Status of The Front- Ogden

“What’s going on with the Ogden Front?”

That’s a question we’ve heard a lot over the past several weeks at The Front. It’s actually a question we ask ourselves each day. Of course, there isn’t a simple answer. It’s also an answer that has been changing weekly.

The Good News:

The Front is working diligently to open a premier indoor climbing facility in Ogden in the American Can Building at 2030 Lincoln Ave. We are committed to this project and fully expect to see it become a reality. We have currently invested tens of thousands of dollars into the project and have made good progress. We have received approval of our plans from Planning and Zoning, and have informal approval of our 95% construction drawings from the Ogden Building Department. The City of Ogden and current building owner are very supportive. Even better, the construction plans are fitting into budget with no major code issues. We are continuing to gain community support in both Founding Memberships and partnerships with other businesses and organizations. Everything is looking very positive.

The Less Good News:

We had hoped to open The Front - Ogden before the end of the year. However, due to some relatively minor engineering and construction complications, and the major economic implosion, we have had some additional hoops to jump through. We’re sure you can imagine the complications of starting or expanding a business in the current economic environment. Over the past 4 months the project has definitely been touch-and-go, but we have diligently worked through the issues and now have a clear understanding of the scope of the project. We again apologize for the lack of communication, but without a clear picture we didn’t want to send out erroneous messages.

What we need from You:

Founding Members of The Front- Ogden have a complimentary membership at The Front- SLC until Nov 30, 2008. We still need 250 Founding Members to get this gym opened, and your current Founding Membership will legally expire Dec 31, 2008. In order to extend the Founding Membership until Dec 31, 2009, we will be sending, by mail, an extension request. We can’t afford to lose any of the 180 members we currently have, so please help us keep progressing this project by signing and returning the document. Founding Members will be locked into the discounted Founding rate for the duration of their membership, whether that’s one year or twenty.

For Founding Members who would like to climb at The Front- SLC between Jan 1, 2009 and the opening date of The Front- Ogden, we are offering a discounted month-to-month Front-SLC membership rate at $35/month for individuals and $53/ month for couples, which is 30% off The Front’s annual rate. Additional family members are $10 each per month. This rate is only available to the first 250 Founding Members. You can cancel this membership at anytime, with 30 days notice, and will automatically be cancelled when The Front-Ogden opens.

Where to go from here:

Architects, engineers, contractors, and our management team are working daily on this project. With progress and support we currently have, we are confident that The Front-Ogden will be built within the next 3-10 months. The time frame is not what we expected or would have wanted, but such is life. In the near future, when the walls are built, the routes are set, and we’re all climbing together in an awesome new gym, we’ll all know what it took to make it happen. Thanks to all of you who are taking this leap of faith with us. We’re proud to soon be a part of the Ogden climbing community and honored to have received the support from all of you. Please visit frontogden.com regularly, and you can provide public feedback and questions on The Front-Ogden Blog.

Thank you to everyone for your time, feedback, and support.

Best regards,

The Front