Ogden’s Marshall N. White Community Center to be torn down and rebuilt

OGDEN, Utah — The Marshall N. White Community Center, built in 1968, is set to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up.

The renovation has a price tag of $34 million, coming from grants, federal funds, donations and city investments.

“This (the community center) has been such a great asset to the community,” says Ogden City Council District 1 Chair Angela Choberka. “But also, it’s … the beginning of us thinking about how the city really offers these kinds of recreation facilities.”

The demolition and reconstruction will begin in June.  Choberka says one element the city wants to continue focusing on is accessibility.

“Maybe in the future there could be a north facility that would be something that people have better access to,” she says. “There’s certainly a need across the entire city. But, we want to think about how we create assets for everybody, regardless of where you live or your ability to get to those places.”

Talk of renovating the building began back in 2020, with the reformation of an advisory committee. Choberka says the decision to tear down the community center building was only made after an examination by an architecture and engineering firm.

“There wasn’t anything, you know, historical in the sense of architecture or any of the elements of the building,” she says. “So, we decided that that would be the best course of action … To tear down the current facility, keep it in the same location [and] then expand it quite a bit.”

The new facility will expand to include a swimming pool, teaching kitchen, running track and improved gym space.

The Chairwoman goes on to say this is a new chapter of Ogden’s History.

Devin Oldroyd contributed to this story.

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