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The enormous new correctional facility compound—which replaces the long-outdated Utah State Prison (opened in 1951, replacing the Sugar House Prison) previously located at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley—was designed not only as a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 

Black Desert Oasis

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

Calder Richards Celebrates 20 Years of Sustainable Evolution

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

The (Epi)Center of it All

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

Goal!

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

Four Decades of Transformation

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

Good Career? Start Here

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

It's A Knockout

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

Significant Buzz

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

Firms Making Moves

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

Q&A with Nathan Goodrich

By UC&D • August 1, 2025
Nathan Goodrich