Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner
The Suma Terra Ventures apartment building at 144 25th St. Photographed in Ogden, Friday, September 15, 2023.
OPD — The contractor for the 144 25th St. building in Ogden is struggling with “significant issues” and may be on the verge of closing, a Salt Lake City business publication reports.
The Salt Lake-based firm reported Saturday that workers at Maker’s Line and other companies under the umbrella of Q Factor’s parent company are facing grievances and layoffs. He didn’t specify specific problems, saying only that Q Factor — also involved with the proposed redevelopment of Ogden’s Union Stockyard building — “appears to be experiencing significant issues.”
The contractor that has been handling construction of the now-defunct five-story building at 144 25th St. seems to be having a special impact on Makers Line, according to city officials. Because the wood used in the building was not fire-resistant enough, they say they have since discovered other structural issues with the unfinished building.
A former Makers Line employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Construction Salt Lake that all Makers Line workers were told they were being laid off Thursday, as were sister companies Forge, a steel manufacturer, and Tito, a concrete company. ‘He’s gone,’ the publication reported. While Makers Line appears to be growing rapidly along the Wasatch Front, it has “stumbled on a number of projects” along the way, citing sources involved in the development in Salt Lake, Utah.
Representatives from Q Factor and Makers Line did not immediately respond to Standard-Examiner requests for comment Monday. Similarly, a representative from Suma Terra Ventures — the developer behind the 144 25th St. building — did not respond to a request for comment.
But Suma Terra Ventures CEO Mike Watson appeared to confirm the turn of events in a statement to Construction Salt Lake last week.
“Summa Terra Ventures is saddened by the closure of Creator Line today,” Watson said. “We have been preparing for this opportunity for some time and are now working with Rich Development to complete our Ogden projects, Hunter Landing and Union Works.”
Union Walk is a 55-unit apartment building project at 144 25th St. and Hunter’s Landing at 407 W. 12th St. is a Suma Terra Ventures project. -Resistant wood was used, but the builder reached a solution and the order was lifted in September.
City officials have referred questions to the companies involved. “They should be answered by Makers Line and Q Factor. We have not received anything formal from them,” said Mike McBride, a spokesman for Mayor Mike Caldwell’s administration.
He referred additional comments to the attorney the city has hired to help him deal with the case at 144 25th St., but the attorney, Matt Church, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While quiet on the issues surrounding 144 25th St., McBride spoke of potential problems with the Union Stockyard Exchange construction project if Q Factor were to close. That project is located in West Ogden in the Trackline Economic Development Area. “If you close this, that whole deal is worthless,” McBride said.
According to Q Factor’s website, the Union Stockyard Exchange project calls for converting the building into office space and developing 26,000 square feet of space. A new 18,700-square-foot building near Exchange Road and Stockman Way is also being considered.