• Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
A Half Century of Excellence

Founded by Roger Boyer in 1972, sons Jake and Nate carry on the Boyer Company’s legacy of integrity and building to benefit the greater community. 
By Brad Fullmer

As one of the most successful commercial real estate developers in Utah’s history, Roger Boyer expressed gratitude and humility when asked what it means for his firm—The Boyer Company—to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. 

“It’s been a fun year, a humbling year,” said Roger, 82. “I think for me personally, I try to fly under the radar. It’s a quiet satisfaction that we feel like we’ve done good projects and developed a reputation for following through and having integrity. Banks have stayed with us because they can count on what we say.”

It’s been quite the journey for the octogenarian. Roger is an East High graduate (’58) who served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Australia before graduating from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Economics (’65). He chased and earned an MBA from Harvard (’67) and quickly fell into the development world via a relationship with U of U frat brother Ellis Ivory, founder of Ivory Homes. 

The pair started Ivory & Boyer Company in the spring of 1967 and were the exclusive marketing agents for a new 1,000-acre residential development in Bloomington, south of St. George. The firm merged with Johnson Land Company to become Terracor in December 1968 and they set about developing Bloomington Country Club, which included two golf courses and the construction of the Man O’ War bridge to provide access from I-15 across the Virgin River. The bridge still stands today, a symbol of both Boyer and Ivory’s ambition. 

Roger remembers flying in golf pro and three-time major champion Billy Casper to hit balls as a way of promoting the new golf course development. NFL star Merlin Olsen drove a ceremonial golf cart across the bridge, too. 

The development was a success, and the pair also made a splash working on sizeable developments in Herriman and Stansbury Park, but Boyer quickly realized he needed to invest in income-producing properties and lease properties that could be owned, rather than just buying and selling assets. 

“Ownership seemed like a better strategy,” said Roger. “That was the focus initially of the Boyer Company. In many ways, we’re not doing anything different other than the scale of projects.”

Family Affair 
Two of Roger’s eight children—sons Jake and Nate—followed in his footsteps and gained a passion for real estate development at an early age. They currently serve as CEO and President, respectively, and have participated on various local business and community boards.
Jake, 50, has served as Chairman of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and President of the Valley Service Board, along with being named NAIOP Developer of the year in 2014. 
Nate, 40, served on boards for Salt Lake Community College, United Way, and the Salt Lake Chamber. 
“I grew up in this industry,” said Jake, who assumed the role of President in 2006, President/CEO in 2011, and took a three-year sabbatical to serve a church mission in Frankfurt, Germany from 2017–2020. “I remember as a kid my dad would put us in the car, and we’d visit an office or a shopping mall. It was ingrained in my system early on. The thing I love about this business is that you’re a part of creating and developing projects from scratch, and that vision can be implemented in a tangible way. It’s fun to be part of that process and contributing to the community.”
“I like the tangible nature of real estate,” said Nate, who spent three years as an agent at Cushman & Wakefield while attending college at Brigham Young University, an experience that has proved valuable during his 13-year career at the Boyer Company. Beyond financial motivations, he added, “you can create cool projects over time and make places that are a lasting legacy.”
Working with their father has helped them forge the tightest of bonds. 
“We have enjoyed a daily association with each other and worked side by side for 25 years,” said Jake. “I’ve been around him long enough that I know how he thinks and reacts in certain situations. You start merging your decision-making.”
“He’s super focused on putting together great projects that are good for the community,” he added. “He’s smart at cutting through the noise to get to the bottom of issues. No drama, no ego—he cares about doing the right things”


  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

One Utah Center in Salt Lake City (lead photo) is an iconic project developed by Boyer Company and completed in 1991. The firm has a strong portfolio of industrial projects and remains bullish about that market. Liberty Sky Apartments (above) is a high-profile multi-family joint venture project completed earlier this year (photos courtesy Boyer Company).

Diversity of Projects and Markets

The Boyer Company has a rich history of building various types of projects, including commercial office, retail, industrial, medical office, self-storage facilities, and multi-family. Jake said the firm has developed approximately 43 million SF of space totaling multi-billions in value during its 50-year history and has no intention of slowing down, with some $2 billion in projects currently in the pipeline. The firm has 185 employees working out of offices in Salt Lake, Ogden, and Phoenix. 

Jake said they have ramped up their efforts in the multi-family arena in the past decade to capitalize on Utah’s booming multi-family and senior living markets. It has also invested heavily in recent years in building industrial warehouse space, highlighted by projects such as the Business Depot Ogden (BDO), a 1,118-acre master planned business park that features 14 million SF of space in the form of warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and office space. 

“There were enough build-to-suit opportunities that we were able to build out (BDO) space at a slow-to-moderate pace,” said Brian Gochnour, a 22-year company veteran who serves as COO and filled in as CEO during Jake’s three-year absence. “That pace has picked up dramatically the past five years. It’s been a great partnership with Ogden City.”

Jake said it’s the largest industrial park in Utah, with 1 million SF added last year and another 1 million SF under construction or soon-to-be completed in 2022. The firm has other major industrial projects underway in Grantsville, Spanish Fork, and a one-million-SF building in West Jordan—its largest project currently underway. 

Industrial warehouse space has been an important focus for the Boyer team. Nate said the market, despite a large influx of new industrial projects since 2010, “is still undersupplied, with less than 2% vacancy rates. We see continued growth going forward, even as interest rates go up. We think demand will outpace supply.”

Commercial office is perhaps the trickiest market to figure out right now, Jake said, due primarily to post-pandemic corporate office policies that have given rise to more employees working remotely or on hybrid schedules. 

“It’s all over the board—companies have different policies on work from home versus work from the office,” he said. “Office is not the most favored in the financing world right now. We’re not building [speculative] space.” 

“Office [demand] is 20%–30% down because of the hybrid workforce,” added Nate. “I think a lot of tech CEOs want their folks in the office for productivity reasons. The hope is the market will catch up and we can get back to a more normal vacancy rate by 2024–2025. No one really knows what demand will look like.”

Another prominent change in the past decade is the sheer number of outside developers looking to make hay while the sun shines on Utah’s red-hot economy. 

“When I started at the Boyer Company [2000], Utah wasn’t on the radar [nationally] as much as it is now,” said Gochnour. “With more developers coming into our market, we’re having to refine our approach to the continuing needs of our customers.” They’ve been through a number of economic cycles—some good and some tough, but “the great thing about the Boyer Company is that we’ll be able to weather any economic cycle we’re faced with,” Gochnour concluded.

“The total dollar amount of deals has changed considerably—both [up-front] costs and the amount of outside capital coming to Utah,” added Nate. “The fundamentals of the business are still the same, but it’s crazy to see the amount of capital flowing into Salt Lake. It’s been great. At the end of the day, our business is scalable.”

The company continues to develop projects in multiple states simultaneously, with active projects in ten states, including Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Hawaii, Colorado, South Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, and Massachusetts.


  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

Boyer Company spent significant time and resources developing The Gateway, a $375 million, 2.1 million SF open-air, mixed-use complex to coincide with the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic games. The firm has built dozens of prominent commercial office projects over its 50-year history, including Podium building in Lehi; Boyer 101 in Salt Lake (site of the firm’s HQ); and the DealerTrack office building in Draper.

Next 50 Years

Hitting the 50-year mark is certainly a notable achievement, but not one that affords the company time to take its foot off the accelerator. 

“We’re going to keep plowing forward—we haven’t sat around and patted ourselves on the back—but 50 years is definitely a milestone we’re happy about and grateful we were able to get there,” said Jake. “We hope to be around for a long time.”

Nate also appreciates the significance of half a century but believes the firm’s best days are ahead. 

“Bigger isn’t always better,” he said of the firm’s future outlook. “We don’t have big ambitions to grow from a headcount standpoint. We want to continue to do great projects and to maintain our reputation in the market, where people know we’re trustworthy and good partners and that we do what we say we’re going to do. It’s not that complicated.”

“I’m excited about our next 50 years,” Nate continued. “Real estate isn’t going to change but there are so many new ways to finance projects. We’re in a better position than we’ve ever been financially. I think we’ll do some of our coolest projects going forward.”

Roger still loves coming to the office and engaging in project discussions. His opinions are invaluable; his presence calming. 

“We have a great system—he has an office here, he can come in as much as he wants—ultimate flexibility,” Jake smiled. He and Nate don’t want to burden Boyer with the mundane, day-to-day aspects of the business, however, “We’d be dumb to not tap into his knowledge. When we’re making large capital decisions about moving forward on certain projects, we like to get his input. He enjoys the thrill of the deal.”

Roger has been a member of ARUP’s board of directors for 34 years and also is actively engaged in a program with local universities to provide scholarships to refugees and disadvantaged youth and help them get into careers. 

Roger was wistful when asked about having Jake and Nate carry on the Boyer family as his own career has wound down the past decade.

“It’s an emotional question—there is no higher honor for a man than to have some of his closest friends be his own children,” said Roger. “We work hard together, but we have a lot of fun together. It’s an honor, and it’s what keeps me coming back at this stage.”

“The other day he turned to us and said, ‘You’re not going anywhere anytime soon,’” laughed Nate. “Jake and I will be around for a while. We don’t know the [succession] plan—at this point we are just planning to be here because we love what we do, to be honest. You wake up Monday and it’s fun to go to work.”

Innovative Education

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Apr, 2024
It's not every day that an architect designs a project around a native flower, then again, the new Career and Technical Education (CTE) High School in St. George is far from your standard K-12 school. "Essentially, we patterned the floor plan around the Bear Claw Poppy," said Bryan Dyer, Director of Facilities for Washington County School District (WCSD), and one of the primary designers of CTE from 2018-20 while at St. George-based NWL Architects prior to joining the District. "The courtyard is the center of the poppy; the rooms represent flower petals. I think it turned out nice—the courtyard is heavily used and is a unique part of the project. The school board tasked us to do something unique to the District—it's the only building of its kind in the state where students have educational and vocational all in one." "It was kind of a philosophical departure for the District—they recognized the need to pick up the students that fall into a category of not being traditional students—they wanted something different and arrived at the need for a career and technical emphasis," added Terrance White, Principal-in-Charge for NWL. As the first standalone career and technical education facility in Utah, the revolutionary $29.6 million, 126,000 SF school offers eight pathways for the nearly 500 students enrolled at the school (capacity is 800), including: business, construction, culinary arts, engineering, education, graphic design, health science, and information technology. The two-level design prioritizes functionality, creating a dynamic environment where students can explore their chosen fields with purpose and passion. WCSD officials and architects from NWL were inspired by similar CTE schools they toured in Houston and Las Vegas and were able to successfully translate the vision inspired by those schools into a tangible space that fosters true collaboration between students and sets a new standard for a career-focused educational platform. "We toured a school in Houston [...] and recognized the architecture of that building took on more of a junior college feel—it felt like it was something more than a high school but not quite a university," said White. "It's great to see a school district recognize where they can take better care of their students."

A Quarter Century of Leed

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Apr, 2024
It's been more than three decades—1993, to be exact—since the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) was co-founded by S. Richard (Rick) Fedrizzi, David Gottfried, and Michael Italiano, which ultimately spawned the revolutionary Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in 1998, a points-based rating system that offered legitimate third-party verification of green buildings. The goal of the fledgling association was simple: Increase overall sustainability of new construction projects including improved energy efficiency and creating a better, healthier environment for building occupants—all with the goal of reducing construction's carbon footprint. At the time, it was considered a bold initiative, with significant potential real-world benefits to the A/E/C industry. It took several years for the LEED initiative to get off the ground, but by the turn of the 21st Century, the phenomenon started taking root in the design community. "When LEED began in the late 90s/early 2000s, it was an incredible ambition to transform the building industry and to bring sustainability into the conversation," said Whitney Ward, Principal with Salt Lake-based VCBO Architecture and one of the firm's leading sustainable design experts. "[USGBC] had some big hurdles to overcome, including a general lack of knowledge about or mistrust of global warming and climate change." Ward said the U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED rating system had an immediate and profound effect on: —Creating more transparency in material manufacturing and getting manufacturers to care more about developing more sustainable/greener materials (carpet, flooring, paint, textiles, etc.) —Highlighting the true value of sustainable buildings through "incredible marketing efforts" and spurring owner demand. —Becoming the "go-to" third party certification agency for sustainable buildings. "The environmental consciousness of designers, builders, and owners [...] has really evolved to (where we say) 'we're going to do the best we can'," said Ward. "LEED has been an incredible tool in reshaping the industry and helping manufacturers, contractors, architects, and other industry partners understand the impact that their decisions have on the environment and on energy use," said Peter McBride, Principal with Salt Lake-based Architectural Nexus. "The conversation 20-30 years ago used to be 'how much does this cost?' or 'what is the percent increase cost in doing (LEED) vs. the baseline?' As each version of LEED established itself as an industry standard, the answer has been that LEED Certified or LEED Silver costs no more—or slightly more—than a baseline design. With each subsequent version release, LEED continues to push the boundary—sustainable design is now the baseline." "LEED has increased awareness for sustainability and energy conservation in buildings," added Chris Cox, Building Performance Program Manager for the State of Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM). "As far as the biggest pro, LEED brought the integrated design process to the forefront—user groups, owners, maintenance teams, architects, engineers, and builders work together in achieving the best outcomes."

Q&A w Bryan Turner

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Apr, 2024
UC+D: How was it working with Gary Payne for so many years? Turner: His impact on the Davis School District will last many years due to the buildings that were constructed during his time. Rather than being satisfied with the status quo, we worked to develop school buildings that would accommodate innovate teaching styles and would be safe, economical, and exciting places where children would want to be. UC+D : It's been 10 years since Odyssey Elementary was completed. What is the analysis of how it has performed? Turner: It is not very hard to create a truly Net-Zero building. We can produce enough electricity to offset the electricity used, plus the natural gas usage—however, the power company will not give us credit for electricity generated above what we use. An energy model was used to estimate the Energy Use Index (EUI) of Odyssey Elementary. It predicted that our EUI would be 22. The first year it was actually 17. An ideal Net-Zero building would not have any natural gas usage. We elected to install a gas boiler in the building to help control the "demand" charges that would occur on cold days when all the heat pumps would start up in the building. For 2023, the PV array produced 213,066 kWh; we used 188,088 kWh in electricity. We used 421 decatherms of gas, giving us a cost of $0.33/sf for energy usage, compared to an average building in the district (about $1.25/sf). UC+D: What is the greatest success with Odyssey? What would you do differently? Turner: Odyssey Elementary, with all its energy-efficient features, provides an excellent educational experience that benefits both teachers and students. The building accommodates different learning styles, collaboration, and individual exploration. First and foremost, the building is a school, albeit one that is very maintainable. There is not anything I would do differently. Since this was the first of a series of prototypes, a lot of thought from a lot of people was put into it.

Literacy Level-up

By Talia Wolfe • 01 Apr, 2024
Before the Logan Library ribbon-cutting ceremony began, two children eagerly ran past the staff toward the children's section. Inside the children's area, two girls, with their arms linked, skipped past the shelves of books while a little boy raced along the cobblestone path that weaves through the bookshelves. A young girl in the reading nook called her mom over to see, and a little girl with pigtails used the miniature-sized door into the children's section to enter the playhouse. The ribbon-cutting began in the lobby and adjacent community room, which were filled with patrons of all ages despite the stormy weather outside. As they entered, a string quartet greeted people with lovely music, and cameras lined the walls for press coverage; even the local firefighters came to show their support. Before the library's opening, Mayor Holly Daines shared how the facility was designed and built with modern and historical intentions. The mayor and various library donors spoke excitedly about the new library before the giant scissors were used to cut the ribbon. Immediately after, patrons with arms full of books were perusing the bookshelves. Children read in the aisle, too excited to move to a table, while parents formed a line waiting to check out books for the family. Quiet laughter emanated from the "teen and tween" section, and Utah State University and the Logan Latter-day Saint Temple are visible from the third-floor windows. From 1985 to 2021, the previous library was in an old and converted Sears building. For the last 20 years, Logan City leaders have discussed providing residents with a modern library. "The library was old and dark, and the systems were failing. It never was a purpose-built library," said Daines.

Landmark Lehi Hospital

By LADD MARSHALL • 01 Apr, 2024
Since its inception more than a century ago in 1922, Primary Children's Hospital has set a standard for pediatric healthcare excellence by continuing to produce world-class facilities throughout the Beehive State. The latest cutting-edge offering is the Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital, Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Campus in Lehi (PCH Lehi), a project of significant importance to this burgeoning city, one that ranks among Utah's fastest-growing communities. Aided by a $50 million gift from the Miller Family Foundation, this landmark five-story, 486,000 SF, 66-bed project features the latest and greatest in medical technology in a building that is fun, playful, and energetic, with colorful design elements playing a vital aesthetic role throughout. The value of a project on this level is beyond measure, said Blake Court, Vice President of Salt Lake-based Jacobsen Construction. "Primary Children's really has a special place in my heart—they are a very special entity," said Court, a veteran healthcare professional with nearly 35 years of overall experience, including 19 years at Jacobsen along with stints at the State of Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management and the Department of Veteran's Affairs. "It has been embraced by the community. Lehi and the surrounding areas are growing so fast. It's just amazing to see what's going on there." "It's a once-in-a-lifetime project," said Jeff Pinegar, Principal with Salt Lake-based VCBO Architecture, who partnered with Page Southerland Page of Houston on an exhaustive 19-month detailed planning and design process to create a comprehensive hospital and clinic in one congruous structure. "To see these kids have the spirit they have [...] it's a life-changing project. I'm so glad I had the chance to be part of it. I love the challenge of healthcare." As with most construction projects that originated during the pandemic, PCH Lehi kicked off in August 2020, which proved immensely challenging from the onset in regard to worker health and volatility of material cost and availability. "Everyone knows the story—people got sick, it spread to co-workers, and we would lose entire crews [of subcontractors]," said Court. "We would constantly be down manpower. And then [material] lead times just skyrocketed. Materials that we normally get off the shelf went to a year-and-a-half overnight because manufacturing plants were shutting down. Add in price escalations and it was just a trifecta."

Taking Another Shot

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Apr, 2024
At an age when most folks are kicking off their post-retirement "golden years", 66-year-old Cal Wadsworth is attacking this chapter of his life with the zest of a man reborn, having fired back up his general contractor firm in 2020 with a vision of eventually turning it over to the next generation. It speaks to his resolve as a businessman and construction lifer, as a parent who wants to do right by his children, but even more as a person who has rallied/is rallying back from a challenging period personally, which coincided with the great recession and led to him shuttering Cal Wadsworth Construction in 2010. "I'm realizing more with time that I'm not in control as much I thought," said Wadsworth. "There is the realization that you've got to give up control. You can't base all your happiness on the money that comes from this business. Learning to live with disappointments is something I'm getting better at. Learning to live with them and not let them ruin my confidence, or my ambition. I live by the 'Serenity Prayer'."

Robust Growth Fuels Lehi City's Development

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024
Adobe’s 680,000 SF Lehi Campus is an iconic project in Lehi that was completed in two phases, with the first phase opening at the beginning of 2013 and signaling a new era of development along the Silicon Slopes corridor. (photo by Dana Sohm) Inset: Aerial view showing an illustration of Texas Instruments’ new 300 mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing plant—referred to as “LFAB2”—which broke ground last November and marks the single largest investment (over $11 billion) in state history. (photo courtesy Texas Instruments)

Forging Ahead

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024
Work continues to grind forward on the mammoth new Salt Lake City Water Reclamation Facility (WRF)—a critical $850 million project being built by a joint venture of the Salt Lake regional offices of Sundt Construction and PCL Construction that will replace the current facility in North Salt Lake once it's turned over to SLC's Department of Utilities (SLCDPU) in July 2026. As it stands, this is the second-largest project in City history, trailing only the recent $2 billion-plus Salt Lake International Airport Redevelopment (Phases 3-4 ongoing), and one of the most technically challenging projects in the state. "We are up for the challenge every day—the magnitude of this thing is unreal," said Manny Diaz, Project Manager for Salt Lake-based Sundt, as he drove around the massive 30-acre site in late-January, a worksite teeming with 300 current employees (it will peak at 400 workers this summer) and myriad complicated structures being built simultaneously. Diaz is a long-time veteran of the water reclamation facility industry—this project marks plant No. 26 in his own personal history—and he was brought in a year ago by Sundt because of his expertise. When he arrived in Salt Lake at the beginning of last year, it was right smack dab in the middle of what proved to be a record-breaking year for snowfall. "It was quite a welcome to Utah!" Diaz chuckled. "We keep very close tabs on the weather." And while crews haven't been subjected to the same inclement weather this winter, site conditions are still generally wet and muddy, and the difficulties associated with building the various structures are constant. Crews are nearing the halfway mark, so certainly it's a milestone worth acknowledging, even though a mountain of construction is still left to climb. "It's such a huge accomplishment to be this far," said Jason Brown, Deputy Director of Public Utilities for SLC. "We've faced a lot of challenges, Covid, material shortages [...] it's amazing to be part of a team that works so well together. We still have a long way to go, but we'll get there. We've made a lot of progress and should be proud, but it's hard to celebrate success with so much work still ahead." Diaz, along with PCL Project Manager Shayne Waldron, said crews recently achieved a major milestone: one million hours worked, a notable accomplishment. “Achieving the ‘one million hours worked’ milestone is a testament to the coordination and collaboration required of a project this size," said Brown, adding that the new WRF project benefits from regular and ongoing staff collaboration, under the watch of Sundt/PCL, designers AECOM and Jacobs, and SLCDPU leadership. “This [milestone] is the culmination of many different efforts,” added Mauricio Ramos, District Manager for PCL’s Civil Infrastructure Division. “From local engineers to pipe layers, journeymen, construction trade workers, foremen, and general laborers, every team member has been instrumental in reaching this benchmark. The collaboration between PCL and Sundt has been a testament to our shared commitment to excellence and innovation.” "Our crews are working together seamlessly to ensure that the final product meets the goals and needs of the community," said Sam Reidy, Senior VP and District Manager for Sundt. "Celebrating this milestone recognizes the hard work and commitment each member of the project team has made to this project and the Sundt/PCL partnership." Diaz and Waldron said soil conditions challenged the team right out of the gate and took significant time to stabilize the site. "At the very beginning, the project was designed to be built on top of where the sludge beds were at, but it turns out the sludge beds were on shaky ground," said Diaz. "This whole area is young in age, so it's all soft clays and sands," added Waldron. "Soft clays are compressible, so the big issue is settling. It would have [cost] $80 million in piles to shore it up, and then in between buildings you have all the pipe and utility duct banks, so they would almost need to be built on piles." Waldron said the idea came up to pre-load the whole site, where crews built a flat pad, installed wick drains, then pre-loaded 30 ft. of dirt, with drains going down 125 feet and providing a way for water to be pushed out of the clay. "We had over seven feet of settlement," said Waldron. Crews also set up sophisticated monitoring equipment "to see where ground was settling and what layers were compressing the most. It was really scientific—a lot more than I've seen before." Diaz said it took six months to haul in the fill dirt where it remained in place for eight months, then took another six months to excavate out—close to one million yards of total material. It was an exhaustive process, with an average of 400 trucks per day and close to 500 trucks hauling 18,000 tons on the best day. Having a cohesive, highly collaborative team of designers and construction experts has been a boon to the project schedule. Once completed, Salt Lake City’s new WRF will serve over 200,000 residents as well as those who commute downtown to work or visit Utah's capital. It will replace the City’s current—and only—wastewater treatment facility, which is over 55 years old and near the end of its service life. Maintaining reliable operations at the existing facility while constructing the new WRF nearby has been critical for the project’s success. Since breaking ground in 2019, the project team has completed approximately 65% of structural concrete work as well as soil mitigation, deep foundation work, and the installation of underground utilities. In late January crews began excavating dual 63-in. diameter pipelines, along with a 78-in. effluent pipe that is being hauled one giant piece at a time from Canada, a new type of corrugated HDPE with welded joints that should provide greater durability. All in all, crews will ultimately pour 93,000 CY of concrete and install 22 million pounds of reinforcing steel, along with 89,000 LF of underground pipe ranging in diameter from 1.5-in. to 78-in. "The camaraderie among the team members allows for a very cohesive team," said Diaz. "The only way you can tell who works for who is by the color of the truck. We have a 'one project' mentality. The complexity of the job and being trusted to lead this effort [...] have been [important] for me. It's been a great job so far." Diaz, who said his first wastewater treatment plant was in North Miami Beach in the late 80s right after he graduated from college, hopes to remain in Utah once this job is completed and turned over to the client by mid-2026. “I plan on staying here and continue to work on treatment plants in Utah,” he said. “There’s a lot of work here. We have vast experience, and we have a lot of people who want to be in Utah—it’s a great place to live. Let’s do it!”

Let the Good Times Roll

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024
It's been more than 45 years (1978) since The Cars released their debut album highlighted by the wildly popular song Good Times Roll, but if there was ever a tune to sum up the general sentiment of local A/E/C professionals regarding Utah's 2024 Economic Outlook, Good Times Roll would be up there. "Our members are expecting another good year," said Joey Gilbert, President/CEO of the 650-member Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Utah. "For our contractors in both the building and highway markets, the outlook is good. Many still have decent backlogs to keep them busy through 2024 and in some cases, even 2025. The public sector is strong, and on the private side, owners are still investing in some big projects." Robert Spendlove, Chief Economist for Salt Lake-based Zions Bank, reported at the AGC's Economic Outlook meeting last November that commercial construction was up 1.6%, while Utah as a whole reported 2.5% growth overall, and believes both will continue to fare well in 2024. "Utah also has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. [2.5%]; when it gets too low, you get real struggles of labor shortages," he said. "It prevents companies from growing and is one of those defining economic characteristics of this past cycle. If we get above 4-5% we get nervous that it's a sign of a recessionary environment." Spendlove said tailwinds include strong consumer spending, a strong labor market, and an overall robust economic Intermountain West region, while headwinds could include a lack of new workers, government shutdowns, energy prices, and international uncertainty. Another bonus is that Utah remains one of the strongest states economically, regardless of what is happening nationally. "I would say uncomfortably optimistic," countered Dejan Eskic, Senior Research Fellow for the Kem Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, citing a number of factors potentially slowing down the design and construction industry such as housing, labor, and material price fluctuations—basically the same post-Covid headwinds Utah-based firms have been battling the past couple of years. "On paper, we should have a decent economic year in Utah. Because it's an election year, it brings more optimism generally. Stock performance does better in an election year, jobs do better. You have to stick to those basics. Eskic has been with the Gardner Institute for eight years, including the past five in his current role, explained that some of the uncomfortableness facing the local economy stems from having virtually no labor pool in certain segments, including construction—which continues to face a dearth of skilled craftsmen in virtually all subcontractor trades. "We still have red flags," he said, noting concerns with still-high housing costs. "Maybe it's too early to call if we've cracked inflation. 2023 ended up way better than anybody expected—it was supposed to be a recession year, but the recession never came, and the labor market exceeded expectations. "I'm bullish on Utah," he added. "I look at the numbers and how we're going, and we're in a very strong growth pattern with the economy. Things will continue to expand." Indeed, despite nasty rising interest rates that put the brakes on some speculative development projects, Utah-based owners continued to plow ahead on projects, and by-and-large most market segments continued to see a healthy amount of activity as firms set about tackling healthy project backlogs.

Building Blocks

By Reuben Wright • 01 Mar, 2024
Crews working on bridge sections of the project did the majority of heavy-lifting—as seen with these giant cranes lifting heavy girders—during the wee hours of the night, part of UDOT’s expectations of keeping traffic moving by limiting road closures. (night photos by Kjell Gerber, BuildWitt)
More Posts
Share by: