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Post District delivers big with its full city block dedicated to meeting varied resident needs and creating a true "Live, Work, Play" environment.

“It’s not often that you get to build an entire neighborhood,” said Brandon Blaser at Post District’s ribbon-cutting in early May 2024.

Utah’s major opportunities to develop community emanate from The Pointe and Daybreak, the giant master-planned developments in the South Valley. But urban renewal at the neighborhood scale happens much less frequently.  

Blaser, the Founder and President of Blaser Ventures, Alex and Ben Lowe of Lowe Property Group, and other investors and stakeholders took the chance with what is now Post District—an entire Salt Lake City block of mixed-use development. 

But taking an area suffering from urban decay and giving it a new lease on life with new builds and adaptive reuse structures would be a process that required everyone reading from the same page. 

Plans Coalesce

Expanding Salt Lake’s urban core south and west via the Post District started with financial stakeholders and their design partners walking around the area in 2018 as they looked to build an almost self-contained neighborhood out of a dilapidated area of Salt Lake City.


What was once a publishing powerhouse that printed and distributed the Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, and USA Today in years prior had gone the way of many print media and left for dead. Graffiti-covered and abandoned warehouses wouldn’t cut it in a city looking to strike while the iron of renewed urbanism was still hot.


Pieter Berger, Director of Design, and Principal for project architects MVE + Partners, aligned with stakeholders and their preliminary vision early. Their collective goal was to create a remarkable product that would bring renters of many income types together into a cohesive, in-demand neighborhood.


“Controlling the entire block allowed us to break down the scale of the block into a more walkable environment,” he said. No easy feat with the largest urban grid in the country, where one Salt Lake block holds the same area as multiple blocks in a walkable city like Portland. Even harder, he continued, considering the project would leave rentable units and square footage on the table to establish a better environment for future residents. But ownership trusted that breaking down the scale through multiple buildings would create a new community capable of lifting the entire block.


Nitty Gritty Start

“Sophisticated Grit,” Berger said, was an oft-used term in the design process to center the narrative around a modern, sophisticated neighborhood juxtaposed against the existing grit of the surroundings. And what better material to bring sophisticated grit to the forefront than concrete?


Leaders from general contractor Big-D Construction suggested a mat foundation under the building footprint to serve dual roles as structural support and a driving surface. Doing so would eliminate the need for traditional aggregate piers in Post House North and Post House South. The use of drop caps where columns connect to the ceiling slab also reduced its thickness while maintaining structural integrity and cost-efficiency.


As plans moved to implementation, grit came in the form of well over one thousand concrete trucks’ worth of slurry for the massive, 138,000-SF mat footing foundation. Self-performed by Big-D Construction, this foundation would be the starting point for two of the buildings, Post House North and Post House South.


Construction logistics and intricate planning helped to bring the process forward and allowed the team to pull off such massive, record-setting pours. Each concrete truck followed the same sequence by receiving a specific-colored flag to help identify the pump to use during that pour. Because the top six inches of the foundations contained a corrosion inhibitor, it was crucial that the trucks filled up at the correct pumps and poured in the precise order they were assigned.


Traffic control was paramount since the project took place between the busiest entrance and exit to the city, between 600 South and 500 South, respectively, especially with the quantity of stationed concrete pump trucks and concrete trucks buzzing to and from the pour. As concrete trucks filled, poured, washed, and repeated the cycle, Gardner said there were upwards of 20-plus concrete trucks onsite at any given time.


The herculean effort from the 80 Big-D concrete team members meant taking spells pouring and finishing concrete across the site over 28- and 30-hour pours— resulting in 1,000-CY of concrete in place. 


Measuring in at a whopping 30 inches thick, the work to take these two time-intensive pours from start to finish is a testament to quality design and construction from the project team.

Polished Grit

While the mat foundation caught so much attention for depth and breadth of logistical complexity, concrete features deserve a second glance throughout the entirety of Post District. Architectural concrete columns were designed so the forms would be expressive of the tectonic nature of the building, earning the name “coffin columns” due to their coffin-like appearance.


The columns are visible at the main entrance of Post House South and throughout the fitness center. Concrete is prominent elsewhere, including the 17,200 SF of architectural concrete and board-formed walls visible on planters, decorative walls, and accent wall facing the project’s western edge.


Coordinated Success

As work progressed with the multiple mixed-use and residential buildings under Big-D’s purview, Layton/ICS worked simultaneously nearby on Traeger Grills’ new headquarters. Their work with designers Method Studio on an adaptive reuse of the former Newspaper Agency Corporation building and others into Class-A office required the most precise communication between all project teams. Since multiple general contractors were constructing facets of the neighborhood within one city block, maintaining continuous coordination was essential, especially when as many as 400 trade partners completed their activities on site.


Gardner said the teams on each building under their purview held daily planning and coordination meetings. This, he said, ensured that each team knew their tasks for the day and that each team could complete their work without encroaching on the workspace of other teams on site.


He said that owner coordination meetings, block-wide coordination meetings for GCs and others, weekly subcontractor meetings, and even daily meetings for specific teams helped to get everyone on the same page to build the project in a safe and efficient manner.


That came through specifically in areas like crane safety, where multiple cranes worked on site simultaneously, requiring swing radius coordination and dialed in team members and safety orientations.


Berger praised the field work done to implement the design vision at scale, saying: “this type of work is the ultimate team sport. Our team can set the vision and create great working drawings for construction; however it is the collective whole from our team, ownership, and GC all the way down to framers and skilled labor on site that make this a success.”  

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“Plane” to See

Since there is no “easy button” to facilitate the relationship between designer and contractor, Berger said that Big-D expertise was critical to bringing every one of the five buildings to delivery, specifically with Post House South’s unique massing.


Staggered windows and four slope roof systems required a precise mix of wood and steel columns while framing the building. Because it was designed to have a cohesive look where the wall panels blended seamlessly into the roof, Gardner said the Big-D team had to figure out how to keep the aesthetic without sacrificing functionality.


“Any time you are going from one plane to another, it takes detail to make it work. And we were working within three planes,” he said.


The Big-D team created eight mockups for the roof structure before landing on an acceptable design. First, the team installed a full-standing seam roof, then they clamped the wall panels on top and perforated each one of them, allowing water to transfer from the first roof to the second, where the water could drain away.


Conundrum Turned Solution

The billboards around the site have earned plenty of double-takes for how buildings were seemingly (and actually) constructed around them.


With the billboard owners unwilling to part with their signs, the project team got creative to find a solution to work around four billboards, with one near the standalone restaurant space, and another near Post House South, needing the most planning to bring about project success.


The solutions-oriented approach started in design. Berger said that the billboards became part of the project DNA as easements became form givers and massing elements were created where there would have been an urge to build more, specifically around the restaurant space to the north that will soon house Sunday’s Best. 


With the billboard near Post House South, the team designed a notch in the building to give the outdoor advertisement 30 inches of clearance on each side. While it solved the one problem of building around the billboard, another challenge arose—installing windows and applying stucco to the areas in that tight space.


But, as one of the project owners Alex Lowe said during the ribbon cutting, “When there was every opportunity to look for excuses, Big-D Construction only looked for solutions.”


The construction team utilized cranes to lift windows and put people in a man basket to install the windows behind the billboard.


Diverse Rental Types

All that work brought about the 580 residences across Post District that show up in multiple rental categories and sizes. The Register, 801 Flats, Post House North, and Post House South share amenities on site, especially with elevated skyways linking certain buildings together. While the unity of purpose is apparent, Berger said that each building was designed to hold its own personality both architecturally and from a product standpoint.


“The idea was to have the block feel like it was built by several owners and several architects in order to establish a more authentic urban grid,” he said. “Each building represents a different renter profile with the goal of creating the ‘complete neighborhood.’”


But what would a neighborhood be without walkability? Berger and fellow architects pushed the concept of creating a network of Woonerfs, or Dutch-style living streets, where pedestrians walk in the middle of the road versus driving a car.

The architect detailed how prioritizing a truly livable experience shifted vehicular access to perimeter streets, keeping the core of the project from experiencing trash pick-up, emergency vehicle access, move-ins, etc., like other urban neighborhoods.


Simply put, Berger said, “This allows the streets to feel safe, accessible, and livable.” 


Restaurant and Amenities Add Coveted Layers

And who doesn’t love visiting the neighborhood haunt?


From early morning coffee to a late night out, Post District has plenty of dining for residents and visitors. Urban Sailor Coffee Co. has been open since fall of last year, while Sunday’s Best, in all of its wild pink glory, will be opening soon to the delight of social media influences and brunch connoisseurs alike. Level Crossing Brewing Company’s presence provides the crisp and sudsy presence necessary to go with delicious lunch and dinner options, while Urban Hill’s upscale dinner and after-hours experience is another welcome addition to the block.


The 22,000 SF of combined restaurant spaces were intended to be an extension of the overall design narrative for the block. MVE worked very closely with ownership on the review of tenant build outs, not only to align building systems, but also to align aesthetics. Thoughtful exterior dining locations were contemplated with each retail space. The idea, Berger said, was always “How do we get people to live on the streets?” The Woonerf concept, combined with the building scale and the accessibility of the restaurant spaces, all combined to be a major feature of that dialogue. 


Residential amenities include a 7,000-square-foot fitness center, club room, rooftop decks and multiple swimming pools. Each rooftop has its own unique flavor, corresponding to the unique architecture of each building. The podium level deck at Post House North has a park-like setting, while the podium level deck at Post House South offers a pool experience rivaling a luxury resort.


The purpose, according to the design team, was to create gathering spaces that build community among residents, while offering an experience that feels unique in the Utah apartment market. Large hinged canopy doors open over an indoor/outdoor pool and spa. At the center of the pool deck, walkover steppers traverse the oversized pool. They pass beneath the shade of a truly one-of-a-kind steel art tree that was custom designed and fabricated for this project.


“The pools in the project are not only an amenity to be a part of but also a great amenity to look at,” said Berger, complimenting the work of landscape architects Loft Six Four for helping the pools come to life.


The large outdoor spa features an acrylic window to the street below, to which Berger said was intended to make a passerby say “How can I be a part of that!?”


As the project team detailed, that feeling of wanting to be part of a sophisticated, gritty neighborhood is present throughout Post District. Whether in the form of tasty dining, a comfortable residence, or enjoyable amenity, the entire development begs the same question that Alex Lowe of the ownership team said at the ribbon cutting:


“Won’t you be our neighbor?”  

Post District Mixed-Use Development

Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Delivery Method: CM/GC

Square Feet: 918,830

Levels/Stories: 6/7

Owner: Blaser Ventures, Lowe Property Group, and Bridge Investment Group


Design Team

Architect: MVE + Partners

Civil: McNeil Engineering

Electrical: Hunt Electric

Mechanical: Gunthers

Plumbing: JTB/UMC

Structural: Dunn Associates

Geotech: AGEC

Landscape: Wenk Associates, Loft Six Four

Pool & Spa: Water Design Inc

Waterproofing: Morrison Hershfield


Construction Team

General Contractor: Big-D Construction

Concrete: Big-D Construction (Structural), Pikus (Deck Shoring and Deck Forming), BHI (Site), Architectural

Concrete and Design (Post House North and Post House South Decorative Podium), Knell Constuction

(Gypcrete)

Plumbing: UMC

HVAC: Gunthers

Electrical: R.C. Hunt

Masonry: RAM Exteriors

Metal Paneling: Southam Associates

Drywall/Acoustics: SDI (Drywall), Mitchell Acoustics (Decorative Ceiling Systems)

Painting: Allied Painters (The Register, Post House North, 801 Flats), Keith Pulham Painting (Post House

South)

Tile/Stone: CP Build (The Register, Post House North, 801 Flats), Spectra (All Buildings), Dowland Tile and

Stone (The Register, Post House South)

Carpentry: Turnkey Interiors (Base, Doors and Hardware), Ron J Peterson (Sunday’s Best/Restaurant Space

Framing), Avant Garde (Post House South Framing), CP Build (Cabinets The Register, Post House North,

801 Flats), Dowland (Post House South), Finisher Construction (Post House South Supplemental Help

W/Cabinet Install)

Flooring: CP Build (The Register, Post House North, 801 Flats); Spectra Contract Flooring (Post House

North, Post House South), Stewart Specialty Systems (Polished Concrete)

Roofing: Flynn (TPO Systems), Southam and Associates (Standing Seam/Metal Roofing)

Glass/Curtain Wall: B&D Glass (Storefront), Pella (Window Provider), Total Window (Window Installer),

Allied Industries (Skylights), All Metals Fabrication (Glass Railings, Post House South), Crawford Doors

(Pool Doors), Bountiful Glass (Shower Doors), Scottco Blinds (Window Coverings)

Waterproofing: Waterproofing West

Steel Fabrication: Boman and Kemp (Structural Steel Common Area Stairs), Pine River Partners

(Decorative Railing and Unit Stairs), Harris Rebar, SN Custom Railing (Spiral Stair in Unit)

Steel Erection: Rise Construction (Structural), Pine River Partners (Decorative Railings and Unit Stairs),

Iron Mountain Construction (Rebar)

Excavation: Cazier, Geopier Northwest (Aggregate Piers), Keller North America (Post House North, Post

House South Excavation Shoring)

Demolition: Grantt Mackay

Landscaping: Brightview Landscape (Ongrade), Waterscape Landscaping (Podium and Amenities Decks)

Other Specialty Contractors: Kone (The Register, Post House North, Post House South, 801 Flats), Able

Access (Sunday’s Best/Restaurant Space), Alpine Gas Fireplaces, B&B Specialties, Ranger Fire, Builder

Services Group, Cannon Sales (Actual Trash Chutes), B&B Specialties (Containers and Compactors),

Crawford Doors (Overhead Coiling Doors), CEM Aquatics, Thermal Engineering, Mountain West Pavers,

Flash Parking, Peck Striping, Rocky Mountain Wall Cover, Salt Studio (Benches, Bike Racks and Cabanas),

CMI

Like a Phoenix Rising

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
Residents have access to a wealth of modern, high-class amenities: Check out this open-air rooftop patio with tasteful lighting, pool, and spacious hot tub—it’s party time! (all photos courtesy Kier Construction)

Mission In Progress

By LADD MARSHALL • November 15, 2025
Steve Green is out in McCornick, Utah. Where is that? And what’s near McCornick? “Nothing,” joked Green, the Sr. Vice President for Wheeler Machinery Co. While he may be far from even the smallest of small towns, with Holden and its 492 residents 13 miles away, he’s close to the site of a major development in data center technology. Isolated on the western edge of the Sevier Desert, the Joule Data Center will also be isolated from the grid—by design. Operation Gigawatt Rolls On Green is one of many energy and power professionals hoping to double Utah’s power generation capacity by 2034 as a part of Operation Gigawatt, an initiative launched by Utah Governor Spencer Cox in October 2024. Utah has long been an economic growth leader; Operation Gigawatt aims to make Utah a power player in energy development by increasing transmission capacity, increasing energy production, strengthening policy, and investing in energy innovation. While Governor Cox’s Operation Gigawatt moves forward statewide, out in McCornick, Green said, “We’re doing operation gigawatt and a half off grid.” The Joule Data Center project team will deliver “In-situ power generation”—power not connected to any electrical distribution or transmission system. It starts with Caterpillar G3520K reciprocating generator sets that produce 1.5 gigawatts of electricity. Waste heat and exhaust from the generators then move through an absorption chiller system as part of the overall systems combined cooling, heat, and power (CCHP) solution, providing much of the water required to cool the data center servers. Beyond the electric power to be generated for the Joule project, there will be 1.5 gigawatts of thermal energy and 1.1 gigawatts of available battery storage to meet the data center's peak electricity needs. Added Green, “And we’re not taxing the local utility grid.” Isolated or Community Power? The massive power capabilities delivered there are impressive, but they reveal a troubling trend in how Utah will double its power generation capabilities. Will it be from well-funded companies looking to power data centers and AI technology separate from the grid? Or will Utah fulfill the mission of Operation Gigawatt by creating power solutions accessible to all? According to Troy Thompson, Chief Operations Officer for Big-D Companies, power generation is about more than supplying data centers. “In my mind, how do we build a billion-dollar hospital downtown that needs ten megawatts of power?” he said, referencing Intermountain Health’s future downtown Salt Lake campus, “let alone the data centers, and manufacturers who we are hoping that will come here?” Ten megawatts of power may pale in comparison to what data centers require, but it is one of many projects seeking regulatory approval to move forward. The Utah Inland Port Authority, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, and others continue to drive projects and jobs into Utah—data centers, too. But Thompson said he has heard from many potential clients who are hesitant to bring their energy-intensive projects to the state without firm guarantees of available power. Operation Gigawatt and state leaders have embraced an "all of the above" approach to energy sources, extending the design lifespans of coal plants, embracing new technologies and power sources, and developing new power-generating capabilities. While the industry is willing, the operating environment needs rewiring to meet state goals. Changing for 21st Century Needs “With as hot as the Utah market is,” began Eric Haslem, “there are too many obstacles for us to overcome.” The market may be ready to ramp up production, said Haslem, Chief Operating Officer for Vernal-based utility and heavy civil contractors BHI, “But the current system can’t handle it. We have this massive web of transmission and distribution infrastructure that was not designed or built for the power demands of the 21st century.” “In 1970, they didn’t know what a smartphone was,” Haslem said, “let alone AI.” Transmission projects have been developed. Rocky Mountain Power/PacifiCorp’s Energy Gateway South transmission line—a 416-mile, high-voltage 500-kilovolt transmission line that runs from Mona to Medicine Bow, Wyoming—certainly helped when it went live in 2024. Still, it's just one project amidst a plethora of needs. Haslem stated that Utah's growth over the last 10 years meant a large majority of the transmission line's capacity was accounted for when it went live. .

One-Stop Shop

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
And the King shall answer and say unto them, "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."—KJV Matthew 25:40 From a social and community impact standpoint, few projects match the value to disabled and special needs individuals as the new Utah State Development Center (USDC) Comprehensive Therapies Building in American Fork. The $36 million, 65,000-SF facility was designed as a "one-stop shop," said Joe Jacoby, President of Salt Lake-based Jacoby Architects, whose team led the project’s design. It consolidates and modernizes myriad services under one roof, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, speech, language, and hearing resources, and behavioral health resources. In addition, the new building offers full-service medical and dental clinics, an indoor therapy pool, an Autism treatment wing, and workshops for life skills and vocational training—all geared to helping people live independent, authentic lives, while striving to reach their full potential. "This building was very much about accessibility," Jacoby said, "and putting in many different types of resources for these residents—all in one building." Jacoby's firm has significant recent experience in projects that combine education and healthcare for people with special needs. The firm's design of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Clinical Excellence in Utah State University's College of Education and Human Services earned UC+D's 2016 Most Outstanding K-12 Project. Two years later, the firm earned another UC+D award for the C. Mark Openshaw Education Center for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, a project similar to this one in that it contains an array of services, including education and therapy for varying levels of sensory, behavioral, physical, and cognitive abilities. "We've been working on different [design] aspects for many years, starting with a deaf preschool, which led to working with the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind," said Jacoby. "With that came many other sub-specialties, like therapy for behavioral issues, cognitive issues, development disabilities, and even speech, language and hearing clinics. It helps people with a variety of disabilities and serves an underserved population of people."

Built Different

By Taylor Larsen • November 15, 2025
On a fall tour of Utah State University's (USU) Carolyn & Kem Gardner Learning & Leadership Building (Gardner Building), students and faculty are hard at work on a late Tuesday afternoon. Getting here, where USU's business school students could thrive, was a long time coming. The University commissioned the Gardner Building to meet a new mission for the school outside the traditional knowledge acquisition and transfer for which USU has excelled since its founding in 1888: Giving students a differentiated experience they cannot get anywhere else. Purpose Revealed Frank Caliendo, Senior Associate Dean of the Huntsman School of Business, said that the new building is the third and final piece of the business complex, "a realization of the longtime vision of Dean Douglas Anderson, the driving force behind the school's transformation, to meet the needs of students for generations to come." Caliendo, a longtime Aggie (USU BS, '98; PhD, '03), said that, even after the opening of the George S. Eccles Business Building and its faculty offices and classrooms in 1970, growth in business courses eventually outpaced the school's capacity. Jon M. Huntsman Hall's 2016 opening broke the campus bottleneck, with classrooms and other spaces dedicated to business school participants. "But we still needed space for our centers and experiential learning programs," Caliendo said, of the importance of collaborative spaces and differentiated experience for the five programs (see page XX) that would call the Gardner Building home. The design intent for this final piece wasn't a re-creation of Huntsman Hall, Caliendo said of the initial message to MHTN Architects, "But it does need to rhyme with Huntsman Hall." Working within a Busy Environment The first order of business was siting the building just east of the other two business school structures. Stan Burke, Project Manager for Jacobsen Construction, said the Gardner Building was part of a trio of projects that included Ridge Point Hall and a parking garage—three Jacobsen-led projects that utilized the same construction corridor as construction commenced from "An active campus is difficult enough," said Burke of the challenges of simultaneous construction, which required constant coordination amongst the three teams, made a tad easier as they shared a job trailer. "We had to stay cognizant of the school's activities and coordinate with them so that everyone was aware of what we were doing." Coordination went from important to critical, with the three teams meeting daily to discuss coordination and scheduling material and equipment deliveries in 15-minute intervals as the respective construction teams worked on each of the three structures.

The Long and Winding Road

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
Warren and Jennie Lloyd (above) have built Salt Lake-based Lloyd Architects into a well-rounded, versatile firm capable of excelling in both the commercial and custom residential markets, as evidenced by projects such as Snuck Farm in Pleasant Grove (main photo) and this cozy private Powder Mountain based cabin in Eden (below ).

Power Player

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
The last five years have been a whirlwind for the Larry H. Miller Company (LHM), with the organization selling the majority of its beloved Utah Jazz franchise in October 2020 for a reported $1.66 billion, followed by the sale of its auto dealership empire of more than 70 properties for a reported $3.2 billion a year later. The influx of nearly $5 billion was parlayed into several jaw-dropping real estate and other corporate purchases, including: —1,300 undeveloped acres within the massive 4,100-acre Daybreak development in South Jordan in April 2021. —Advanced Health Care Corp. in January 2021, a transitional health care provider with operations in eight states (primarily in the west) and 3,500 employees. —The purchase of the majority stake in Swig, a leader in the flavored soda craze, in May 2023. — Partnering with Utah Trust Lands Administration to develop 1,200 acres in Saratoga Springs. — The acquisition of over 1,000 acres near Park City and Hideout will include multi-family units, housing, restaurants, and retail. —100+ acre mixed-use development in an area along North Temple being dubbed “The Power District”; the future home of not only Rocky Mountain Power’s new corporate campus but potentially a ballpark for a future Major League Baseball expansion team. —A reported $600 million acquisition of controlling interest in MLS team Real Salt Lake and NWSL team Utah Royals, along with associated infrastructure, including America First Field and Zions Bank Training Center. —The development of Downtown Daybreak, a 200-acre parcel that this year saw its 30-acre Phase I debut with the completion of the Salt Lake Bees' new 8,000 capacity stadium—dubbed The Ballpark at America First Square—in April, followed by a new Megaplex cinema entertainment center in July with luxury theatres, bowling, games and a scratch-made kitchen in addition to an open air plaza. A seven-story, 190-unit multi-family development is currently under construction and rising along the right field bleachers, with views that will look down into the ballpark upon completion next year. And LHM is just getting started, said Brad Holmes, President of Larry H. Miller Real Estate since 2018, calling Downtown Daybreak a "new urban center that is central to where the majority of growth is occurring" and combines a "full spectrum of business and year-round entertainment, culture and connectivity, as well as a wide range of housing options." When LHM executives first conceived of a new home for the Salt Lake Bees, Holmes said they went on a "ballpark tour" of MLB and minor league stadiums, and "really fell in love with a ballpark" in Durham, North Carolina—home of the Durham Bulls—which had buildings that framed in the stadium. So, The Ballpark at America First Square has the multi-family project underway in right field, with a proposed hotel slated to begin next year in left field. "In another two seasons, you'll have this urban setting for the ballpark that frames the mountain views. [The design is] really intentional, and I think it will bring a finished edge to Downtown Daybreak," said Holmes. "It was a process trying to figure out the best location, site plan, traffic, but it's in a great spot. The goal for us was to make it feel like it fit in with the community, almost like having a baseball stadium inside of a park, with an open corridor that connects to a plaza."  Holmes said the seemingly small 8,000-capacity stadium (about half the capacity of the Bees former home at Smith’s Ballpark) aligns with national trends. "It's better to play in front of a sold-out crowd than in a half-empty stadium. Some new MLB stadiums are at 30,000 [capacity]. The trend is smaller, more intimate venues with closer views of the field."

Hogan Construction 80th Anniversary

By Taylor Larsen • November 15, 2025
Much has changed about Hogan & Associates Construction since the company's inception 80 years ago. The name may be the most obvious example, the size of the company may be another giveaway, and the difference in markets served might require a double take if the founders could see the company today. But what hasn't changed is the firm's desire to build communities. It has regularly built important, community-focused projects with a similar purpose since the company came to life in 1945.

(De)signed, Sealed, Delivered

By Taylor Larsen • November 15, 2025
Imagine this: A company has just begun a meeting with the intent of moving forward with a major investment. One party knows something that will help minimize the investment's risk. Should that party tell everyone, it will save money, time, and everyone involved from future headaches. So when should that party spill the beans? At the beginning of the meeting At the end of the meeting At the right time during the meeting Never Bradley Crocker, Director of Preconstruction for Mollerup Glass, has seen how answering this question correctly—and choosing “A”—brings about successful and profitable investment in commercial construction. “I think that [project teams] need to bring in subcontractors early to help guide budgets in general,” said Crocker, detailing how every trade can bring a similar level of expertise to architects and owners by being involved from the beginning of the “meeting”, while the project is in design. Why? “We can vet cost versus performance and find the best value for the performance, which is essential as meeting or beating the budgets gets the project to construction on time,” said Ben Hiatt, Chief Estimator for Steel Encounters. After all, he said, “Nothing moves if budgets are not met.” Design-assist is a positive step forward, where subcontractors assist in matching design intent with a deep understanding of building envelopes to ensure glazing, roofing, walls, and fenestrations perform at their highest level. Glenn Rainey, Salt Lake City Branch Manager, and Larry Luque, Senior Estimator and Business Developer for Flynn Companies, each said efforts in design-assist fulfill what owners and architects want: buildings that meet the design intent and perform at their highest level for as long as possible. It’s not just architects who benefit from that early involvement. “More GCs realize they need us right up front,” said Luque. With teams whose combined experience totals thousands of hours, building envelope contractors stay up to date on changing codes, materials, and specifications, which is highly beneficial to the project. Their close involvement with vendors can help ensure a variety of solutions that meet each job’s needs and help optimize building envelope performance. Consultant Involvement Other parties are lending their expertise. Brandt Strong said building envelope quality has increased with the arrival of more building envelope consultants in Utah and a greater dedication to the building envelope in general. “We had a time where we could say ‘This is a Vegas project, and we have to have the belt and suspenders,’” said Strong, Director of Operations for Mollerup Glass. On Utah projects, the building envelope used to be an afterthought. But it’s changed for the better over the years. “The Utah teams are as sophisticated as anywhere else.” While the markups on shop drawings can draw some ire, both mentioned how working with consultants has led to better, more efficient projects, potentially reducing the need for future repairs by inspecting every material and transition on the building envelope. Said Crocker, “We cannot discredit the envelope consultants’ role in making us, and the industry as a whole, perform at a higher level.” Hiatt credited each party overseeing the building envelope scope for learning and adapting to create a better building environment, specifically in understanding seismic drift and its relationship to glazing, as well as thermal performance and continuity. Improvements to air-barrier coordination and tie-ins to stop water and air leaks are helping buildings operate at peak efficiency. “The architects, general contractors, consultants, and trades have improved their knowledge over the years,” said Hiatt. “Design and execution of façades are better coordinated and executed.”

Taylor Electric Thriving at 50

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
Taylor Electric proved its mettle on the challenging Salt Lake International Airport, Southeast Concourse project, with their portion of work concluding in October 2023. (all photos courtesy Taylor Electric)

Hungry and Ready

By Bradley Fullmer and Taylor Larsen • November 15, 2025
By Bradley Fullmer It's been a whirlwind 18 months for Adam Del Toro and Nick Pexton, who co-founded Fountain Green-based Reliance Engineering Services in May 2024, a company specializing in full-service telecommunications engineering, including design, project management, permitting, and funding and grant applications. Two years ago, Del Toro was more than a decade into his career as a Research & Development Supervisor for natural gas giant Dominion Energy, while Pexton was working for Nephi-based Rocky Mountain West Telcom (RMWT) as a Sr. Director of Business Development, with just over four years at the company. The two had met a couple of years earlier while collaborating on a potential fiber optic network project in Mona that never happened. Neither was particularly content with their respective positions, so when Del Toro got a random call from Pexton in March 2024, the timing could not have been better. "I was planning on leaving the natural gas industry and start my own firm [...] Nick happened to call the day I was putting in my two weeks [at Dominion],” said Del Toro, 39. "It definitely felt like Providence was helping us." "Somebody was looking after us, because the timing was unbelievable," added Pexton, 35. "It's crazy how things lined up." Del Toro is a native of St. George and earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Utah State University in 2011. After 2.5 years as a USU Graduate Research Assistant, he joined Dominion Energy in January 2013, where he designed major natural gas systems and structures. Del Toro also earned a Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of the Cumberlands (Williamsburg, Kentucky) in 2023, and moonlights as a counselor at The Center for Hope in Springville, where he helps clients address life challenges both personally and professionally. Pexton is a native of Nephi and studied at Utah Valley University from 2008 to 2010, and earned the Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist designation from Teracom Training Institute (2013-2014). Pexton joined Nephi-based Mid-State Consultants, a telecommunications engineering firm, in March 2011 and spent more than nine years there. He joined RMWT in June 2020, gaining experience in project management and operations. After that fortuitous phone call from Pexton to Del Toro, the pair met four times from March to May to "make sure we were aligned on what the company would look like," Pexton said. "It was a pretty quick process," added Del Toro. "We got talking about goals, how to build a general company vision. I trusted Nick's background and experience, and his character, as well. It was a big risk, but I'm a sink-or-swim guy. If those are my options, I'm going to swim!" Since teaming up, the pair have been aggressive regarding company growth, having exploded from just the two of them to 30 employees, with revenues expected to more than quintuple from $560,000 in 2024 to nearly $3 million by the end of this year. Both expect the telecommunication market to be a fruitful, busy market given the need for fiber optics to rural America, in addition to the "Internet for All" initiative in May 2022 that was part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) implementation of the infrastructure law that allocated $65 billion to improve high-speed Internet access. Utah, specifically, received $330 million, with the goal of reaching some 40,000 unserved homes and businesses. The firm's location in Sanpete County puts them in the center of the state geographically, and they're committed to working with communities of all sizes to improve their internet capacity. In addition to Utah, Reliance is working in Michigan and Oklahoma, and Del Toro and Pexton expect to land significant future work throughout the Midwest. They want to grow intentionally while ensuring a diversity of revenue streams. "We set some early goals, and we've been able to do really well—we're on track to beat our goals," said Del Toro, crediting the many employees who have joined the firm. "Those individuals took great risks coming on board. We anticipate we'll be even larger next year with the work coming down the pipeline." "Our outlook has been wise," said Pexton. "We've taken into consideration diversification into other sectors—that's a key element. Adam has experience in the natural gas industry, and we want to further our diversification and get into the power side of the industry." Major clients include the federal government (USDA), utility companies, and municipalities, with a focus on rural communities. "We love Sanpete County," said Del Toro. "We value helping the communities we live and work in and providing services that help build up the community and hopefully help the residents." "We depend on repeat work from 18 major clients, and continuously getting work from them," said Pexton. "The minute we stop doing a good job, they can go someplace else. As long as we do a good job, we'll keep getting work." The pair expect Reliance to maintain its explosive growth, perhaps even doubling its employee total in another 12 months. "Next year's [revenue] goal is $4.8 million," said Pexton. "We have confidence in what our workload will be like. We are scaling quite dramatically and want to grow at a healthy pace, where we're not stringing ourselves out too thin. We're in a good position right now."