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- A proposal to convert the old Aspen Care Center in Ogden into housing for the chronically homeless and disabled appears to be dead, an official says.
- The proposal concerned some in part because of the population the facility would serve and the site's location in a residential neighborhood.
- The Weber Housing Authority will continue searching for alternative sites outside Ogden.
OGDEN — A controversial proposal to convert a vacant assisted-living facility into long-term housing for the chronically homeless and disabled appears to be all but dead.
The search for a site for the proposed Weber Housing Authority facility will continue outside of Ogden. However, a member of the housing body's board worries about the loss of around $590,000 in federal funds for the project if the process takes too long. "Deadlines are such that we'll probably just lose that and that money will go back to the federal government, which is just really unfortunate," said Bob Hunter, a member of the housing authority board.
The proposal to convert the old Aspen Care Center complex into what proponents called a "permanent supportive housing" facility emerged last December, generating strong support from some. But others, including some city officials, were leery, in part because of the population the facility would serve and the site's location in a residential neighborhood. Others expressed concern it would detract from moves to rejuvenate the older neighborhood.
Debate lingered, but Hunter said Thursday that he and other key representatives involved in the project met on the matter this week. In light of continued opposition, his takeaway is that the old Aspen Care Center site proposal is off the table and no longer an option.
"I'm not sure what the final approval process has to be if it has to go through an official vote or anything, but it's basically been settled," he said.
Establishing facilities for the homeless can be fraught with peril. Varied proposals geared to the homeless have sparked a strong backlash in several Davis County locations in recent months. Residents at the Aspen site, however, would have been screened and the facility would have served as long-term housing, not a temporary overnight shelter.
Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski, among others, prefers that the Weber Housing Authority facility be located outside Ogden and has broached the idea of buying the Aspen Care Center site from the organization so it can search elsewhere. Ogden is already home to two traditional homeless shelters.
"I've been saying that we're pursuing options to purchase it from them so that they can be made whole and consider alternative locations," Nadolski said Thursday.
Hunter's comments, though, are the most definitive public pronouncement that the proposed facility won't take shape on the Aspen Care Center site. The Weber Housing Authority plans had called for renovating the building and turning it into a long-term 25-unit housing facility for the chronically homeless and disabled. The housing authority would have transferred its main offices to the location as well and had some level of staffing around the clock.
The Weber Housing Authority proposal had the backing of Wayne Niederhauser, director of the Utah Office of Homelessness Services, among many others. Hunter, however, noted the attitude such proposals typically provoke from some: "We don't want that part of the population in this area" and said the search for an alternative site will move forward.
"It puts us back another couple, three years as we try to find property and then construct a new facility while we've got homeless people waiting to be housed," he said. He worries about losing some $590,000 in federal funds for the project if the search extends beyond a June deadline, though Nadolski thinks there might be room to extend the date.
The Weber Housing Authority paid $1.7 million for the one-acre Aspen site, which the city of Ogden would cover, but Nadolski said the Ogden City Council would be involved in the details of providing the reimbursement and approving the transaction. He said the city could spearhead new housing development at the site under its Quality Neighborhoods Initiative to promote "home ownership opportunity."
The Weber Housing Authority serves the Weber County population largely outside Ogden, which has its own housing authority. As such, the body, per state law, needed a resolution of support from the Ogden City Council to develop the Aspen site, the sticking point in the process. "We just can't get the City Council to approve it," Hunter said.
Housing authority officials last December discussed the idea of transferring the project to Weber Human Services, an agency that provides mental health programming and aids seniors. Weber Human Services wouldn't have needed a resolution of support from Ogden for the project to proceed. But Hunter said those involved in the project have opted to steer clear of that route, which likely would have intensified friction among Weber County officials.
Nevertheless, Utah Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, is sponsoring legislation, HB532, that would close off that alternative.
