After years of vacancy and unfulfilled plans, a historic building in Ogden’s west side now has a plan for new life.
Last week, members of the Ogden City Council voted 6-1 on a land transfer development agreement to rehabilitate the Union Stock Exchange Building, an architecturally notable building that served as headquarters for livestock companies in the heart of the city’s old stockyard district.
The site is located at 600 Exchange Road and totals 1.81 acres, while the building itself features over 9,500 square feet. Initially built in 1931, Ogden City bought the building in 2013. Two years later, the building was put on the National Register of Historic Places.
As part of the deal, the city will spend up to $1 million on the building’s redevelopment. Those funds were already set aside by the city to stabilize the aging building and prevent further deterioration.
The two-story Art Deco building will become the future headquarters of GMRE, an aerospace and defense contracting company that’s currently based in Washington Terrace, just south of Ogden. The city estimates the move will attract, “60 high paying jobs directly to Ogden and an additional 45 indirect jobs,” according to a news release.
The building will be redeveloped by Fischer Regan Enterprises, a longtime local developer that has rehabilitated other historic buildings in Ogden. Examples of their work includes The Monarch — a multipurpose building that includes event space and workspaces for artists — Peery Lofts and a number of buildings along Historic 25th Street.
During the meeting last Tuesday, Council Member Ken Richey said in the building’s current state, the land would likely be more valuable without the Exchange building than with it. He said the proposal is the best shot the city has at saving the historic building.
“If we truly want to preserve our history, this looks to me like our last opportunity,” Richey said prior to the council’s vote. “Without this, I don’t think it happens.”
Council Member Alicia Washington was the lone no vote against the proposal. Washington was concerned with an aspect of the land transfer development agreement that says the developer could solely terminate the agreement if the developer “discovers an unexpected or unanticipated environmental condition” that renders the project economically unviable.
Washington said if that were to happen after the land is transferred away from the city, the developer could come back and request a demolition permit, and the city would lose the building either way. She said there was still time to go back and reexamine the proposal before signing off on it.
“It just feels like a huge risk to me,” Washington said. Shortly after, the council voted 6-1 to approve the proposal.
The eastern side of the Ogden Union Stock Exchange Building, pictured here in 2024. Image via Ogden City
The vote is the first step toward potentially resolving the years-long issue of redeveloping the site, which has seen proposals go unfulfilled.
One of the prior deals for the Exchange building took place in 2022, when the now-defunct Q Factor signed on to redevelop the building. Q Factor, Makers Line and other companies connected to H. Jason Winkler and Ellen P. Winkler collapsed less than a year later, leaving contractors unpaid and investors searching for their money.
The sudden implosion of the businesses left projects like the Exchange building and the Union Walk building, a residential project along Ogden’s 25th Street, in uncertain waters. The unfinished Union Walk building was torn down, as a development company alleged in a lawsuit that Makers Line knowingly used non-fire treated lumber to frame the building.
The Union Walk project was later rebuilt, and the nearly finished housing structure is now pre-leasing units. Meanwhile, the Exchange building sat vacant. A 2024 RFP issued by the city yielded no takers.
Council Chair Richard Hyer, who’s been on the council since 2012, said during the meeting last week he had anxiety about the Q Factor proposal, but they were the only company willing to take on the Exchange building. He eventually came around to the pitch, because he believed the building needed to be saved. Hyer said he drove by the building a few months ago and thought the Q Factor pitch was the last opportunity for the Exchange building to be saved.
“I was overjoyed when we finally got somebody that said, ‘yup, we’re interested and can do it and have a tenant,’” Hyer said. “I don’t know what else we could ask, it’s a pretty nice arrangement. Yeah, we didn’t go through an RFP for this, but I don’t think we could do all that at this point. I’m overjoyed that (Fisher Regan) wants to do it.”
The Exchange building sits at the center of the Ogden Business Exchange area, which has seen a number of new industrial builds while the Exchange building sat vacant. The site is home to two cycling brands and, among other tenants, is also home to a Roosters Brewing Company location and Ogden’s Own Distillery — which has a bar attached to the production facility.
The Exchange building is one of several Art Deco buildings found around Ogden, all designed by architect Leslie S. Hodgson. Hodgson was also the designer behind the Ogden Municipal Building, the Ben Lomond Hotel, Peery’s Egyptian Theater and Ogden High School — which has frequently been used as a filming location for movies and TV shows. Another Hodgson-designed building is the U.S. Forest Service building, which is located on 25th Street and also slated for redevelopment.
Following the council’s vote, the deal will close no later than 30 days after the developer gets building permits from the city, according to a presentation from Ogden City. Fischer Regan must start work on the building within 30 days after the council’s approval, and they must have all design work and land use applications completed within the next four months.
The project is supposed to be completed within a year and a half of the closing date with the city.
The north side of the Ogden Union Stock Exchange Building, pictured here in 2024. Image via Ogden City
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