40 Years of Aiming High

Founded in 1985, Steel Encounters has excelled in fabricating and installing stunning glass curtain wall systems on prominent high-rise buildings in downtown Salt Lake.
By Brad Fullmer

Steel Encounters' Executive Leadership team consists of (Left to right): Brad Hardy, President; Brian Tlustosch, Executive VP: Tom Jackson, Chairman/CEO; Michael Rudge, CFO.

Asked what makes Steel Encounters, Inc. (SE) special as the company marks its 40th anniversary this year, Chairman/CEO Tom Jackson recalled a story from the fall of 2016 that illustrates the firm's commitment to fulfilling client expectations. 

The project required the installation of exquisite bronze entrance doors on the Main Street side  of the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. The client wanted the doors installed in time for Thanksgiving.


Manufactured by Jamestown, N.Y.-based Dawson, the high-end custom doors were highly labor intensive, requiring a five-month lead time. By early October, it seemed unlikely the doors would be finished in time. Jackson had worked with Dawson on previous projects and had a solid relationship with them, so he flew to New York to see if he could expedite the manufacturing process.


Jackson requested to speak to the union craftsmen, praising them for their skill and expertise on past jobs, and then explaining his dilemma of having a client really wanting the doors installed in time for Thanksgiving. He left the meeting and flew home thinking the trip was a failure and that the doors likely would not be delivered in time. On Nov. 1, Jackson astonishingly got a call from Dawson's GM saying the doors were ready to be shipped. 


"The GM told me, 'Whatever you told them, they were highly motivated to help your customer and did everything it took to finish the work.’ The doors were installed by Thanksgiving," said Jackson. "This is the beauty of good relationships. Just a little bit of acknowledgment to these guys, and they knocked out the work. I could share many stories of our employees and business partners, the general contractors, superintendents, project managers, and vendors partnering to resolve problems and deliver a favorable outcome. It is important to care about each other’s mutual success to get the job done." 


As Steel Encounters celebrates 40 years and hundreds of successful projects, it's operating like a well-oiled machine, firing on all cylinders, and achieving success at record levels on an array of impressive projects while completing $3.4 billion in contracts since its inception, including $1.2 billion from 2020-24.   


"We're blessed to have longevity and 40 years of profitability," said Jackson, a 29-year company veteran, about the four-decade milestone. "There were some lean years, but Steel Encounters has generated a yearly profit. We don't take it for granted."


Roots Grounded in Hard Work, Willingness to Innovate Leads to Expertise in High-Rise Projects

Now in its fourth iteration of leadership, Steel Encounters boasts 250 employees at locations in in five states, including its Salt Lake headquarters, along with offices in Seattle (Architectural and Structural Divisions), Portland (Structural Division), Boise, Idaho (Architectural and Structural Divisions), and Jacksonville, Ark. (Structural Division). 


The company was founded in October 1985 by Dennis Peterson and Billy Moore, with Fred Tannenbaum joining a year later to create a formidable trio. Peterson and Moore had worked together a few years at Salt Lake-based Associated Specialties (a construction products supplier) , which by the mid-80s was tanking, leading the pair to start Steel Encounters.


Despite a rough economic market in construction, they were bullish on their chances of success. 


"We were advised not to go into business at that time, but we knew what we were doing," said Peterson, 78, a southside Chicago-native who moved to Utah in 1977 to ski and escape the big city. "We were a great team. I was on the design side (he earned a Bachelor of Structural Engineering from the University of Dayton), Billy provided detailing services, Fred did sales and accounting—it was a good combination. We offered design-build information and worked with engineers to make jobs more efficient by offering more economical alternatives." 


The company was initially just a materials supplier, primarily open web steel joist and metal decking products. Within three years Associated had folded, and Steel Encounters picked up some key people, prompting it to diversify into architectural products including glass/glazing and building exteriors. 


"We gradually acquired the right people and developed the architectural side," said Peterson. Ira Field, a structural engineer and friend of Tannenbaum, was hired in 1988 to spearhead the Architectural Division. Field "took the division a long way. We were getting into some heavy architectural products that required specific engineering, and he was the perfect guy for it."


The second wave of leadership included Peterson, Field, and Bob Dern, overseeing significant company growth through the 90s. Jackson came on board in 1996, having cut his teeth in the industry as a union glazing contractor in Seattle in 1982, traveling to 11 states over six years. He met his wife, Susie, and they ultimately settled in Utah with Jackson working for a competitor a few years before being recruited as a Project Manager by Field. 


Field skillfully guided the firm into the high-rise market, initially landing Salt Lake-based projects the Gateway Tower in 1997, Grand America Hotel in 2000, and 222 Main in 2006. 


Jackson quickly proved his mettle managing high-profile jobs including Gateway Tower, Rice-Eccles Stadium Expansion at the University of Utah, and the Juan Diego Catholic School Campus in Draper. 


The company grew consistently during the 2000s, even weathering the great recession from 2008-2010 in part by landing significant work on the $2 billion City Creek Center in Salt Lake and the giant NSA Data Center in Bluffdale.


"Our success, I can flatly say, is because we hired the right people," said Peterson. "Without the right people, the company wouldn't be where it is now. We had a great team; they still have a great team."


Jackson said the firm's attention to detail includes direct communication with all team members, beginning with manufacturers. He served as Construction Manager in 2008 when 222 Main started and insisted on a detailed QA/QC plan from each manufacturer while meeting with personnel directly to ensure the highest quality product. 


"It's so important to know the people making these products for us," he said. 


Since then, Steel Encounters has thrived in the high-rise glass curtain wall market, with an enviable 25+ year run of skyline-busting projects. The list includes Utah Valley Medical Center, 95 South Temple, City Creek Condos, the Regent, 111 Main, 95 State, Liberty Sky Apartments, Hyatt Regency Hotel, the Worthington, and the 40-story Astra Tower—the tallest building in Utah at a whopping 450 ft.


"It's a highlight to see the city skyline develop—we've been a big part of that change," said Brad Hardy, a 20-year veteran at Steel Encounters named President/COO in January, having formerly been Executive Vice President of the Structural Division. 


A list of standout past projects beyond skyscrapers includes Intermountain Medical Center in Murray (one of 15 Intermountain Healthcare projects since 2000), Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake, Adobe Corporate Campus in Lehi, George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater in Salt Lake, the Salt Lake City Airport Redevelopment, and Mountain America Credit Union HQ in Sandy. Current projects include the North Capitol Building in Salt Lake and the new Salt Lake Bee's Stadium in South Jordan. 


"As I look at our projects, every job brings a flood of memories—the challenges, the difficulties," said Jackson. "Our goal is to make the difficult look easy." Projects like the high-rises and City Creek Center pay dividends in helping attract the best and brightest in the exterior facade industry. 


"When recruiting, I take people through City Creek, a highly engineered, sophisticated project with glass, motorized doors, the bridge, the cable inlet walls. It helps them see our impact. It's fun for me," said Jackson. 

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Steel Encounters has excelled in the fabrication and installation of all-glass curtain wall exterior systems in the past 15 years, including 95 State in Salt lake City and the Nu Skin Innovation Center in Provo.  Crews utilize specialized equipment with huge suction cups to lift huge pieces into place. (All photos courtesy Steel Encounters, except where indicated)

Multiple Divisions, Fabrication Shop Spur Diversity, Broad Market Reach

Steel Encounters added offices in Seattle (in 2004) and Boise (in 2024) to extend the reach of the Architectural and Structural Divisions. The Special Projects department was added in 2015. Each division has an array of in-house engineering, fabrication, logistics, quality assurance, safety, and project management specialists. 


The Architectural Division creates beautiful building envelopes, including dazzling glass curtain walls, durable cladding systems, storefronts, and operable glass partitions, among other exterior finishes. 


The Structural Division provides steel joist and deck materials throughout the U.S. and has a reputation for helping clients streamline projects. With an average of more than 600 commercial construction projects completed annually, it is well-versed in efficiently delivering the highest-quality products and services. 


The Special Projects team focuses on unique specialty projects, including luxury residential homes, houses of worship, temples, tenant improvements, and post-construction services and maintenance. In addition, Steel Encounters' fabrication shop has been a major success since it opened at the end of 2014, with employees immediately showing off their chops by fabricating the curtain wall system for 111 Main in downtown Salt Lake. 


Leadership Transition;ESOP Aims to Optimize Employee Wealth 

Peterson retired in 2015, and Field followed in 2019, leading to Steel Encounters' third generation of leadership, including Jackson, Pam Foote, Peter Hatton, Derek Losee, Shauna Christofferson, and Dan Tibbitts. Each contributed mightily to the firm's progress from 2020-2024.


Last year, Hardy was installed as President/COO, while Jackson retained the role of Chairman/CEO. In addition, Michael Rudge was named CFO in 2020, and Brian Tlustosch became Executive VP of the Structural Division this year.


Steel Encounters began its ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) journey in 2015 and became 100% employee-owned in 2023. Jackson is particularly excited about this program, as it gives each of SE's 250 employees more "skin in the game" and an opportunity to accumulate greater wealth and prosperity during their careers. It also benefits the firm via increased loyalty and employee incentives to maximize quality and productivity. 


"[ESOP] helps us generate employee wealth," said Jackson. "As you can tell, I'm excited about our people. Our employees work hard because they love the company they own." 


Jackson sets the standard for establishing a forward-thinking culture with positive encouragement and praise when a job is done well. The firm emphasizes employee growth and happiness and rolls out the red carpet for new hires with their name on the door, a swag bag, a laptop, and business cards ready to go on day one. 


"What that all says to a new hire is, 'We've been expecting you, and we're looking forward to working with you', "said Jackson.


"I love visiting the fabrication facility and seeing our craftworkers. The sounds of the shop and visiting with the employees make me happy," said Jackson. “My other happy place is at the job sites—the field and shop guys are my jam. My early career as a glazier created a bond between us. I am proud of them. It's going to be hard for me to retire."


"I've never worked with anybody that is so engaged with not just the success, but making sure people are safe—that's what makes Tom a good leader," said Hardy. "Tom has a CEO mindset—he's always looking at the big picture on how to make Steel Encounters, our employees, and our customers successful." 


Hardy also echoed the company's focus on employees and a culture that fosters loyalty, hard work, and a genuine appreciation for co-workers.



"It's more than just a job—you spend so much time together, it's like a work family," he added. "You can't do that without a culture that makes people want to come to work." 


Steel Encounters Significant Projects


Year Project Location

1997 The Gateway Tower Salt Lake City

1998 Rice-Eccles Stadium University of Utah

2000 Larry H. Miller Corp. HQ Sandy

2007 Intermountain Med. Center Murray

2009 222 Main Salt Lake City

2012 Adobe Corporate Campus Lehi 

2015 111 Main Salt Lake City 

2023 95 South State Salt Lake City

2023 Hyatt Regency Hotel Salt Lake City

2024 The Worthington Salt Lake City

2024 Astra Tower Salt Lake City 

2025 Salt Lake Bees Stadium South Jordan

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Black Desert Oasis

By Brad Fullmer • October 15, 2025
When Lehi-based Reef Capital Partners (Reef) initially announced plans in 2018 to build a sprawling, estimated $2 billion mega-resort with a championship-caliber golf course on 600 acres covering parts of Ivins and Santa Clara—small towns with just over 15,000 combined residents at the time—it was difficult to fathom what a project of that magnitude might look like. Fast forward seven years, and Black Desert Resort is indeed a shining oasis amidst Southern Utah's famed red rock cliffs, sitting atop an ancient lava field, with buildings strategically carved into the land to produce a resort unlike anything else. "This is the biggest project we've ever done—we feel really good where we are," said Brett Boren, President of Real Estate for Reef, acknowledging the general completion of the $290 million, 806,000-SF resort center, along with significant ongoing work—including a 1,298-stall parking garage, condominiums, and a private water park. As of September, all aspects of the main resort center were open and fully complete, with the hotel celebrating its first official year in business after partially opening in September 2024 as it hosted the inaugural PGA Black Desert Championship October 10-13. The second installment of the tournament—now dubbed the Bank of Utah Championship—is slated for October 23-26, with a third tournament signed for 2026.

Calder Richards Celebrates 20 Years of Sustainable Evolution

By UC&D • October 1, 2025
In 2005, Calder Richards Consulting Engineers formed after the merger of two smaller structural consulting firms who, interestingly enough, both started in 1986. Calder Richards has provided a steady structural support for Utah’s built environment ever since. As the firm celebrates its 20th anniversary, UC+D spoke with Managing Principals Shaun Packer and Nolan Balls to look back over the company’s history and celebrate what has helped their firm stand out to deliver solid projects in Utah and beyond. Their responses were edited for clarity and brevity. UC+D: What have been some catalytic moments for Calder Richards since that initial merger? SP: Winning the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona is the first one. The big reason for the merger between Richards Consulting Group and Calder Consulting was to build a large enough company to go after bigger projects like that.” NB: That was my first project when I was hired straight out of college. We helped design the 17-story hotel and casino, a conference center, as well as parking structures, a central mechanical building, and a pool building. Talking Stick helped get us through the downturn a few years later. UC+D: What have been your key market sectors you all have targeted over the last 20 years? NB: We were breaking into K-12 along the Wasatch Front soon after the Talking Stick Resort and it’s been our bread and butter since then. SP: Absolutely, but I credit our firm for always adapting to the current environment. We’ve been fortunate to do so much K-12, but we used to do a lot of office work, and now we are working on conversions like the Ebay Headquarters to CTE/Innovation Center for Canyons School District as the market has shifted away from commercial office. UC+D: Schools have certainly evolved over the last 20 years, how has your work as structural engineers evolved? SP: We are seeing more creative design on the architectural side, certainly. We see many more two-story designs; more windows and daylighting. But we’re utilizing more powerful tools and continually building our understanding of the structural materials that are in use more than ever—tilt-up concrete, steel columns and beams, especially—to be the architect’s trusted partner. NB: Schools have definitely changed, and we’ve had better experience in helping projects move forward successfully when we are involved earlier in the design process. As we got involved early on in West High School’s schematic design, we were able to provide structural solutions and options to accommodate the architects’ design intent. UC+D: How has company growth changed Calder Richards? SP: It’s certainly changed the number of people in our office. We started with around 10 people when we merged, and today we have 27. But we often say that we don’t want to grow just to grow—we want to grow sustainably. We don’t lay people off when works slows down, and we have an expectation that sometimes there will be overtime work, and other times you may be waiting for our next project to begin.

The (Epi)Center of it All

By By Taylor Larsen • October 1, 2025
Nested in the middle of the University of Utah (U of U) campus sits the aptly-named Impact & Prosperity Epicenter, the second living learning community (LLC) project designed on campus by Los Angeles-based Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign. After nearly a decade since their first LLC project, the award-winning Lassonde Studios (UC+D’s 2016 Most Outstanding Public Building over $10 million), Mehrdad Yazdani, the design firm’s Principal and Studio Director, said their work on a sequel was an exciting prospect for the firm, and enlisted Salt Lake-based MHTN Architects and Okland Construction to serve as the respective local architect and general contractor. Today, the Epicenter serves as a striking piece of architecture and construction, one whose curvilinear shape asks users and visitors plenty of questions. But moving from idea to execution has been a work in progress. One query from Yazdani stood out as it relates to students and the built environment, and helped begin the journey to create the Epicenter: “How does your living environment as a student impact your success as a student and as a changemaker?” A Project for an Evolving Campus Katie Macc, CEO of the Sorenson Impact Institute, said LLCs like the Epicenter and Lassonde Studios next door have been massive steps forward in advancing entrepreneurship and social impact. But both play a major role in creating “college town magic”—a phrase coined by University President Taylor Randall that invokes a vibrant campus where students can find community and have one-of-a-kind experiences. With more on-campus student housing in the works, the state’s flagship university is hoping to shed the “commuter school” label and deliver a level of desirability that matches the resources students commit to higher education. “There is some soul searching going on across university campuses,” said Macc of the challenge at hand. “We have to be convincing that going to college matters.” She said overall university enrollments across the nation are decreasing as students grapple with tuition costs, COVID and its isolating aftershocks, and a different perspective on higher education. Universities are no longer a place where students come to learn what they couldn’t learn elsewhere—remote learning and the internet have opened a fissure in that idea that will never close. Instead of that educational transaction, being at a university must include building community and creating in-person experiences only available on campus. Macc said that the Epicenter helps steer the campus experience toward the future, with design goals to create a base of operations for two changemaking organizations and a living and learning home for 778 students. The three-story commercial portion of the building, known as the “Changemaker Pavilion”, includes office space for The Center for Business, Health, and Prosperity (second floor) and the Sorenson Impact Institute (third floor). While each organization has a different focus, both are firmly invested in helping students access and create the resources needed to change the world. Each entity works hand-in-hand as owners of the Epicenter to host events and “create a full spectrum of ways for students to get involved,” said Chad Salvadore, Chief Financial Officer for the Sorenson Impact Institute. “We’re dialing in the programming to energize the student body,” said Salvadore of the work done at the Epicenter. With over 60 majors represented among the 778 students who live there, he said that the diversity of students is less a reflection of their chosen major and more a desire to reside in a space built for students to work their entrepreneurial muscles. “Living here is a mindset—you can engage across many different paths you choose.”

Goal!

By Brad Fullmer • October 1, 2025
Front view of the bleachers, press box, and suites. (photos courtesy SIRQ Construction)

Four Decades of Transformation

By Brad Fullmer • October 1, 2025
Over the course of its 40-year history in Utah, WSP's Salt Lake office—originally founded as Parsons Brinckerhoff in 1985—has morphed from primarily a transportation design firm to one that successfully operates in multiple civil engineering markets. The results of WSP's transformation the past decade into a more diverse outfit speak for themselves, with the 128-person Salt Lake office (with locations in Cottonwood Heights and South Jordan) posting three consecutive years of revenues over $50 million, including a record $70.1 million in 2023, and a robust $59.9 million in 2024—good for the No. 2 ranking in UC+D's 2025 Top Utah Engineering Firms rankings.

Good Career? Start Here

By Taylor Larsen • October 1, 2025
Lucio Gallegos vividly remembers the workforce development meetings he attended during his time at Ogden-Weber Tech. These career and technical education (CTE) discussions consistently focused on one thing: young people were not entering construction, and the industry needed a new approach to attract them. Gallegos recalled one member of the workforce development team, a training director with a prominent general contractor, saying, “We have been trying this for over 10 years, screw it, we’re just gonna hire them.” The Long Road Those conversations occurred nearly 10 years ago, and workforce development concerns continue to permeate the industry. The National Center for Construction Education & Research estimates that 41% of the construction workforce will retire by 2031, leading to potential gaps in skill and safety and decreases in productivity and project quality. While stakeholders have aligned on the overall goal of providing students a foundation for future success through career development, the means to achieve the ends were seemingly at odds. High schools, trade schools, colleges, and private industry took different paths to achieve their goals, with some moving in opposite directions. “I’m gonna be honest with you,” Gallegos recalled one school administrator saying, “If I promote what you’re telling me to get them over to the tech college, I lose head count. And then I lose teachers. I can’t have a school without teachers.” Jobs that took away student learning experiences, according to federal guidelines and child labor laws, made the idea a non-starter. However, after years of lobbying the Utah Legislature for a compromise between industry and education, H.B. 055, passed in 2023, provided a catalytic change in how younger people can engage with construction and other industries. High school students could participate if they were involved in a school-sponsored work experience and career exploration program. Private industry finally had the compromise it wanted. It was time to act. Big-D Charts New Path Gallegos, now the Workforce Development Manager from Big-D, joined the company in 2023 with the express purpose of creating a program that fit within the new guidelines. Gallegos said he sees career development through the lens of the immigrant experience, one he knows personally as a Mexican immigrant with a father who worked in commercial construction. “I was 9 years old and busting pins out of concrete forms with a hammer that was as big as I was,” he laughed. “I’ve got the cliché immigrant story.” That story has a theme familiar to many immigrant families, he said, one where parents say, “I want my kids not to have to work as hard as I do. I want them in school.” Add to that, it’s a law—children must attend school. Gallegos was unfazed by those obstacles. As he began planning how Big-D’s internship program would operate, he knew that engagement had to start at the elementary school level and build on personal relationships between private industry, school administrators, students, and their families to succeed. “We want to be the solution, not the obstacle to get into this industry,” said Gallegos. So Big-D removed the barriers. Students can still attend school, work towards graduation, and be available in the afternoon for sports, extracurricular activities, and the high school experience. But working was another significant part of the immigrant experience, Gallegos said, and internships needed to be paid to alleviate the family concerns. “We asked what we would pay somebody fresh out of high school who worked at Big-D,” Gallegos said. Interns have earned those same wages ever since.

It's A Knockout

By Brad Fullmer • October 1, 2025
On January 2, 1957, Gene Fullmer, a scrappy, underdog fighter from West Jordan stunned the boxing world with a 15-round unanimous decision over the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson at New York’s fabled Madison Square Garden. Fullmer captured the world middleweight championship and established himself as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers during the late 50s and early 60s. Since then, the Fullmer name has been synonymous with boxing in Utah, with brothers Gene, Jay, and Don establishing the Fullmer Brothers Boxing Gym in 1978, and offering free boxing instruction and life mentoring to thousands of youths—carrying on a tradition they learned from their trainer, Marv Jenson. Their legacy of community giving will live on in the new Fullmer Legacy Center in South Jordan, a 16,500-SF facility that will serve as a permanent home to the boxing gym—after years of bouncing around to various temporary facilities—along with a museum, snack bar, and gift shop. “The Fullmers are the first family of boxing in the state of Utah—that’s well understood,” said Dave Butterfield, a founding board member of the Fullmer Legacy Foundation. Butterfield served as Chairman of the Board from June 2016 to early 2025 and was influential in helping raise money—nearly $6 million via donations to date, which includes $2 million from the Utah Legislature. Project Driven by Vision to Find a Permanent Home for Fullmer Brothers Gym It was Jay Fullmer who led the charge to teach boxing in the community. By 1978, the Fullmer Brothers Boxing Gym had formally opened at the Butterfield farm chicken coop in South Jordan, recalled Larry Fullmer, Don’s oldest son and the man who spearheaded the efforts for the Fullmer Legacy Center. From there, Larry said the facility moved to Riverton Elementary, an old church house in West Jordan, a sugar factory, a former fire station, and the Salt Lake County Equestrian Park in South Jordan, where it had resided since 2011. When they got word that Salt Lake County planned to transfer ownership of the park to Utah State University, Fullmer knew they needed to find a long-term home for the boxing gym. Fullmer met with Butterfield and Robert Behunin—who at the time was a Vice President with Utah State University—in 2016 and told them he just wanted a “tin shed of our own” for boxing. Behunin countered by saying, “If you want people to donate money, you need something better than a tin shed!” They quickly formed the Fullmer Legacy Foundation (FLF), and by 2018, the wheels were in motion on a building. Doc Murdock, a long-time trainer at the gym, connected Larry with his former roommate at Brigham Young University, Vern Latham, who is a Principal at Salt Lake-based VCBO Architecture. VCBO offered pro-bono services initially while helping FLF put together an RFP, while North Salt-based Gramoll Construction provided value engineering and other services in an effort to get the project launched. Larry expressed sheer gratitude for the contributions of both firms in helping make the project a reality, especially for many generous donations from various foundations and individuals. “[VCBO] believed in us early on and did our first phase of planning at no charge—they have been amazing and so professional to work with,” said Larry. “Gramoll helped us get the budget done as tight as it could be. This project had the absolute tightest budget. We met weekly with architects and the general contractor to see the progress—I’ve never seen such an amazing process. Construction started in November ’23, and every time I would come to the jobsite in the first six months, I’d get emotional.” “We leaned on our relationships with contractors for flooring, ceiling, tiles, donated furniture and got deep discounts and a lot of in-kind donations,” said Phil Haderlie, Principal-in-Charge for VCBO. “To me, the story of this project is the grassroots effort of people seeing the value—this is something that came from their heart. It will have a long-lasting impact on the community.”

Significant Buzz

By Brad Fullmer • October 1, 2025
The first season is in the books for the Salt Lake Bees in its spectacular new home—the Ballpark at America First Square, the exciting new heart of Downtown Daybreak and certainly one of the premier Triple-A stadiums in the country. "It's a really cool stadium—the field looks so good!" gushed Eric Barton, Project Director for Salt Lake-based Okland Construction, while surveying the spacious 280,000 SF, 6,500-seat (8,000 capacity) ballpark. Barton said his team faced an extremely difficult construction schedule with the mandate the project had to be sufficiently ready for Opening Day 2025 on April 8, less than 18 months after the formal October 20, 2023, groundbreaking. Barton said Okland knew it was going to be a grind, with long hours and tight windows to get various milestones accomplished. "When we bid this to our trade partners, we had them bid it with the expectation of it being six days a week," he said. "We want not only your best guys, but you have to be adaptable to the plan. It was gangbusters from the start.” Up to 300 workers were onsite during peak construction activity, requiring meticulous coordination throughout. Okland even brought in Fred Strasser, a legendary project director who came out of retirement to shepherd the project through. "Fred is the genius behind getting this whole thing done," said Barton. The project was designed by Salt Lake-based HOK, who worked closely with the owner, Sandy-based Larry H. Miller Real Estate (LHMRE) and Miller Sports + Entertainment (MSE) to bring about a project that would add even more buzz to its wildly popular, 4,000-acre master planned Daybreak development in South Jordan, making it a true entertainment destination. The design weaves together best-in-class baseball experiences with year-round public amenities, including a recently opened Megaplex theater, a performing arts center, a large amphitheater, along with retail, restaurants, and apartments, with buildout continuing through 2027. Walking paths and open spaces create natural connections between The Ballpark and the surrounding neighborhood, making the area an iconic community asset and a true sports and entertainment district. Downtown Daybreak is slated to host more than 200 annual events—including the Bees’ 75-game regular season. Supporting this entertainment destination, the venue’s prominent location just off the Mountain View Corridor freeway makes it highly visible to passing traffic while providing easy access. The stadium is also connected to multiple transportation options, easily reached by walking, biking or light rail across the Wasatch Front, and by car from the new freeway corridor. The Ballpark site drops 20 feet from the loading dock to the plaza, managed through terraced spaces that echo the region’s mining heritage. Though the slope stays gentle at under 5%, carefully placed stairs and planters make walking comfortable while honoring the industrial past. The center field main entrance connects to light rail, while a formal plaza at home plate serves as a second entrance, primarily for VIP access. The street design follows Daybreak’s established standards for lighting and tree spacing. Bike racks at the light rail station and plaza make cycling to games convenient. Utah’s Landscape Shapes Design The Wasatch Mountains, visible from every angle of the ballpark, directly influenced the ballpark's design. Throughout the venue, carefully planned viewpoints frame these mountain vistas. The structure resembles this mountainous setting in its form, transitioning from solid brick and concrete at its base to lighter materials—metal and expansive glass—as it ascends. Working with Kansas City-based architectural metal fabricator Zahner, HOK and MSE created a distinctive facade using perforated metal panels that suggest Utah mountain peak silhouettes from Ben Lomond Peak in Weber County to Mt. Nebo, the southernmost and highest mountain in the Wasatch Range of Utah. These panels transform into a glowing display at night, serving as a lantern on The Ballpark’s ‘front porch’ and welcoming visitors. This connection to Utah’s landscape flows throughout the site. Angular planters guide visitors along pathways, while public spaces are arranged in terraces that echo the mountainside. The copper colors and stepped surfaces of the nearby Kennecott Mine inspired the ballpark’s materials and layout. Inside, the decor features warm copper, gold and honey tones, with textured materials that blend the natural landscape with the Salt Lake Bees’ team colors.

Firms Making Moves

By Brad Fullmer • October 1, 2025
Horrocks CEO Bryan Foote (left) shakes hands with Matt Hirst, former President/CEO of CRS Engineering & Survey. Horrocks acquired CRS a year ago in a move that has proven to be a seamless fit for more than 60 CRS employees.

Q&A with Nathan Goodrich

By UC&D • August 1, 2025
Nathan Goodrich