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Ogden's Historic 25th Street just received permission to grow up — to 55 feet, that is.
The City Council gave unanimous approval this week to lift a 45-foot height cap for buildings along the quaint stretch of 25th Street that runs east-west between Lincoln and Wall Avenues and ends at the 58-foot-tall Union Station. The new statute also installs a two-story minimum and imposes some limitations on rooftop additions.
"I'm very pleased with the results," said Steve Conlin, president of the Historic 25th Street Association.
The battle to gain 10 more feet has been hard-fought. In September 2008, owners of the Windsor Building on lower 25th Street wanted to rehabilitate it and add a fourth floor. They made it through several layers of approval before getting turned down by the City Council.
At that time, council members worried that giving Windsor a waiver could jeopardize the district's designation on the National Historic Registry — which would slam the door on federal grant opportunities.
Councilwoman Amy Wicks voted no in 2008 but yes this week.
"There was a project on the plate (in 2008) and the addition wasn't compatible," Wicks said. "I hesitantly supported it this time. We came up with some wording that addressed rooftop additions ... and offered some protection to the district."
Conlin identified two deficiencies along Historic 25th — 11 vacant lots and the loss of some of the street's historic density.
"We have six one-story buildings right now that used to be four to six stories but burned down," Conlin said. "So our street does not necessarily reflect the past."
The ability to build taller structures should entice development, he added, by maximizing land use. According to city documents, there were no height caps along Historic 25th before 1989.
The association began pushing for taller buildings this fall — "to get this resolved without being tied to a specific project," Conlin said. A series of council-sponsored workshops and consultant interviews gave the public ample opportunity to raise concerns, he added.
Currently, 25th Street has 40 structures and 57 association members, Conlin said, noting that in 1981, when the street received its historic designation, there were 43 structures with only eight tenants.
"The place has come a long way," Conlin said.