The City of Ogden, Utah hired Urban3 to perform a revenue modeling analysis with a focus on the impacts of repairing the damage done by previous downtown urban renewal actions. To date, every Urban3 revenue model has shown that compact historic development produces some of the most potent tax value per acre. In addition to historic value, infill projects can augment the productivity of urban areas. Ogden has successfully leveraged public-private partnerships to support infill projects that have repaired much of the damage left by past urban renewal projects.

Urban3’s revenue modeling analysis also explored the relationship between Ogden and surrounding communities. Ogden is one of the critical anchors in the series of urban centers that make up the Wasatch Front, but is also a historic center in its own right. Our findings highlighted Ogden’s role as a regional hub as strategic, given the public investment in commuter rail transit.

Ogden has taken large strides since its days as a rough-and-tumble railroad hub. Our analysis found that through all these changes, Ogden has maintained a distinctive appeal in part by preserving architectural gems and a spirit of independence, but also by rethinking land use patterns that prioritize parking. Urban3 mapped the abundance of parking, in red, compared to buildings in black. Looking toward the future, we believe that Ogden has the potential to be a regional model for land planning that strengthens sound fiscal stewardship.

Outcomes

• Zoning was updated to prohibit storage units in downtown.
• An increase in quantity and quality of multi-unit housing in commercial zones. The last 60 years had just 500 units, but over the last two years, 1000 units have been put into the review process
• The City acquired a vacant site in downtown after seeing the need to acquire and redevelop strategic sites. They are now working with developers in joint partnership and have used our work to argue for the development to produce revenue.