Ogden asks $500,000 to restore Union Station, improve transit access ahead of Olympics

Ogden City Mayor August Ben Nadalski outlined a plan to return FrontRunner service to the back of Union Station, restore the historic Grand Lobby, and invest in adjacent mixed-use development to better connect regional rail and bus rapid transit.

Nadalski said Ogden has purchased land beneath and around the station to gain development control and has an RFP out for a development partner. He described a larger funding picture that includes roughly $7 million in city general funds already invested, $5 million set aside in the city’s capital improvement plan, and $3.6 million in potential federal Crossroads of the West funds; the city seeks an additional $500,000 from the state to help update the historic structure and advance design changes to rail approaches and station access.

Senator Musselman and committee members emphasized the benefits of improved rail-to-downtown connections for the upcoming Olympics and asked clarifying questions about walk distances and design tradeoffs. Mayor Nadalski said the intermodal hub is currently less than a quarter-mile from the station as the crow flies but the pedestrian route is circuitous and inconvenient; the relocation work would improve that connection and help activate downtown property and the State Railroad Museum housed at Union Station.

No appropriation was made during the meeting; presenters described the $500,000 ask as a modest part of a larger, locally led investment to make the station a welcoming multimodal hub.