50 Years of Excellence at VBFA

The MEP firm established by Howard Van Boerum in 1972 has become one of the preeminent consulting engineering companies in the Intermountain region, with three satellite offices and headquarters in Salt Lake.
By Brad Fullmer

When J. Howard Van Boerum puts his mind to something, there is no slowing him down. 

The 84-year-old founder of one of Utah’s preeminent MEP engineering firms, Salt Lake-based Van Boerum & Frank Associates (VBFA), established his consulting firm in 1972. He intended for it to be the very best at what it did, and he worked diligently to achieve those results.

As the firm celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, Van Boerum admitted great satisfaction with the current state of the firm, which was No. 2 among all MEP firms in UC&D’s 2021 Top Engineering Firms rankings with $19.3 million in annual revenues from 2020, the firm's highest mark. He trusts that the current leadership will continue steering the company in the right direction. 

“I wanted to be the best, wanted to be the biggest, with a good reputation,” said Van Boerum. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished as a firm and as a team.”

In addition to its headquarters in Murray (the firm moved from its long-time Salt Lake location in 2020), VBFA has offices in Logan, St. George, and Tempe, Arizona, with a total of 125 employees. 


Early Days

The oldest of four kids, Van Boerum knew from an early age that he wanted to combine his drive and determination with his natural inclinations and become an engineer or architect. 


“I had my visions of being my own boss and having my name on the door,” he said. “I always liked drawing. As a kid I would draw 2D perspectives of homes—I remember drawing the home across the street. I had a propensity to like that kind of stuff.”

 

His father, John E. Van Boerum, worked hard for the federal government as a civilian commander at the Army Supply Depot in Ogden. He impressed upon young Howard the importance of going to college “so you don’t have to work for the damn government,” he chuckled. Van Boerum was also musically inclined, playing several instruments and forming a dance band in high school. He later served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Holland and married his college sweetheart, Joanne, upon his return.


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    Provo City Center Temple

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    Medical Center in Murray

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    Snowbird Resort Co-Gen Plant

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    Hale Center Theater in Sandy

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VBFA is renowned for its design of complex healthcare projects, including the landmark Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, a multi-building project on a 100-acre campus that opened in 2007 (all photos courtesy VBFA). The firm has vast MEP expertise in virtually every major building market. Some key projects in recent years include: the Snowbird Resort Co-Gen Plant; the Provo City Center Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and the Hale Center Theater in Sandy.

Starting Out

Van Boerum worked for Nelson Reeve Maxwell in Ogden prior to his mission and for two years after. He realized early on he didn’t want to work for a big company like Boeing, “being stuck in a big hangar with 500 people in a corner. I knew I wanted to be in business for myself,” he said. 

He moved to Salt Lake City to gain mechanical consulting experience at Hardy and Naylor then decided he was best suited to venture out on his own and started Van Boerum Associates on April 1, 1972. 

“I’ve always been driven to be good at what I was doing,” he said. “It became apparent that I needed to start my own firm.”

Life came quick and fast, as Van Boerum was called to be a Latter-day Saint Bishop of a Salt Lake congregation five weeks after starting his firm. He found himself pulled in myriad directions and challenged to find time to run his fledgling business, dedicate himself to his church calling, and tend to his wife and their four children (they would eventually add two more kids to their family). 

Joanne, who passed away September 21, 2021, at the age of 81, supported her husband’s ventures, despite him being a man of “too many aspirations,” he said. “If you shoot for the moon at least you’ll fall on a star,” he continued. “I didn’t always get home for dinner on time. I had to learn to compartmentalize.” He said he worked hard to be fully committed to home and church duties in addition to work and “tried not to let one interfere with the other. Those are the fun parts of life you look back on and say, ‘Well, I made it through!’” 

Lori Van Boerum Haglund, the oldest of Howard and Joanne’s six children and VBFA’s Marketing Director since 2001, recalled how hard both her parents worked on behalf of their family. Looking back at the firm’s success, Haglund said her father possessed all the key traits that make for an effective business owner and leader. 

“Integrity, drive, work ethic—he will always stand behind his work,” she said. “If there’s a problem, he’s honest and makes it right.”


Steady Growth 

Six months after establishing his firm, Van Boerum was approached by Lloyd Frank, owner of Associated Sheet Metal of Salt Lake, about hiring his son John, who had recently graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. 

“I had enough work that I needed help. [John Frank] and I were polar opposites in almost everything, but that turned out to be a herald for the business,” said Van Boerum, acknowledging the unlikely fit between them. “He appealed to a certain part of the industry and I did the other. He was a smart engineer and brought a lot to the table. He was a good partner.”

Frank, who formally retired in 2015, said, “Howard was always a good partner. He was not always the easiest to get along with, but I will tell you, we got along for 40 years and never had a major disagreement we could not resolve. You have to learn to work with your partners.”

Frank continued: “[…] We had a similar work ethic. We never tried to take advantage of clients. We worked hard and we were honest. We had a strong belief in helping our clients—that was 100% what it was about.”

Another key member of the firm, Kim Harris, came aboard in July 1977. The firm at that time was still relatively small, with only Van Boerum, Frank, and four other employees, but had just landed work on the University of Utah Medical Center expansion and needed help. Harris would go on to serve as VBFA’s President from 2006–2019 and was instrumental in growing the firm from 45 employees to more than 100. 

“I had an interest in owning my own business or being a key part of a business,” said Harris. “I didn’t want to work for a large firm and just be an employee, so this was a perfect fit and I was able to get in on the ground floor with Howard and John. I was fortunate they recognized potential in me.”

One of the key moments for the firm under Harris’ watch came within his first year as President, with the hiring of 16 employees in six months, the majority from Bennion Engineers, including Neil Spencer (retired 2014), Wade Bennion (current Principal), and Steve Shepherd (VBFA President from 2018–2021). 

“That was a big step from a business standpoint, taking on that many employees at once, but it propelled us forward,” said Harris. “We meshed well together.”

VBFA also began offering more in-depth electrical engineering services in 2007, becoming more of a full-fledged MEP firm. Mechanical engineering design still accounts for the majority of the firm’s revenues, but the electrical side has steadily grown over the years. 

Van Boerum said hiring talented people has been the underlying theme of VBFA’s success. 

“I had a philosophy; I would hire the smartest people I could find, people who were smarter than I was,” he said. “In the beginning, it was about being a better engineer and learning to be a better businessman.” 

He affiliated himself with the American Consulting Engineers Council, went to as many meetings as he could, met a lot of associates/friends, and “became a good businessman. I love the variety in our business. You have to be a good marketer, a good communicator. I love making presentations.”

“Howard was on the ball—his reputation was top-notch,” said Jeff Watkins, who was named President/CEO of VBFA in January 2022. “He’s been a great mentor and help, not just within the engineering community and my occupation, but advice for my own challenges and trials with family and life.”

“Howard is frank and to the point,” added Ladd Birch, Principal/Office Manager of the Southern Utah office in St. George. “I thought that’s how all businessmen are, but he has many unique qualities. He’s a great leader.”


Stout Reputation for Designing Complex, Challenging Projects

VBFA has built a stellar reputation over five decades of designing intricate and challenging MEP systems on a host of project types, from healthcare and education to municipal and sports/recreation—including several Olympic-related projects. 

Prior to the Salt Lake Winter Olympics in 2002, Van Boerum and Dave Eckhoff created a VBFA-EWP joint venture with their respective firms and toured the world looking at Olympic venues, so by the time the State of Utah put out an RFP for various projects for the 2002 games, they were ready to pursue the work. 

It paid off big-time, with the partnership landing design work for the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, including the bobsled/luge track, ski jump pool, the speed skating oval in Kearns, and an ice rink at Steiner Aquatic Center. The firm is also pursuing work for a potential return of the Olympics to Utah in 2030 or 2034.

Van Boerum said of the Olympic projects: “That’s one of the highlights of my career. It’s been a great thing to talk about over the years. It’s been a significant feather in our cap.”

Van Boerum and Harris recently completed a complicated cogeneration plant at Snowbird Resort in Utah, a remarkable project that Harris said was “not a cookie-cutter project, not everyday engineering. It’s the most complicated system I’ve ever designed.”

The firm has designed numerous healthcare projects, including Intermountain Medical Center in Murray and several phases of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, another highly satisfying accomplishment for Van Boerum.

K-12 projects have also been a key market segment, with the firm displaying its innovative chops in the design of ground source heat pump systems that offer schools greater energy savings—up to $40,000 annually. 

“It’s been embraced more than I ever would have expected,” said Wade Bennion, who leads all K-12 work. “We’re seeing more of a push nationally and locally for sustainability and it’s pushing towards all-electric systems and getting away from natural gas.” 


Key Executives Reflect on 50 Years, Future Outlook

Another of the firm’s hallmarks is the number of long-time employees who have been with the firm for multiple decades. The importance and significance of a 50th anniversary is not lost on them. 

“[Howard’s] legacy is this culture has been maintained for 50 years,” said Harris. “He set the culture of taking care of clients, taking care of employees, and doing quality work.”

“It’s been an exciting journey!” said Lisa Simons, who started at VBFA in 1992 when the firm had 27 employees and serves as Business Development Director working out of the Tempe office. “VBFA’s leadership is a true testament to the firm’s ability to attract top engineering talent. Our culture is focused on collaboration and mentorship, which has created friendships that last decades and promote staff longevity.”

Simons said that although Van Boerum and Frank had differing leadership styles, their values were aligned—achievement, integrity, and individual accountability. 

“It has been a privilege to work with Howard, John, Kim Harris, Steve Shepherd, and now Jeff Watkins,” she added. “Each has contributed to the growth and success of VBFA.” 

“It’s impressive to think about 50 years,” said Watkins. “Success requires the efforts of the whole company—one person can’t do it all.”

He added, “Howard gave me some advice back in the mid-’90s that is still valid today, where I can step into this role and succeed. It’s not about me, it’s about the engineers, the BIM specialists, our administration team—all of us together is what makes VBFA successful.”

VBFA is comprised of a talented cast that includes 11 principals, 5 associate principals, and 13 associates, along with designers, drafters, and support staff. Principals include: 


  • Jeff Watkins, President/CEO 
  • Ben Davis, Vice President/COO
  • Don Bradshaw, Vice President, CIO
  • Dave Baranowski, Corporate Secretary
  • Wade Bennion, Chairman of the Board
  • Ladd Birch, Vice President, CFO/Director of Southern Utah Operations
  • Byron Torgersen, Director of Arizona Operations
  • Ray Vernon, Director of Northern Utah Operations 
  • Jed Lyman, Principal
  • Scot Muir, Principal
  • Brad Rosenhan, Principal


Watkins believes the future is as bright as it has ever been, and is confident the firm will continue to thrive in Utah, Arizona, and the Intermountain West in general. 

“We’re a mainstay,” Watkins said. “We have great leaders and great people who work at VBFA. As people retire, it’s hard to see. These are people you’ve worked side-by-side with for a long time. It’s a realization that it’s now our responsibility and the buck stops with us. I’m excited about the future and confident we will continue to serve our clients effectively and maintain our high standards of quality.”

Van Boerum is also optimistic that those carrying on his name are poised for great future success. 

“We have always tried to hire the very best, and I couldn’t be more proud of the people we have today,” he said. “It’s exciting to know my childhood dreams came to fruition and that we are thriving 50 years later. I’m very proud of what we have accomplished together.”


One of the firm’s most iconic projects is the Bobsleld/ Luge Track at Utah Olympic Park in Park City. VBFA founder Howard Van Boerum stands in the track during construction in 2000. Van Boerum called the complex project “one of the highlights of my career”.

VBFA has completed design on numerous K-12 and Higher Education projects, including Odyssey Elementary (above left), Davis County School District’s first-ever ‘Net-Zero’ designed school, and the Human Performance Center at Utah Tech University (formerly Dixie State).

Utahraptor State Park

By Taylor Larsen • June 30, 2025
Not often does an opportunity come around to build a new state park. But the project team jumped at the chance and helped bring amenities to the off-roading wilderness around Moab to deliver the new Utahraptor State Park. The unique project received design collaboration from Johansen & Tuttle Engineering, GSBS Architects, Horrocks, and Spectrum Engineers. Hogan & Associates Construction led construction efforts to bring in site infrastructure, utilities, and vertical construction to build new recreation opportunities for Moab’s tourism hotbed. The project’s remote location made this a major challenge. Still, best-in-class coordination helped to mitigate labor concerns and site issues to build a fitting tribute to the area’s history as Utahraptor State Park prepares for its first summer tourist season in 2025. Designing a Fitting Park for the Area The park was created in 2021 via legislative action (H.B. 257), while the infrastructure and more began construction in 2023. The site is historic in two senses. It is home to ancient history, with fossil sites of the Utahraptor found throughout the area—fossils first discovered outside the Dalton Wells Quarry by paleontologist “Dinosaur Jim” Jensen in 1975. It is also an area of 20th-century history as the former site of the Dalton Wells Isolation Center, the Civilian Conservation Corps facility-turned-internment camp where Japanese Americans were detained from 1942-1945 during World War II. Owner’s representatives from the State of Utah’s Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM) said an overall goal for Utah State Parks was to preserve these historic assets amidst steady and consistent tourist and recreation growth. According to Matt Boyer, Assistant Director of Capital Development for DFCM, Utahraptor State Park's development would happen “in a way that would preserve the historic nature of the site while maintaining the opportunity for recreation in the process.” According to Clio Rayner, Principal for GSBS, the design goal aimed to complement instead of compete with the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape. “We wanted to provide a subtle sense of arrival where people feel a sense of welcome and comfort,” she said. Design leaders wanted the harsh beauty and serenity of the Colorado Plateau Desert to remain the showstopper. “We went into this design not wanting to make an architectural statement but rather wanting to create a visitor experience focused on the landscape. In a place like this, it should not be about the architecture.” Since the built environment of Utahraptor State Park would consist of recreational facilities and a visitor center, Rayner explained, “We used a material palette and building massing that reflected natural features of the site and created flexible open interior space for multiple uses.” Interior design, said Rayner, “Provided an open opportunity for Utah Parks to create interpretive exhibits inside the Utahraptor visitor center that tell the story and convey the significance of the site.” Design incorporated economical and durable features like natural wood and CMU colors and patterns drawn from the stone features that abound in Utah's eastern majesty.

Multi-family Highlights

By Taylor Larsen • July 30, 2025
Much like a good bonfire, multi-family construction in Utah, and especially Salt Lake County, has blazed. According to real estate brokerage CBRE in their 2023 report, Utah multi-family builders delivered a steady burn of units between 2019-2022—over 5,700 units per year on average. And then the fire roared in 2023 with over 10,000 units delivered, nearly half of them coming from outside of Salt Lake. That’s hot. But slow absorption, steady vacancy rates, and falling rents from 2023 to the present (1) have chilled the market somewhat since the “free money” era of the pandemic ended as Federal Funds Rate rocketed from 0.5% in March 2022 to 5.5% in July 2023. This cold water on the multi-family development fire made for a strange 2024 into 2025, even as deliveries reached similar heights from 2023’s delivery boom. While it’s made developers re-think a project or two, it has been excellent news for tenants. The growing range of options across the desirability and location spectrum from this recent delivery glut has pushed rents down in the form of concessions. Raise your hand if you’ve seen an apartment complex offering 10 weeks free—a substantial discount from the standard rental rate. But make no mistake, even amidst a cooler period in development, there are plenty of recently completed, hot multi-family projects bringing unique features to the table for tenants, while showing how designers and builders are delivering successful work to a changing market.

Sign Of The Times

By Brad Fullmer • June 30, 2025
The transformation of the heart of South Salt Lake from a gritty, somewhat dilapidated industrial area into a legitimate 'downtown' urban area with active neighborhoods of stylish residential and commercial buildings, got a major boost in June with the official grand opening of the eight-story, 180-unit One Burton apartment complex, ushering in a new era of modern development in the city. "I'm very happy to be where we're at now," gushed Jason Algaze, a Principal with New York-based Abstract Development Group, as One Burton marks the firm's first completed project in Utah. "The building is unique, and we had a good [team] to help us execute our vision." One notable caveat of the $70 million project—with its location directly adjacent to Interstate 80—was that the previous landowner, YESCO, be allowed to keep its billboard on the property, leading to the building to being dubbed 'the Billboard Apartments' during construction. Architects from Salt Lake-based Architectural Nexus, led by Mihnea Dobre, Principal-in-Charge, and Charles Bagley, Project Manager, were quick to roll with that interesting design nuance, along with other design constraints specific to a location smack dab next to a bustling U.S. highway. They embraced the billboard, ultimately coming up with the idea of INFLUENCE—something that is shaped, carved, and molded by the constant effect of environment—as the design brief and conceptual driver for the project. Since the billboard would have a direct impact on the building form—and is emblematic of the very idea of what influence is—the design leaned heavy into it. From the south side, you can visually see its influence carving and shaping the building with a continued ripple effect bending and folding the eastern façade. "This project is all about influence," said Bagley. "The billboard is about influencing people, so we wanted the view corridor to influence the shape of the building, with a ripple effect as the east facade folds and crinkles." "The billboard is certainly a prominent feature," said Dobre. "We had a requirement to maintain the view corridor and build around existing billboards, so we used that to aid the design, and in maximizing site development without interfering with legal requirements. We decided to embrace what was [viewed as] a limitation." "We turned what could have been a huge hurdle for design and turned it into a 'wow' factor," said Algaze, adding that residents are not impacted from the signs due to billboard screens having directional baffles that eliminate light disturbance back to the apartments. Constructing around the billboard and next to a busy freeway offered various challenges to the contractor team, said KC Burns, Project Director for Salt Lake-based Jacobsen Construction, mainly being so directly in the public eye, along with limited access for material delivery from north and south roads only and limited space to choreograph the litany of heavy equipment, delivery trucks, lifts, and cranes. "Prior to construction, the billboard was removed and relocated slightly to allow it to be outside the building footprint—that's not something you see every day," said Burns. "The highway presented little issue itself; the exposure from passersby [traffic], however, kept us on our toes as there was a lot of oversight from freeway traffic. We became aware early that we either did it right, or it would be known immediately by all."

Finding a Groove

By Brad Fullmer • June 30, 2025
Salt Lake-based di'velept design has broken the mold for how an architectural firm finds success. As the firm celebrates its 10th anniversary, founder Jarod Hall couldn't be more satisfied with how things have shaken out the past decade. "I'm so happy with where we're at, where di'velept is as a firm," said Hall, 44. "We're more of a lifestyle firm. I enjoy a lifestyle of working from home, [and] spending more time with my family, while also doing great projects. The growth in front of us is exciting." "It's a different sort of story," admits Hall, a Vernal native who wasn't quite sure about a career after graduating from Uintah High School in 1999. He attended then-Utah Valley State College (now UVU) for four years and worked part-time for a painting contractor while in school. "That got me interested in architecture," said Hall, noticing how the buildings he was painting were designed and what he liked and didn't like. He would interact with architects from time to time and started envisioning what their day-to-day schedules were like before deciding to jump to a new career path. He ultimately earned a Master of Architecture from the University of Idaho in 2008 and landed work at a large Salt Lake-based architecture firm, where he learned the ins and outs of the craft from 2008-2013. Hall quickly proved his mettle at the firm and worked under former Principals Steve Crane and Boyd McAllister in the K-12 studio. "He was really great—he got right in there and figured out what to do," said Crane, who moved to St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands after retiring in 2017. Today, Crane resides in St. George, and is working with Hall on some projects. "The partners really liked him. He was a good designer. Now, he's got me working for him!" Hall eventually decided to launch di'velept design in late 2014, and by early 2017 was actively trying to grow the firm. Firm Buoyed by Success in Self-Storage, Multi-Family In early 2015, Hall and a friend, Jeremy Larsen, were hired to design a self-storage unit in Vancouver, Wash.—a 100,000 SF, three-story building. Success on that initial self-storage project has led to a fruitful relationship with a couple of developers who have built dozens of projects in more than a dozen states, including the Pacific Northwest, Texas, New England, Florida, and Hawaii, in addition to Utah. In 2016, Hall recognized potential opportunities in the burgeoning multi-family market and started making inroads with some smaller developers. To date, the firm has designed 18 multi-family projects that are either finished or under construction, with another 80 projects they did master planning for—projects that will advance to full design once market conditions are more favorable. Approximately 50% di’velept’s annual revenues are from townhomes and apartments, 40% from self-storage facilities, with commercial office and retail projects, including restaurants and bars, comprising the rest.

Village People

By Taylor Larsen • June 30, 2025
Economics isn’t for everybody. Some in this industry excel in real options analysis to understand risks and returns of capital outlay for a project. Others, like this writer, struggled to understand anything described in Econ 110 lectures. Independent of one’s understanding of economics, everyone in Utah lives through the social sciences’ most trusted law: supply and demand. Namely, the demand to live races onward while the housing supply lags behind. Utah is the place to live—and the data backs it up. Utah’s net in-migration has been over 20,000 yearly since 2016, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Whether incoming residents are seeking the greatest snow on earth or looking to discover linguistic quirks—have a Utahn say “Millcreek” and hear the phonetic difference—there are many reasons to move to the Beehive State. It’s excellent news for the industry. High housing demand means plenty of opportunities to design and build. The good news continues—the industry built more housing units than new households created in the state from 2019-2022, according to Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. In 2021, the state set a record, delivering 40,144 new housing units and nearly cutting the reported housing shortage in half. The bad news? It hasn’t been enough. According to that same data, Utah still needs to build an estimated 37,000 more units, or enough homes to support a city comparable in population to Provo or St. George, to meet 2025 demand. Answering the Crisis Call The bad news is glum, but the good news is that developers are helping to solve Utah’s housing challenge, creating expertly crafted homes in job centers like Salt Lake City. Key among these developments is the recently completed The Village at North Station, the largest low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) property in Utah history: a spectacular 827 units. According to Michael Batt, Managing Principal with developer Gardner Batt, the project helps to meet an urgent need for housing, specifically affordable housing. “There is definitely a demand for affordable options as we’ve seen significant housing cost increases over the last five-plus years,” Batt said. Remember the single-issue Rent is Too Damn High Party? What it lacked in political power, it revealed a commonly held belief regarding residential tenancy—the rent is too damn high, especially in Utah. According to the 2022 Economic Census, over 47% of renters spent over 30% of their income on housing. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute showed that Salt Lake County alone lacks the breadth of options to be affordable—190,000 units short, to be exact—for those on fixed incomes, single-parents and one-income households, and those just entering the workforce. According to Batt, one great tool to meet demand and lessen the rent burden for tenants is “the utilization of the tax credits and bonds” in development across the state, where LIHTC is the most recognized example. According to the Utah Housing Corporation, the independent state agency that administers Utah’s LIHTC program, tax credit awardees receive a dollar-for-dollar reduction on their tax liability in exchange for making an equity investment into affordable rental housing with below-market rents. Who says the government and business can’t coexist?

Carrot Over Stick: Connecting in Commercial Office

By Taylor Larsen • June 30, 2025
The stick is a powerful tool for bosses in the white-collar world, especially in bringing people back into the office. But how do you get employees back willingly? How about a carrot? “We were designing our space post-pandemic, so one of our primary goals was to create a space that would genuinely draw people back into the office,” said Sierra Smith, Partner & COO with Leavitt Equity Partners, tenants of the new space. The carrot was the tool of choice via “a space where our team could reconnect, collaborate naturally, and enjoy being together again.” Utilizing the carrot had a secondary effect, which Leavitt Equity Partners wanted to capitalize on. Smith noted, “We also wanted to create an environment where we’d be proud to invite clients and partners.” With the completion of this tenant improvement within the award-winning 95 State office building, design and construction partners from EDA Architects and Layton ICS, respectively, showed the value—and values—of creating such a connective space. Creating the Carrot Ownership listened to what their team wanted in a post-COVID workplace: “more chances to interact informally, flexible spaces to work and meet, and the amenities that made being in the office feel rewarding,” said Smith. Jason Dunn, BD/Preconstruction Manager for ICS, who served as Project Manager during the project, agreed with the intent, which comes through in this TI’s welcoming nature. “This is a good approach to get people back to the office accustomed to working from home, where they already have a comfortable, convenient environment,” he said. Dunn spoke about how the creature comforts of home have inspired interior design to bring a high-end residential mood and features to the modern office, “especially if we’re going to spend a quarter of our life at work.” As design commenced, Evan Cindrich, Principal and Director of Interior Design for EDA, created a Pinterest board to send to Smith and the team at Jane Smith Design, who assisted with design, to collaborate on ideas. At the same time, Smith and Jane Smith Design were working on one of their own. “It was incredible to see how much our ideas lined up,” said Cindrich. It lined up to such an extent that some of the same photos appeared in each set of ideas. Aligning intent to budget proved rewarding as collaboration in design honed in on the final decisions. Cindrich mentioned how rendering tools helped ownership sign off on a traditional stick-framed aluminum office front that maintained the luxurious feel originally envisioned and matched dollars to purpose.

Prototype Prowess

By Brad Fullmer • June 30, 2025
The success of the new Subaru Ogden dealership for Young Automotive Group (YAG) has as much to do with the outstanding design-build construction process of the $31 million building as did the patience of acquiring 14 parcels of land needed for the sizeable project spanning seven acres. Designed and built by the team of Morgan-based Center Point Construction and Ogden-based Case, Lowe & Hart (CLH) Architects, the two-level building makes a bold statement with a sleek, modern design and impressive functionality highlighted by a world-class customer showroom, state-of-the-art drive-thru alignment machines, quick change oil bays, and a jaw-dropping 52 high-performance maintenance bays for service, repairs, and washing. At 72,000 SF, it’s also the largest automobile dealership for Layton-headquartered YAG, which continues its impressive growth trajectory with new, statement-making buildings. At the grand opening on May 9 on Riverdale Road in Ogden, YAG President Spencer Young Jr. praised the design-build team and singled out Ron Hales, Center Point's President, for his company's efforts in delivering a phenomenal project. "He's been a great partner of ours the past seven years," Young Jr. said of Hales. "He's built many projects, including this one, and done an amazing job. His team, his people, it's a great company." Hales said Subaru's strict design guidelines challenged his team to design a new prototype building for the Tokyo-based automotive giant. It yielded excellent results, even with a few modifications per Hales' construction expertise. “[Subaru] sent a design, and Center Point modified various aspects of it," said Hales. "The owner liked the changes so much that they modified their design to mirror the changes." Hales pointed to the service drive as a "very unique feature that Subaru really liked" which allows customers to have their vehicle alignment checked by a state-of-the-art machine, along with other services like oil changes and minor repairs. "The Young team and our team spent many hours planning for the very best equipment in addition to maximizing customer flow and efficient service," said Hales. Interior finishes were overhauled to modernize the look and feel, with new colors, designs, flooring, extra glass for more open and aesthetically pleasing views, a custom sound system that pipes music throughout the entire facility, and custom furniture. Hales added that ownership spared no expense wh en it came to staff amenities. "Young Automotive recognizes the importance of their people, and there was an emphasis on making sure the technicians, parts employees, administrative staff, and the sales team have their own spaces and environments," said Hales, in addition to spacious break rooms with TVs, large restrooms and locker rooms."

Latest Shifts in Structural Engineering

By By B. Garn • May 2, 2025
The continued spread of and improvements to BIM, new fuse plate technology, and the rise of mass timber are a few of the topics shaking up structural engineering in the Beehive State. Utah Construction + Design reached out to some Utah’s leading structural engineering firms to find out about current trends, technologies, and with five years of reflection, how are owners and designers looking at and learning from the 5.7 magnitude earthquake that shook the Wasatch Front in spring 2020. Jerod Johnson, Senior Principal at Reaveley Engineers, wrote a detailed retrospective of the event in 2023 and says researchers and engineers learned a few things from the quake from how different building types responded to insights into the geology of our region. “Research has revealed that the shape of the Wasatch Fault is different from what was previously believed. The Magna earthquake, initially thought to have occurred on a fault in the western part of the Salt Lake Valley, actually took place on the Wasatch Fault. The fault extends into the valley at a much shallower angle than expected, rather than descending steeply from the toe of the mountain. This new understanding of the fault's geometry has significant implications for seismic design and building codes. We anticipate changes to the spectral acceleration maps used in structural design. The lateral shaking observed during the 5.7 magnitude earthquake was much higher than expected,” says Johnson. “It highlighted the need for updated design practices that account for this amplification. These findings will influence future building codes and practices in Utah, ensuring that structures are better equipped to withstand such events.” But Chris Hofheins, a Senior Principal at BHB Structural, is concerned the wider public may not have learned enough from the event. “Most structural engineers thought the earthquake would be a wakeup call but to a large degree I think it had the opposite effect,” said Hofheins. “People looked around and felt like it wasn’t so bad and we’ll be alright if something bigger hits. We’ve seen a few owners who decided to increase the seismic safety of their buildings but we’re also seeing the opposite where I think some people are overconfident.” Blowing a Fuse Structural resilience, designing buildings that not only protect those inside during a seismic event but can be quickly reoccupied, continues to be of great interest to structural engineers. Replaceable fuses, or structural sections that can be sacrificed dissipating energy during a seismic event and then replaced, have continued to gain popularity with designers and improve the resilience of buildings. “This innovation represents a significant shift from traditional methods of enhancing ductility in earthquake design. Instead of merely adapting existing practices, replaceable fuses offer a new paradigm for building resilience,” said Dorian Adams, Senior principal and President with Reaveley Engineers. Adams said fuse technology like buckling restrained braces (BRBs) have been available and widely adopted for several decades. Newer proprietary systems like Durafuse, among others, for moment frames have been gaining popularity. “New technologies are emerging that offer exciting possibilities. One such innovation is the SpeedCore steel shear wall with a concrete core, which is included in the new AISC seismic provisions, the 2022 edition. This technology represents a significant advancement in seismic design,” said Adams. Replaceable fuse technology is also being employed with mass timber construction as interest in and use of the material around the world continues to grow. Jordan Terry, Principal at KPFF Consulting Engineers has designed structural systems for several mass timber and mass timber hybrid projects such as the ICCU Arena at the University of Idaho in Moscow and the recently completed Portland International Airport Terminal Core Redevelopment with its 400,000 sq ft mass Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) roof. He said there have been important advances recently in seismic systems for mass timber structures. “Typically, when you get a mass timber building over five stories you have to look at the seismic reinforcing and that is where you introduce something other than just timber. You might have a concrete core with the elevator shafts or use BRBs,” Terry said. “We had a client in Portland that absolutely wanted to use as much timber as possible. We helped develop a new system called a rocking CLT core wall. The base of the shear wall panels isn’t connected to the ground and it can rock back and forth but there are energy-dissipating sections or fuses, between the panels. They are very ductile. You swap them out and it’s as good as new.” David Dunn, CEO and principal at Dunn Associates, said the firm had utilized a rocking CLT shear panel in their design for a new all mass timber building currently under construction for the Zion National Park Discovery Center at the national park’s east entrance. Terry also said the firm was assisting researchers at the University of California San Diego in developing more all-timber lateral systems but noted like all materials, it should be used for its strengths. “CLT is really strong and stiff so you’d think it would be great for seismic reinforcement, but it is not very ductile,” he said. “We have a project in Spokane [Washington] where we used BRBs. We are letting the wood be stiff and strong like it wants to be and letting the BRBs deal with dissipation.” Hofheins noted mass timber research is going on here at the University of Utah as well. Dr. Chris Pantelides and the U of U’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are developing a BRB encased in timber. Adams noted Dr. Pantelides’s project is not the only fuse research underway locally. “One such project involved a device placed in the middle of an X brace, with elastic braces and a fuse at the intersection of the diagonal braces. This device would compress and stretch, cycling through combined flexure and shear,” he said. “A University of Utah PhD candidate recently further enhanced this concept in his dissertation, adding curved plates of steel that cross one another and engage in tension only after reaching a certain threshold of displacement. This supplemental strength activates only when needed, providing a dual-level design solution that accommodates different magnitudes of earthquakes. The idea of replaceable fuses holds significant potential for the future of structural design. These innovations will become an integral part of performance-based seismic design, offering tailored solutions for varying seismic events. Simpson's Yield-Link connection is another example of this technology, although it is currently more suited for smaller applications.” Dunn said making buildings resilient and potentially reusable quickly after a seismic event not only has implications for safety but for sustainability as well. “Designing resilient structures is really an environmental consideration that is undervalued in my view,” said Dunn. “Code-based buildings will undergo massive deformations and damage after an earthquake. Sometimes small, incremental increases in first-costs can make huge differences in anticipated building performance, salvaging buildings that would otherwise be landfilled. That is a huge environmental impact, but not as buzzy as bike racks, low-water urinals, solar panels, etc.”

No Waterway? No Problem for the Utah Inland Port Authority

By Taylor Larsen • May 2, 2025
Ports? In landlocked Utah? Sure, the traditional idea of a port in Utah, with cargo ships, cruise liners, container cranes, dockworkers, barges—not to mention coastal water—is farfetched. But the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) has broadened the meaning of a port since its formation in 2018. Even without a coast, UIPA has worked to strengthen rail, air, and road cargo infrastructure to turn Utah into a 21st century logistics hub and changing the economic trajectory of the Beehive State in the process. It’s been seven years of increased industrial development that has been a boon for the A/E/C community, but more importantly the logistics and manufacturing network to build for an ever-growing consumer demand. There have been plenty of detractors to UIPA, especially as it relates to ecological conservation. Ben Hart, Executive Director of UIPA, has heard it loud and clear as he sets the organization on a path to aid in development goals that benefit the entire state and the values Utahns hold dear. Origin Story + Coordinated Efforts UIPA was created to pioneer and implement strategic and sustainable logistics-backed economic solutions that enhance the lives of Utahns and establish Utah as a global industry connector. While UIPA began its journey overseeing 16,000 acres in the northwest portion of Salt Lake County, the Northwest Quadrant, it has grown in area and emphases since 2018. Today, UIPA is associated with 110,000 acres in 12 project areas across the state. Most importantly for the organization, Hart said, is how developments within UIPA project areas create high-paying jobs to strengthen Utah communities. Where regional logistics infrastructure does not exist, UIPA can make strategic investments to unlock regional economic growth. “Part of the [UIPA] charter is developing projects that provide economic strength for their entire region. Regional projects need regional infrastructure, which most importantly includes transportation infrastructure,” said Hart, detailing UIPA tools to build out transportation infrastructure intended “to help grow the entire regional economy. Hart said that UIPA has grown its overall area scope to help meet statewide initiatives from current Governor Spencer Cox and regional initiatives from municipal leaders around the Beehive State. Speaking specifically of many of Utah’s rural counties, “There is more commerce going on in those areas than what people recognize,” Hart said, “and you still have a really good workforce in those areas as well.” Municipalities and counties of all levels (see project area map) have been willing to go through a four-step process to access UIPA capabilities in route to industrial development and the high-wage jobs that come with it.

Steely Resolve

By Taylor Larsen • May 1, 2025
Tariff talk is loud. But don’t let that be the only thing that garners attention in steel fabrication trends. Leaders in this field said that they continue to innovate and build up their spot within the industry to ensure steel continues to be utilized in projects across the Beehive State. Tariffs Add Volatility On March 12th, 2025 the Trump administration announced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. With over 25% of steel imported, according to the US Dept. of Commerce, steel procurement is set to get even pricier. Matt Blaser, President of Price-based Intermark Steel, sees plenty of similarities with tariff policy and the pandemic effects on the supply chain. Much as supply chains needed reconfiguring during the pandemic, “The overarching goal [of tariffs] is to bring manufacturing back into the United States,” said Blaser. “Where we’re not dependent on a global supply chain.” It’s worked as intended before, when 2018 tariffs (25% on steel imports) helped increase domestic steel production by 6 million tons from 2017-2019. For Richard Wood, President of West Jordan-based Rightway Steel, the expected increase in domestic steel production, “It’s just getting started. Many new companies have plans to build steel producing plants in the US.” These incoming ‘minimills’ are bringing faster throughput in a smaller area via a much more efficient steelmaking process. According to a 2020 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report, over half of the national steel output was produced in minimills. These mills use an electric arc furnace (EAF) to melt and refine steel scrap by passing an electric current from the electrodes through the materials to melt it at a scorching 3,000 degrees. It’s making blast furnaces and “rust belt” technology a thing of the past. But on-shoring production has still been a tough pill to swallow for fabricators as steel prices surge. “As of April 1st, steel material prices have increased upwards of 25%,” said Wood. “We’re unsure if or when the tariffs will be reduced.” Even as tariffs escalate, fabricators like Rightway Steel have sought a way forward even as Wood has seen demand and project starts slow down. Rightway has pivoted with new pricing, reduced quote hold times, and internal efficiencies to stay competitive. As developments in EAF take a greater share of steel production market toward stability—and hopefully lower prices—those internal efficiencies Wood mentioned will shape the future of steel fabrication. Innovating Internally “In any steel fabrication, or any type of production, there is a four letter word that makes all the difference: flow,” said Tyler Oliver, President of Centerville-based Fineline Steel Fabrication. Limiting the amount of movement required from the fabrication team in the shop is one internal efficiency keeping costs low. Inside Fineline’s shop, TV screens and tablets keep the team in the shop fully aware of what’s going on—and keep everyone in flow. Touring through the firm’s Centerville shop, one quickly notices how long the building is. Think arena football field, but five of them end to end to reach 1,000 feet long. If Fineline could have a facility twice as long and half as wide, Oliver said, it would help that flow even better. Oliver claimed that Fineline;s facility houses “One of the most state-of-the-art fabricators in the world.” Fineline’s Voortman Steel Fabricator has been a key part of the firm’s innovative flair. The fully-automated welding system starts with the VACAM system to determine the feasibility of assemblies, production times, etc—particularly helpful when determining the amount of automation required in the welding process. From there the magnetic handling robot grabs the steel pieces fed by the Fineline team, rotates the steel, and welds steel members in the right place. Rightway Steel has looked for similar internal efficiencies, with Wood saying the firm is improving year over year with new equipment and processes to improve quality, speed, and safety. “There’s always room for improvement,” he said before mentioning how it will be incumbent on fabricators to find or train workers capable of learning the ropes as the company invests in more robotic welding, improved machinery, and emerging technologies like wearable exoskeletons to keep production humming. Technological Infusion With lead times getting shorter for many of these projects, Oliver said, “[Owners] need their parts and members bigger, better, and faster. This is why we have innovated and are constantly working on adding automation.” Technological innovation reigns supreme. Construction software Stalwarts like Procore and Building Connected are combining with emerging technologies that incorporate in-field scanning from team members to improve accuracy. “We have also seen improvements in modeling and steel shop and erection drawings through Advanced Steel and Tekla,” said Wood. As modeling has improved, so has the final product created by fabricators. Blaser echoed Oliver’s comments on speed to delivery and Wood’s thoughts on digital collaboration, saying that the ability to fabricate from a digital file has been catalytic in today’s high-speed construction market. Blaser also reiterated points from the other fabricators regarding internal systems. Having a CNC machine isn’t enough—it’s the bare minimum. Instead, working in a “Henry Ford-esque” assembly line makes all the difference today, especially when combined with digital innovations and steel detailing software. But the future is one where those systems are bolstered by AI. “Larger companies will have machines interconnected via AI,” said Blaser. With enough capital to invest in interconnected machinery that needs less human help, AI adaptation within steel fabrication will “Consolidate the market and probably push smaller shops to the wayside.” For Oliver, “AI is the top of our list as it is with everyone else,” namely allowing the team to spend their time processing material for fabrication. “There are some major advancements with AI and how we can final QC some of our members.” While AI grows in importance on the shop floor, Wood said his teams have utilized AI as much as possible in the office for great efficiency in take-offs, proposals, RFI support, and meeting information.