A More Humane Prison

The massive new $1.05 billion Utah State Correctional Facility was designed and constructed with an eye towards turning the corner on recidivism rates, and genuinely providing a better atmosphere for offenders and officers alike.
By Brad Fullmer

As he reflected recently upon the design of the new $1.05 billion ($825 million construction cost), 37-building Utah State Correctional Facility (USCF) compound west of the Salt Lake International Airport off I-80—built to house up to 3,600 offenders but with a current population just under 2,500—Kevin Miller recalled a trip he took to Grand Junction, Colorado, in 1992 to tour the newly completed Mesa County Jail, which was designed as a direct supervision facility. 

Miller, who was only four years into his career at Salt Lake-based GSBS Architects, was riding in the back of a state-owned Ford Econoline van and chatting up then Utah County Jail Commander, Owen Quarnberg, about his decision to push for a similar design type, despite it requiring more staff to operate than an indirect supervision model, which meant increased operational costs. 

“It was a significant outlier because of its direct supervision model—I had never been exposed to anything other than indirect supervision [design],” recalled Miller of local correctional facilities at the time. “I said to him, ‘Owen, why on earth do you want to go for this direct supervision model, which requires more money for staffing, putting officers on the floor in the middle of dangerous people […] everything I had in my head about jail design at the time. Why make this seemingly preposterous decision? He said to me, ‘If I can change one person, I’ve done good’.”

“That moved me,” said Miller, who is one of the foremost authorities in Utah on correctional facility design, having contributed his expertise to 20-plus projects of significance and another dozen minor remodels in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, plus a project for Navajo nation in Arizona. “That was the essence of it. It’s not about how cheaply to house 3,600 [offenders]. It’s out of those 3,600, can we fix one, or two, or ten. Or all of them. That’s what moves the needle. At this juncture, I’ve housed—by virtue of my designs—thousands of (offenders). I want to fix some—I don’t want to just house them.” 

The enormous new correctional facility compound—which replaces the long-outdated Utah State Prison (opened in 1951, replacing the Sugar House Prison) previously located at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley—was designed not only as a more occupant-friendly, direct supervision facility, but one that hopefully reduces recidivism rates and provides a better day-to-day environment for offenders and the officers that oversee them. 

“It was a monster of a project,” said Mike Ambre of the combined 1.3 million SF compound. Ambre, Assistant Director of Special Projects for the State of Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM), carried perhaps the heaviest load out of the hundreds of people involved with this facility over the past six-plus years. 


Most people, he says, simply call him “hombre" (Spanish for “man”), a playful twist on his last name, one that was strikingly accurate on this project—Ambre was “the man.” 

“He was the boss out there,” said John Branson, former Principal of GSBS Architects (now a Principal at Salt Lake-based Babcock Design) and one of the main USCF designers, of Ambre. “Mike’s direct responsibility was the entire prison—he had an immense load on his shoulders.”

(Lead Photo) The sprawling 37-building complex sits on nearly 200 acres in the Northwest Quadrant area west of Salt Lake International Airport off I-80 (aerial photo by Don Green Photography).  Incorporating natural daylighting into every housing unit was among the most important design considerations of the entire project (photo courtesy Layton Construction).

Indirect vs. Direct Supervision Models

According to a 2006 report by the Worcester Polytechnic Institute titled Correctional Facility Analysis and Design, a modern-day correctional facility compound (prison) has five primary purposes: 

1) Housing people who cannot function within the boundaries of a law-abiding society.

2) Protecting the general public from dangerous, potentially life-altering/threatening situations.

3) Reformation of offenders (prisoners), which translates into the structure having space allocated for education, social training, religious studies, solitary confinement, etc. 

4) Attempt to “cure” offenders of addictions and other mental health challenges through therapy, group activities.

5) Stand as a public symbol of moral, political, and social virtue. 

Correctional facility design in the U.S. has morphed considerably during this country’s 246-year history, but outside of modern technological advances, many facilities—particularly those that employ the indirect supervision model—are strikingly similar to those built during the country’s early days. 

The massive Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP, also called Cherry Hill) in Philadelphia operated from 1829 to 1971 and is one of the first notable examples of an indirect supervision correctional facility. Widely considered the world’s first true penitentiary, at the time it was the largest and most expensive public building in the U.S. 

Designed by British architect John Haviland, ESP (original capacity 450) became known for its “hub and spoke” design—an octagonal tower in the center connected via corridors to radiating cell blocks, which Haviland said offered watching, convenience, economy, and ventilation.

In 1930s and 40s ‘telephone pole’ design became popular. This design has a central corridor with housing wings built at 90 degrees from the corridor. The Utah State Prison was built in this manner. 

The first direct supervision correctional facility opened in 1981 in Contra Costa, California, the result of a competition by the Federal Bureau of Prisons between three firms, each of which came up with similar designs. The “podular remote” cellblock design of direct supervision models places officers in direct, constant contact with offenders, allowing them to interact on a more personal level and respond to trouble before it escalates. Officers have more responsibility for the organization, supervision and control of the daily operation of a direct supervision housing unit. Direct supervision has been credited with reducing vandalism, enhancing safety, and creating a more positive environment for offenders and officers. By 1983, direct supervision was formally recognized by the National Institute of Corrections.

In Utah and much of the surrounding Intermountain region, Miller said indirect supervision has been the predominant design model chosen by state and local government entities, primarily because of a more cost-effective staff-to-offender ratio of 1 to 244 (one officer can “supervise” 244 offenders) vs. 1 to 64 for direct supervision. The result? Indirect supervision has posted horrible long-term results in reducing recidivism and reforming offenders, according to several correctional facility studies over the past two decades. 

Miller, frankly, had little appetite to be involved with the design of USCF if the Utah Department of Corrections (DOC) and DFCM had chosen the indirect supervision model, despite his lengthy experience and interest with the building type. 

“If it was an indirect supervision jail, I knew what to do—there’s not a lot of mystery, not a lot of ground to explore,” said Miller. The idea of ‘how many bodies can I squeeze into as little square footage as I can?’,” was unappealing. He had a realization of the ineffectiveness of that model in accomplishing any good, other than simply housing “bad people”. 

“Hey, I can keep doing this, but to what purpose? “ he said. “You get to a certain point in your career that you start to treasure the opportunities you can make.”

Miller continued, “Our Department of Corrections, our state, had a more progressive vision, an idea that maybe we can do something different, was intriguing to me and, ultimately, it inspired me to really throw myself into the design of the facility and in trying to solve the problem in a way that really hunted towards those goals. That is rewarding.”

Once leaders from the DOC and DFCM determined the new USCF would be a direct supervision model, architects pursued every avenue to make the sprawling compound more humane. 

Miller specifically mentioned natural daylighting as a major design driver, along with creating spaces that offer a more “normal” existence. There was a lot of give and take between designers and the DOC; not every proposed design idea was accepted, but enough were to tip the scales. 

“It’s prison—let’s be clear,” said Miller. “We have a fundamental obligation to make it safe and secure for offenders and for the officers. You cannot sacrifice safety and security—that is job one.”  For both groups “the humanity of the facility is really important,” Miller said. “For 12 hours a day, [officers] are locked inside the facility in the same way as offenders. When the public thinks about the prison costs and the design attributes we desire to include—they get upset about how ‘nice’ they are—they are overlooking the circumstances of the offenders and the officers.”

He continued, “Daylight was a huge deal for us from the get-go. One of the real breakthroughs in the design was shifting to what everybody refers to as the linear model of housing—cells are arranged on either side of a rectangle around a dayroom. And at one end of the dayroom is a large window that looks out at the world—that’s true from the highest security housing sections to the lowest security housing sections. Every [section] is organized around the same premise. They have unique characteristics, but they all have that fundamental premise of being able to connect to the outside world. That is very, very unique. Everybody who has seen it has loved it.”

Each building unit features different housing styles: eight-person cells, two-person cells, and dormitory style—which offers an increased measure of privacy. 

 
Daylighting is widely considered a top design consideration for most projects, but “when it comes to detention, we consider other things more important,” Miller added. “[Daylighting] was on everybody’s mind from the very beginning. We were able to accomplish that in significant ways.”

The second main design initiative, Miller said, “was to the greatest extent possible, normalize behavior. Prison is an abnormal environment and the further down the rabbit hole of prison design you get, the more abnormal it becomes.”
Miller continued, “The folks in our prison system, on average, are back on the streets (or reincarcerated) after 2.5 years. They have not been given skills to manage life on the outside. We wanted to normalize behavior. Even though you’re in prison, we want you to be responsible for as much of your actions and behavior as possible.”

With the indirect supervision model, the overriding principle is that services are taken to the offenders in their cells—food, medications, even visitation is done via video monitors, so offenders don’t ever leave the main unit they’re housed in. 

With the new USCF, everything is a “go-to” destination for offenders in the general population. “You leave your housing unit, walk to the dining hall, and walk back,” said Miller. “Food, medical (treatment), visitations, education, programming, religious studies—all of these aspects are designed to be as normalized behavior as we can make them, while maintaining safety and security inside the cell.” 


Challenging Site Required Extensive Infrastructure Design

Because of USCF’s location near the Great Salt Lake, soil conditions offered huge initial challenges in getting the site stabilized before infrastructure and vertical construction could even happen. Because of the complexity of each utility system, civil engineers determined it was necessary to 3D model each system to minimize conflicts during construction. Infrastructure included 10+ miles of roadway split between seven miles of new vehicular roadways and another four miles of pedestrian corridors, seven miles of sanitary sewer force main in the Northwest Quadrant to service the new facility, as well as anticipated future development in the Northwest Quadrant. On-site storm drain infrastructure included a pre- vs. post-storm drain analysis, factoring in various Great Salt Lake elevations. Five acre-feet of detention was incorporated into the site to reduce the discharge to the pre-developed flow. Engineers also completed the design and modeling of separate culinary and fire distribution systems. The modeling included culinary service for a population of 5,000 individuals (offenders, officers, staff, and visitors) distributed through approximately 180 developed acres and 31 buildings.

Environmental services included Wetland and Waters of the U.S. Delineations, Class I and Class III Cultural Resource Inventories, and coordination with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The compound includes a 2MG water tank with an associated pump station, a regional gas meter farm, a regional power substation, and a sanitary sewer screening facility on site. 

Because of the location so close to the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and the high corrosivity of the soils, the site required extensive protection for all the underground utilities. This included 7.5 miles of new 24-in. waterline along the roadway, 13 miles of 16-in. and 18-in. sewer force main, and 1,800 ft. of gravity sewer line. Nearly one million cubic yds of fill was required just to bring the site to grade.

Electrical infrastructure was also substantial and included a wide array of design aspects, including a new electrical substation, a large central plant, a highly redundant power system from the substation to each critical on-site building, underground 15kV distribution in looped configuration, and complex power, lighting, fire alarm, and AV/IT systems. The system includes over 25,000 LF of two-way, four-way, and six-way underground duct banks, multiple substation transformers, a 10 MW medium voltage backup generator plant, and a campus wide SCADA load management system, all of which is vital to ensure continuous power availability for this critical facility.

The complex CM/GC joint venture involved coordination between multiple electrical contractors, dozens of phased bid packages, and coordination with half a dozen or more building engineers. 

The schedule was aided by the utilization of precast concrete cells which were prefabricated at an off-site casting yard by Ogden-based Oldcastle Precast. Once on-site, the cells were finished with fixture installation and other aesthetic finishes. Electrical and mechanical stubouts were provided for final connection to the building systems.


Lower security housing units feature dorm-style beds for increased privacy (photo by Sohm Photografx).  Mike Ambre (Photo above)—everyone calls him ‘hombre’—was indeed ‘the man’ for DFCM Utah on this project, investing six-plus years of his career and interacting with literally hundreds of people from the Utah Department of Corrections, the Utah legislature, and the local A/E/C community. Highly complex systems  like this massive mechanical room are a hallmark throughout the complex and required the expertise of dozens of reliable, skilled trade partners

Getting Real About Final Cost; Construction Teams Overcome Myriad Challenges

The Utah State Legislature originally approved plans for the new USCF in August 2015, with a budget of $550 million, which quickly grew to $690 million, and ultimately topped the billion-dollar mark by the time of final completion in May 2022. 

Ambre said the project—which broke ground in December 2017—started slowly, with the schedule bogged down somewhat due to funding challenges and procurement timelines. Eventually, the state legislature recognized the need to provide more funding for the project to prevent schedule delays. 

“The legislature and everybody else saw the writing on the wall and when they came to grips with the real cost there was a pendulum swing overnight,” said Ambre about receiving adequate funding. “That helped a lot with morale.” 

The state hired the joint venture team of Big-D Construction of Salt Lake and Phoenix-based Kitchell Corp. to review designs, track cost estimates, evaluate bids, and help with overall project management. while a second joint venture team of Salt Lake-based Okland Construction and Sandy-based Layton Construction served as CM/GC. 

Joint venture projects are typically challenging due to sheer size and scope factors, in addition to trying to meld diverse company cultures between firms that are typically fierce competitors. On USCF, top project executives from both Okland and Layton said there was an emphasis from the beginning to get all team members working together so as to mitigate schedule delays while maintaining premium quality. 

“We knew it was important to integrate and act as a single team,” said Shauna Deskins, Sr. Project Manager for Okland. “We knew we would be asking people to get uncomfortable and work in uncharted territory. 

“A joint venture is always a challenge bringing cultures together and getting everybody on the same page,” added Dave Whimpey, Construction Manager for Layton. “Our management teams were integrated and worked together. A bid package team may consist of a Layton project manager and an Okland superintendent, with a project engineer from each company. I believe the way we integrated our teams created a spirit of teamwork. We tried to focus on our similarities. We realized we’re more alike than we are different.” 

The scope of the project was unlike anything the state and even some of the contractors had built previously.

“It is a one-of-a-kind facility with a lot of firsts on this project,” said Deskins of the complex infrastructure and massive scope. “It’s like a little city.”

The construction team broke the entire complex down into individual projects, which was critical to keep it on schedule. 

“In trying to manage a project of this size you have to break it down into pieces,” said Whimpey. “With 30-plus buildings on a 200-acre site, each building had its own set of plans and documents and we had individual teams to manage each project. In some cases, we had multiple buildings in one package. It was figuring out what makes the most sense in trying to eat it one slice at a time.” 

The project was in full-swing when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, sending initial shockwaves that caused significant concern among leaders on how to keep the project moving forward, while ensuring the health and safety of a workforce that reached 1,500 during peak construction times. Complex electrical and mechanical systems (plumbing and HVAC) required seven different contractors per trade, illustrating the massive scope of this project. Virtually every trade required at least four different companies just to meet the schedule. 

“The very beginning of Covid, it was like the world shut down,” said Ambre. “The biggest thing was the fear of the unknown and how contagious it was. We were almost peaking with 1,200 in manpower at that time. It was interesting how we strategize on how to keep people safe on site and keep the project running. I don’t think we lost any time [with the schedule]. We had procured 95% of items and were in front of supply chain issues.”

The strictest of protocols were put into place, not the easiest undertaking when dealing with literally thousands of workers from more than 450 subcontractor firms. 

“Covid shook us, but there was some good that came out of it,” said Deskins. “There was initially a huge fear with every craft worker regarding how quickly [an outbreak] could shut the work down. There was a huge need to pull together and take care of each other—our trade partners embody that. All protocols were met—they rose to the challenge.”

“Just keeping the job going was a unique success, and without any large outbreaks,” added Whimpey.

Ambre said once the facility was completed and turned over to the Department of Corrections, very few major construction punch-list items. 

Ambre praised the design team of GSBS and HOK for pushing the envelope on making the facility more humane and hospitable. 

“To Kevin and his team, HOK, John Branson, I give them a lot of credit. This was such a monster, and to keep consistency and to have the horsepower to pump out that many drawings—it’s remarkable what they achieved,” said Ambre. “Kevin was hoping to swing the pendulum a little more towards the European model—a less hardened version of [correctional facilities]—which gives more respect, more freedoms, opportunities, and learning experiences from where the Department of Corrections has been the past 60 years. It was tricky to convince them to go in that direction. We understand we’re not here to warehouse [offenders]. We’re here to help with recidivism.” 

“It was a very complicated project,” said Branson. “I always equated it to building a small city. It has all the functions of a small city, plus it was a complicated site with major soil issues. It was a constant learning experience.” 

“I’m very proud of the work we did,” said Miller. “It’s not necessarily the type of architecture I imagined myself doing when I went to architecture school, but I think, for once, we might have moved the needle. It’s more humane, more normative, and hopefully a more purposeful facility than any other I’ve been involved with. I really hope it makes a difference.”

“I take huge pride in what we were able to accomplish,” said Branson. “I worked with great people in an intense environment. It’s part of my legacy but also for probably 75 architects and engineers. Everyone should be proud. It’s not glamorous, but the outcome is important. It serves a critical social function. No one wants to spend money on prisons—that’s understood. But it is part of our society. Until society changes, here we are.”

Ambre added, “One thing I take away from it, is there is always more than just one solution. This job taught me that you have to listen to everybody’s perspective. You can’t think that you have the [right] answer.”

“To have the safety record we did with the number of man hours we had was impressive,” said Whimpey. “Kudos to the entire team across the board. I would often be talking to our employees and say, ‘I don’t think any of us will realize how much we’ve grown until after it’s done.’ I recognize the growth we all had working together on this project, both our company and all individuals involved. To do a project of this size was very satisfying.”


Project Team

Owner: Utah DFCM

Management: Department of Corrections 


Design Team

Architect: GSBS Architects; HOK

Civil Engineer: Horrocks Engineers; Psomas 

Electrical Engineer: HOK; Spectrum Engineers; Envision Engineering

Mechanical Engineer: HOK; Colvin Engineering; Spectrum Engineers

Structural Engineer: HOK; Reaveley Engineers; Dunn Associates

Geotechnical Engineer: Gerhart Cole

Landscape Architect: GSBS Architects

Food Service: Faassen & Associates 

Building Code: Jensen Hughes, Inc.

Specialty Consultants: Corrosion Control Technologies; Sierra West Consulting; Trommer & Assoc.; MKK Consulting Engineers; Parametrix, Inc. 


Construction Team

General Contractor: Layton Construction/Okland Construction JV

Managing Consultant: Big-D Construction/Kitchell (BDK) JV 

Concrete: Layton, Okland, JRock, MG Green (site), Ralph L. Wadsworth

Plumbing: A&B Mechanical, Archer Mechanical, Harris Mechanical, J&S Mechanical, KHI Mechanical, Kozco Mechanical

HVAC: A&B Mechanical, Archer Mechanical, Harris Mechanical, J&S Mechanical, KHI Mechanical, MJ Mechanical 

Electrical: CVE, Grandstaff Electric, JP Electrical, Probst Electric, STF Electrical, Wilson Electric, Wasatch Electric

Masonry: IMS Masonry, JH Masonry, Child Enterprises, Allen’s Masonry

Drywall/Acoustics: K&L Acoustic & Drywall, Alpine Drywall, Golder Acoustics, CSI Drywall, DAW Construction, KCG Management 

Painting: Pacific Painting, Grow Painting, Cornerstone Painting, RP Painting

Tile/Stone: CP Build Enterprises, Millcreek Tile & Stone

Carpentry: ISEC, Anvil Construction, Artistic Mill, Boswell Wasatch, Contempo Cabinets

Flooring: Wall 2 Wall, Flooring Services, Spectra Contract Flooring

Roofing: Superior, Heritage, All Weather Waterproofing, Progressive, Noorda

Glass/Curtain Wall: Mollerup Glass, NGI, CML/Cornerstone, Capitol Commercial Glazing, Beacon Metals

Steel Fabrication: Glassey, Schuff Steel, Amfab, Intermark, Boman & Kemp, Ezarc Welding, Harris Rebar

Steel Erection: Glassey, Schuff Steel, Amfab, Intermark, Boman & Kemp, AP Welding

Precast: Olympus Precast, Oldcastle 

Landscaping: RBI 

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.

Designing a Sustainable Future

By Taylor Larsen • May 1, 2025
“Our thinking needs to be challenged in our culture.” The words from Bill Reed came during his keynote address at the Intermountain Sustainability Summit held at Weber State University in late March. And the strength of his advocacy for a sea change in how our culture thinks about everything—especially sustainability—only continued. “There is no such thing as a sustainable building,” said Reed, Principal of Regenesis, a regenerative design and education organization based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Reed spoke from experience. He is a founding board member of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and Co-Founder of the LEED Green Building Rating System. For him and many others, LEED won’t be the answer to the problems posed by the built environment. “LEED came along to tell us we could do things better,” he said. “But sustainability is a slower way to die.” “Places are living organisms,” he said. Everyone involved in development must realize, “Your project is not ‘The Project,’ but is part of a living system,” where the development in question is part of an expansive web of community priorities. “We have to make common ground in these communities,” he said, where alignment results in a project that fits within multiple contexts. Reed’s words were strong, and he challenged sustainability experts to find ways to create a regenerative built environment and all of its positive outcomes. UC+D looked to continue those thoughts and reached out to multiple design experts to see how to challenge our collective thinking and steer us to a sustainable future for the built environment. Value Alignment from the Start When Garth Shaw approaches a project, he starts with a fundamental question: "What does our client want and need, and what sustainable design strategies will help them get there?" Shaw, Principal and Director of Sustainability at Salt Lake-based GSBS Architects, said the goal is a high-performance, sustainable design that promotes, rather than dictates, client objectives. Efficient, resilient, and healthy buildings emerge from this process. “There is so much momentum in the industry to move faster and cheaper,” Shaw explained. Everyone in the A/E/C industry values efficiency, and private developers and owners are no exception. However, they also prioritize predictability. Even when a project starts with ambitious sustainability goals, compressed schedules and cost pressures can lead teams back to old methods. "It worked last time!” becomes the enemy of progress. Shaw argued that the industry must create space for innovation. "We need time to drive deep value into buildings that precisely meet client needs while protecting—and even enhancing—environmental performance." Overcoming this challenge begins with aligning values. “If you can tie people’s values into a practical approach to sustainability, that’s the magic,” Shaw said. He encourages his team to lead sustainability conversations without defaulting to LEED certification. Instead, successful sustainability strategies require tools tailored to each project. This kind of value-driven approach has broad appeal, transcending political divides. Shaw noted that leaders across the political spectrum recognize the importance of sustainability through air quality and water conservation efforts. Depoliticizing environmental stewardship is key—it’s not just a policy issue but a human issue that affects everyone. Government incentives, like the Inflation Reduction Act, have helped make sustainability more attractive to owners. The IRA provides substantial discounts for projects implementing energy-efficient systems, such as Utah’s on-site ground-source thermal exchange systems, which can now receive up to a 50% discount. When cost savings are clear and measurable, sustainability becomes an easier sell. Beyond energy systems, sustainable construction also hinges on material choices. "Manufacturers and contractors aren’t used to tracking carbon impacts," Shaw noted, but forward-thinking industry leaders continue pushing for better transparency. Tools from organizations like the Carbon Leadership Forum help architects, builders, and owners visualize the carbon footprint of materials, empowering them to make informed decisions. For the A/E/C industry, staying ahead requires continuous learning—keeping up with evolving grants, materials, supply chains, and building systems. Shaw concluded, “Change is required, and that change will ultimately benefit our clients. It may take more time, but the result is a high-value project—for people and the environment.”

Something New

By Doug Fox • May 1, 2025
The recently completed Duchesne High School (DHS) renovation is a textbook case of the old wedding adage: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” Fittingly, the project resulted in an elegant marriage of design, construction, and community spirit. The old and new are carefully blended, with brand-new buildings and modernized spaces standing alongside preserved sections of renovations past. And to tie it all together? The commons area, a brand-new roof, and other key highlights are bathed in Duchesne’s signature blue color. Naturally, like any good marriage, this $62.9 million rebuild required commitment, collaboration, and a little bit of patience. Architects, builders, and school district officials worked hand in hand to ensure that the old and new came together in harmony—honoring the school’s legacy while preparing it for the future. “We strived to make a space that brings pride to the students, staff, and the community,” said Wes Christensen, Principal Architect at KMA Architects, the Spanish Fork firm that designed the rebuild. “Our approach and design philosophy were heavily influenced by the desire to create a cohesive and efficient addition that would seamlessly blend with the existing portions to remain. We feel that we were able to accomplish this successfully, working together as a design team, including our consulting engineers, the school district, school administration, and Westland Construction.” Save the Date The Duchesne High School rebuild has been on the drawing board for nearly seven years and in the construction phase for 33 months. KMA started the design process in 2018, but the project was put on hold by the Duchesne County School District due to COVID and faced additional delays because of supply chain issues and long lead times for equipment. Westland Construction of Orem eventually earned the CM/GC bid and broke ground in June 2022. The high school remained open during the course of construction, creating the need for innovative and meticulous planning to ensure safety while working around normal school activity. “The new addition at the school was built where there was a field, parking lot, old basketball gym, and shop classrooms,” said Aaron Kirkham, Project Manager at Westland Construction. “The remodel and construction in the existing school areas were done during the school summer breaks.” When school was in session, temporary construction fencing and gates around active working areas served to keep students safe, Kirkham said. Construction delineation kept workers and equipment separated from students and staff. According to Michael Weldon, Building and Grounds Supervisor with the Duchesne County School District (DCSD), the detached gym and locker rooms were built in 1965, the auditorium and shops built in 1974, and a newer building added to campus in 2005. “The parts of the school that were demolished did not meet current building codes,” Weldon said. “The original auditorium was extremely small and the shops were also small. You had to go outside and through a parking lot to get to the second gym. The new build project incorporated the shops, an auditorium, and gym attached to the 2005 building so that they feel and look like they were built at the same time.” Bridging the old and new construction is always a unique factor that is different for any remodel and addition project, Christensen said. “These previous additions were designed by another architect, so that also creates a challenge to overcome in blending styles and design choices.” One of the most significant hurdles revolved around the central placement of the auditorium within the new school structure. While beneficial in creating a focal point for the building, the new auditorium posed myriad logistical challenges during construction. According to Kirkham, a 28,000-pound steel beam needed to be placed to support the structure’s masonry walls, which were 35 feet tall. The beam placement required a 550-ton crane, which had to be strategically positioned where the future gym would be constructed. “As a result, we had to delay the construction of the masonry walls in the new gymnasium until the beam was in place,” Kirkham said. “This sequencing created a very compressed and demanding schedule to ensure the new basketball gym was completed in time for the start of the school year in August 2024.” Despite those constraints, Kirkham said, construction on the gym’s masonry walls and concrete slab began in January of 2024 and was completed within seven months.

The New SLC Rolls On

By Milton Harrison • May 1, 2025
The historic Salt Lake City Airport Redevelopment (the New SLC) project continues to roll on into its fourth—and final—phase, with a targeted finish in October 2026 and final delivery of 16 new gates in Concourse B that will allow it to serve 34 million passengers annually. At a whopping $5.135 billion, the New SLC marks the single largest project in Utah's history, with the Phase I grand opening in September 2020 the first of many project milestones. The New SLC also sports the distinction of being the first new hub airport in the U.S. built in the 21st century, making it one of the most modern, technologically advanced, and aesthetically pleasing airports in the world. Last October, the $458 million Phase III was delivered by the Holder/Big-D Construction Joint Venture (HDJV) team, highlighted by the dynamic new 1,175-foot Central Tunnel—dubbed the "River Tunnel" for its mesmerizing blue ceiling art installation that depicts a flowing river—along with the Concourse B Plaza. The new plaza features an extension of the popular canyon motif with new art installations and the remarkable preservation of the former airport’s iconic "World Map" terrazzo floor section originally installed in 1960. Mike Williams, Program Director for the New SLC, expressed his excitement at the completion of Phase III, saying it's the most significant project milestone since Phase I opened in 2020. "This is really what I call the second transformation of the airport. The first was when we opened Phase I in the fall of 2020," said Williams, the veritable maestro of this Herculean, once-in-a-lifetime project. “[Phase III] is the one that ties it all together and makes it function as one cohesive airport." Williams said it's been remarkable to see how this project has morphed since it was announced more than a dozen years ago. At that time, the scope called for constructing just a new Concourse A and landside facilities. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, a mere six months before the scheduled grand opening of Phase I, SLC Airport officials pivoted with the original program and called for Concourse B to be built as well, essentially adding Phase III and Phase IV and nearly doubling the program budget to exceed $5 billion. Having the same general contractor team (HDJV) and design team, led by San Francisco-based HOK, on all four phases allowed a more seamless expansion since the goal of building Concourse B was to have it look and function virtually the same as Concourse A. Bill Wyatt, Executive Director of Airports for Salt Lake City, has been involved since 2017 and praised all parties involved for the successful completion of three major phases thus far, and for continually trying to improve the construction process from phase to phase. "During Phase I, we had this constant barrage of issues," said Wyatt. "I'd go on these construction walks with Mike [Williams], and someone from [HDJV], and it was a constant series of decisions that had to be made. We fixed all of those little things so that almost none of those issues were in Phase III and Phase IV. It's kind of like rinse and repeat—they're going on 10 years of building gates, and they have it pretty well down by now." Wyatt agreed with Williams that Phase III is the essential functional piece tying the entire project together, with the Central Tunnel being a vital connector between the two new concourses. The Central Tunnel makes a strong statement with its unique aesthetics and general stress-free vibe—highlighted by a carefully curated music playlist designed to help visitors decompress from the stresses of traveling on their journey to Concourse B. "In some ways, other than the [Phase I] grand opening itself in 2020, the opening of Phase III is the most significant," said Wyatt. "It makes the airport flow and function so much more effectively. Prior to this, people had a hard time understanding how it was going to come together—the Central Tunnel and Plaza of Concourse B really bring that together. We're very happy with the end result, the art [...] everything about it is terrific." "There has been a ton of excitement seeing the public's reaction to the Central Tunnel opening," added Jordan Cammack, Construction Director for the past two years for HDJV, and a former Project Manager and Senior Project Manager who has been on the job since construction began in July 2014. He praised the cohesiveness of the design and construction teams over the past 11 years and the ability to make changes without disrupting the schedule or budget. "It's been impressive to see how the architect and design teams came together and worked with us throughout the project," Cammack added. "It's been a great job—it's been like a family out here with all our team members, owner reps, and architects. We've seen families grow up. It's a pleasure to come to work with such great people for an extended period of time."

New Life for the 200 South Transit Corridor

By Taylor Larsen • May 1, 2025
“What does this corridor want to be when it grows up?” The question posed by Kyle Cook was the impetus for the 200 South Reconstruction project. It helped usher in a new era for Salt Lake City’s bus corridor with the tagline: “200 South—A Place of Motion” Cook, PE and Transportation Engineer for Salt Lake City, said 200 South was discussed years before design and construction commenced, namely from the capital city’s 2017 Transit Master Plan. After evaluating 15 corridors, 200 South was deemed the most important. “A strategic corridor,” said Cook of the area from Salt Lake Central Station to the University of Utah. Working in tandem with UTA and multiple Salt Lake City departments, the design would condense the five lanes of the old street into three passenger vehicle lanes, two dedicated bus lanes, and two bike lanes. It would create a street that matches the urban character of the area, one that is much safer and better equipped to handle the multimodal traffic on 200 South. Building for Community Needs As the Salt Lake City team went from master plan to design in the early days of the pandemic, they turned to online workshops, surveys, and virtual town halls on Facebook Live to get feedback on what folks hoped to see from a reconstructed 200 South along an area between 900 East and 400 West. “At the time, that was pretty novel for us,” Cook said of that public involvement work from the city and AECOM consultants, who served as project prime. “But I think we got very good at it.” They took in nearly 1,000 survey responses plus online event insights to determine the street needed to accommodate not just buses and passenger vehicles, but pedestrians, cyclists, and the array of businesses housed along the corridor. Reconstruction of 200 South was a two-phase project, where Phase 1 would cover 900 East to 200 East, and Phase 2 would reconstruct the far busier part of the project between 200 East and 400 West. Working with the Business Community Road construction is the bane of many and grows more challenging for a project team attempting to accommodate businesses and travelers while building in an urban environment. “It’s as downtown as it gets,” said Brett Kearns of the project scope. “The amount of vehicular or foot traffic passing through, and knowing you have to re-do the entire street, remove curb, gutter, and flatwork—it’s a huge concern.” Kearns, Project Manager/Estimator for Acme Construction, said they worked hand in hand with Salt Lake City and the public engagement team at Avenue Consultants to address business needs as construction continued between each phase. “In order for 200 South to succeed, we have to have good contact within our team and good contact with businesses,” said Kearns. “The first thing we did was canvas on the corridor,” said Stacee Adams, Public Involvement Manager from Avenue Consultants, who managed public involvement from the end of design through project completion. Adams said the team “went business to business” to show them what would go in place, infrastructure amenities, and what to expect in construction. Beyond the initial meet-and-greet, the team hosted workshops at Gallivan Plaza, took daily phone calls, and met with businesses monthly to keep them in the know. They also provided information to event attendees at places like the Greek Fest (300 West) and the Salt Palace (West Temple - 200 West) to keep visitors aware of construction impacts. Working Around the Barriers Acme’s experience on other Salt Lake City projects, notably the successful 900 South Corridor reconstruction, gave the city confidence that the Acme team would build community trust in each phase. That proved especially critical with the Capitol Theatre (50 West). Uneven grades surrounding the building posed one challenge while accommodating Capitol Theatre’s busy schedule posed another. Beyond venue patrons, “[Capitol Theatre] has load-in for their stage equipment, performers and costuming coming in, plus students coming in on school days for plays,” said Adams of the complicated logistics plan required. “We found out the best time for them was for construction to work from the beginning of July to August 15th,” said Kearns, who noted the atypical nature of the project required a level of dedication matched by the construction team across both phases. Kearns especially praised Acme Superintendent Herman Sword, who coordinated across the project’s two phases and ongoing construction projects nearby to ensure good outcomes for everyone. The Acme team installed plenty of asphalt and concrete to give the road and sidewalk new life around a bevy of ongoing work. Enbridge Gas installed their pipeline along the same corridor, Royal Wood Plaza (230 West) underwent demolition, and construction progressed on Zephyr Lofts (370 West) and Astra Tower (State Street).

40 Years of Aiming High

By Brad Fullmer • April 30, 2025
Steel Encounters' Executive Leadership team consists of (Left to right): Brad Hardy, President; Brian Tlustosch, Executive VP: Tom Jackson, Chairman/CEO; Michael Rudge, CFO.

Economists Remain Optimistic about Utah

By Milt Harrison • February 28, 2025
Despite some minor economic headwinds, Utah is poised for another solid, if semi-unspectacular, year of construction and real estate development, according to top economists locally and nationally. Indeed, 2025 is shaping up to be much like 2024, a year where firms across the A/E/C spectrum completed dozens of life-enhancing, community-uplifting projects across every major building sector—in other words, a lot of projects were built outside of the still churning multi-family market. These firms thrived for the most part, posting positive revenue growth and maintaining momentum in the face of the usual challenges of shallow labor pools and volatile material costs. Utah continues to rank among the top states nationally on key economic drivers such as population growth, construction employment, a pro-business climate, and a legislative body that continues to be bullish on funding higher education and transportation projects. Prospects are good with a can-do mentality among developers, municipalities, and the firms designing and building the jobs. "Utah will continue to have above average growth and is in great position to continue its great track record with a growing population, and a strong economy and construction market," said Ken Simonson, Chief Economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA) in Washington, D.C. "Utah has been on a steady, strong upward path with 27% growth in construction employment—three times the national average of 9%—since 2020." Simonson said Utah's construction employment growth doubled last year, up 6%, which is twice the U.S. average. Growth would be even stronger, he added, if contractors could find workers, particularly skilled tradesmen. Simonson said a survey of 1,500 firms nationally stated 94% had openings for craft workers. "It's hard to fill (skilled) positions, more difficult than last year," he added. Utah's consistent population growth—the Beehive State ranked fourth according to the U.S. Census from 2023-24 with 1.8% growth (3.44 million to 3.50 million)—is a driver of demand for so many types of construction, as well as a course of construction labor. Simonson said the state has been more welcoming of immigrants, an important source of labor for contractors across the board. Utahns also have a reputation for being well-educated coupled with a strong work ethic and drive to succeed, making the state an attractive place for new businesses looking to expand. Developers Waiting Out Interest Rates; Hope for a Drop in '25 The Fed kept interest rates where they are in January—a decision not popular with many real estate developers simply itching to invest capital and have projects waiting to cut loose the minute rates become more favorable. That pent-up demand could heat up the market if rates drop by even half a point, particularly in the multi-family arena. Simonson said multi-family was down nationally 8% from September 2023-24, with Utah seeing an equivalent slowdown, despite a huge amount of inventory that hit the market in 2024, including attractive high-end downtown properties like Camber, The Worthington, and Astra Tower, and many others along the greater Wasatch Front. "Reductions in the [Fed]’s short-term interest rate target will make financing a bit less expensive but developers still can't get loans or want to proceed if rents aren't high enough to cover the financing and construction costs, including time to complete if there are extended delivery times for electrical equipment such as transformers and switchgear," Simonson added. "Utah isn't immune from these challenges, but if the underlying population growth will be supportive of rent increases, that may bring back multi-family construction sooner than in areas that aren't growing as fast, or at all." Spendlove Keynote at 2025 NAIOP Symposium Senior Economist for Zions Bank, Robert Spendlove, said Utah is well-positioned to maintain solid economic activity, with factors of low unemployment (hovering around 4%), solid wage growth (3.9% in December), and more than a quarter million jobs added at the end of last year. "Utah had unexpected, continued strength in the labor market," said Spendlove at NAIOP Utah's 2025 Symposium in January. "If we could pause the economy and stay where we're at now, we'd be in a perfect position." Consumer inflation, he said, remains sticky at nearly 3%, with the Fed targeting 2% before they can lower interest rates. "Until it's at 2%, they can't claim victory," he said. Overall, consumer prices are up a whopping 22% since 2020. "It's a struggle for people—those prices are never going back down. Inflation is just adding to those price increases. [Fed Chair Jerome] Powell said they will not make the same mistake as the 70s; they will not cut rates until inflation is down." In addition to strong 1.65% [WHAT TYPE OF] growth and 1.8% employment growth, Utah rebounded quickly from the pandemic. "That shows the strength of Utah's economy and labor market," said Spendlove. He added that Utah's GDP was up 4.6%, indicating the strongest economic growth in the U.S., with consumer sentiment improving and greater small business optimism. Utah Maintains Steady Growth, Says Eskic The Beehive State's remarkably consistent and steady growth remains a major reason why its economic outlook remains rosy, said Dejan Eskic, Senior Research Fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. "Utah's population growth has never dropped below zero since 1950—we're still increasing with net migration," said Eskic at an event hosted by the Intermountain Chapter of the American Concrete Institute in January, with growth slowing by only .08 to 1.65% "There is so much demand in our economy that even in a down year for housing, construction employment is up 6.2%," he said. "The American household, on average, has never looked better on paper when looking at financial stability," with 70% of household debt tied to mortgages. Living in Utah is still expensive, even though the state is now listed as the 10th most expensive state to live in, down from 8th. "It doesn't mean Utah is more affordable, other states are just more expensive." The housing crisis will remain among the biggest challenges, both with affordable housing and overall number of units that need to be built. Governor Spencer Cox has made his intentions known that communities need to prioritize ways to address all housing issues, with a desire to see tens of thousands of single family homes built in the next decade. Way easier said than done, simply because developers cannot be expected to be altruistic when market conditions are competitive and profit margins potentially volatile and risky. He expects rents to increase once absorption is reached. Other items of note: —Consumer Price Index dipped to 2.6%, where it is expected to stay. —Expect growth in wages and employment. —Commercial construction will be primarily flat, similar to the last two years. —Office is flat, medical and industrial markets will continue to grow; industrial may be dictated by international trade. —Utah expects to add 500,000 people in the next decade, and will need a jaw-dropping 275,000 more housing units in that time, primarily along the Wasatch Front. "We need to change the dialogue if we're going to solve the housing crisis," said Eskic. "Currently, 92% of renters are priced out of the market. Construction must be optimized."

Waterworks in the Wilderness

By Taylor Larsen • February 28, 2025
July 23rd, 1847 was a pivotal day for the pioneers. Records from the time detailed how the advance party trekking into the Salt Lake Valley built a dam to convey water from City Creek to freshly plowed land. Years later, the city hired civil and hydraulic engineer Herman Schussler to design a system to bring water through laminated wood pipes to 20,000 Salt Lake City residents while preparing for future growth. Schussler said, in a presentation to Brigham Young in 1872, “I propose to construct the pipe system of the City of such dimensions as to be capable of supplying five million gallons per diem.” While those original pipes couldn’t make it to year two, the design was in place for cast iron pipes to go in their place in 1876. The 37 carloads of cast iron pipe, plumbing tools, water gates, and more came from multiple suppliers from eastern US industrial hubs of St. Louis, Boston, and Louisville, KY. Those collaborative efforts brought modern waterworks “in our lovely Deseret,” collecting water from 19.2 square miles of watershed that feeds the 14.5-mile-long City Creek stream. Modernity Fast forward nearly 150 years, past chlorination that arrived in the 1920s, past the first water treatment facility constructed in Utah, the City Creek Water Treatment Plant in 1953, past filter installation in 1966, and past the canyon reopening for recreational use in 1975—Salt Lake City needed a new treatment facility to keep clean water flowing. The Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities (SLCDPU) partnered with engineering firm Brown and Caldwell in design in 2018 to envision and engineer something new to ensure resiliency and reliable water service to its customers. While the plant escaped any critical damage in the March 2020 earthquake, it was a reminder of the urgent need to create a new facility. Design and construction would work around a coterie of barriers and challenges—keeping operations ongoing while building on a challenging site three miles into the wilderness—to produce the future of water treatment for Salt Lake City.
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