two parking facilities, a grocery store, a hotel and tens of thousands of square feet of office and retail space are coming together.

Simultaneously, Ogden officials have launched a debate over plans to introduce paid parking in the downtown area, a key element of the WonderBlock project and the broader vision to revamp the city center. Talk of implementing paid parking sparked an outcry in 2024, ultimately prompting Mayor Ben Nadolski to put a hold on the efforts, but revamped plans are in the works and were discussed by the Ogden City Council on Tuesday.

WonderBlock, the redevelopment project sprouting south of Historic 25th Street, is more than just bricks and mortar, said Kelli Pendleton, the assistant economic development director for Ogden. "It's a place where ideas can come together. It's where we kind of look at the future. How do we start to transform our city? And it's where Ogden's past is meeting Ogden's future," she said Monday.

David Sawyer, deputy executive director of Ogden's Community and Development Department, said the varied WonderBlock elements are on track for completion. A large eight-level parking garage is done, and many of the structures surrounding it — between Historic 25th Street and 26th Street to the north and south and Grant and Lincoln avenues on the east and west — are well underway.

Pendleton addressed a gathering of Weber County Republican Women on Monday. Sawyer, though he didn't speak to the group, attended and spoke to KSL afterward.

By the end of the year, Sawyer said, WonderBlock's first residential units and offices should be ready for occupancy. The second planned garage in the development, an underground facility, should also be complete. Around a half dozen supermarket operators have expressed potential interest in occupying the space earmarked for a grocery store on the northeast corner of 26th Street and Lincoln Avenue, he said.

The planned 120-room hotel will be part of Marriott Bonvoy's Tribute portfolio, an array of hotels "bound by their indie spirit and heart for connecting people and places," reads the Tribute website.

Ogden leaders in early 2023 approved the bonding needed to help build the varied WonderBlock elements, expected to total $117.5 million to $127.5 million. Centerville-based J. Fisher Companies, partnering with the city, is to pitch in another $124 million or so. Since then, construction has progressed, and workers have been busy at the 5.9-acre site.

As Ogden's ambitious WonderBlock development project takes shape, city leaders are renewing debate about implementing paid downtown parking. The WonderBlock area is pictured Monday. (Photo: Tim Vandenack, KSL)

The aim, Pendleton said, is to revamp the city center and cater to demand for more development and housing in the urban core. Redevelopment of Union Station a few blocks to the west also figures in the vision to makeover the downtown area.

"Some people say, 'Why downtown? Why this?' That's really the trend. This generation is really looking for more walkability. They want to be in the hub where everything's going on," she said. A pedestrian walkway will cut north-south through the WonderBlock development, connecting it with Historic 25th Street, a key retail, restaurant and nightlife hub.

$1.50-$2 an hour for street parking

As for paid parking, the Nadolski administration has crafted a plan that will go to the City Council for consideration, beginning with a work session on Tuesday. Paid parking would be initially implemented via a system of kiosks along Historic 25th Street, Kiesel Avenue and part of 23rd Street, possibly by the end of June. The Electric Alley area north of the businesses on the north side of Historic 25th Street and the WonderBlock parking facility would also convert to paid parking.

On-street rates, as part of Nadolski's proposal, would range from $1.50 to $2 per hour, while WonderBlock parking would cost $1 to $1.50 an hour.

Part of the aim would be to maintain turnover in high-demand parking areas to make it easier for customers to find parking near downtown businesses, reads a press release from the city. Moreover, plans for the bonding for the WonderBlock project are to be paid in part by revenue from paid parking, at least as originally envisioned.

As Ogden's WonderBlock project takes shape, officials on Tuesday, April 14, will launch debate paid downtown parking. The rendering shows what developers think WonderBlock will look like when complete.

"When short-term spaces are used for long-term parking, it creates congestion, and it can discourage people from stopping downtown. Managed parking helps create turnover, so visitors spend less time searching and more time shopping, dining, and enjoying Ogden," Mara Brown, chief administrative officer for Ogden, said in a press release.

Sawyer said free parking would still be available, and the mayor's plan calls for a $10 monthly parking option for those who work downtown. The two city-owned parking garages near The Junction entertainment area would remain free, at least for now.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.