Long Time Coming

The sparkling new 26-story Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City will have a multi-generational impact on the local hospitality market and gives downtown another inspiring landmark.
By Brad Fullmer

It’s been a long…time…comin’
It’s goin’ to be a long…time…gone
— Crosby, Stills & Nash; Long Time Gone (’69)

The wait is over.
Salt Lake City’s desire for a convention center hotel to fuel future economic growth in the state’s all-important hospitality and tourism markets has been fulfilled on a grand scale, with the recent completion of a generational hotel that without question raises the bar on luxury accommodations in Utah’s capital.
Indeed, the 25-story (plus one level of underground parking), nearly 700,000-SF Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City is already the talk of the (down)town with its dynamic all-glass façade that offers optimum reflectivity. The high-performance glass has high R-values and low solar heat gain coefficient numbers, to go along with its reflective properties. This character allows the façade to respond to and capture the surrounding atmosphere, creating ever-changing aesthetics of the building from sunny to rainy days and from day to night times.
Floor-to-ceiling windows in every space allow guests to enjoy dramatic views in all directions of downtown Salt Lake, while capturing the grand mountain scenery of the Wasatch and Oquirrh ranges. 
“Capturing the views of Salt Lake City was the most important [aspect],” for the design team, said Irene Sourbeer, Sr. Associate with Atlanta-based Portman Architects, who along with Gordon Beckman, Portman Architects Director of Design, came up with preliminary hotel design ideas that went through myriad conceptual reviews, up to 50+ iterations. 
Sourbeer, who moved from Atlanta to Silicon Valley right before the pandemic in 2020 (which greatly cut her weekly commute time to SLC for project team meetings), said much time was spent choosing a glass that would meet the most stringent building demands of form and function. The project includes other sustainable aspects that comply with the Commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program. 
“The colors and reflectivity had a lot to do with the fact we wanted to be energy-conscious,” she said. “All-glass buildings typically are not environmentally friendly because of heat gain. We went through many glass types—this one is a high-performance glass with slight reflectivity which echoes the surrounding environment,” she said. “The façade changes every day. If you capture it at the right moment, it is complete transparency. Sometimes it’s clear, sometimes it’s a mirror ball.”
The Hyatt Regency marks the fifth hotel/hospitality project—all of them feature all-glass façades—completed by the four-headed entity of co-developers Portman Holdings of Atlanta and Colorado-based Hensel Phelps Development and the design and construction team of Portman Architects and Hensel Phelps Construction. That list includes the likes of Hilton San Diego Bayfront (2008), the Intercontinental San Diego (2018) and Hotel Indigo Denver (2017), and Lane Field North (2016). 
Glass buildings are nothing new for both Portman entities, said Ali Streetman, Vice President for Portman Holdings, a nod to the legacy of founder John C. Portman, Jr. 
Portman was a legendary architect from Atlanta who started Portman Architects in 1953 and was known for pioneering the role of architect as developer, allowing him more latitude in implementing design concepts into projects. He designed many prominent hospitality projects, including three iconic downtown Atlanta hotels—the Hyatt Regency, Marriott Marquis and Westin Peachtree Plaza—that anchor the bustling 14-block Peachtree Center, which began in 1960. The latter was designed/developed by Portman, a magnificent 73-story, 723-foot all-glass circular tower (187-foot-diameter) that opened in 1976 and is the 4th-tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere (30th tallest hotel in the world). 
“Design-wise, Portman loves to do full-height glass,” said Streetman, a 24-year veteran of the firm who also worked on the previous four hotel projects. “It takes it from a standard room to an amazing room. You get the views, the surround experience, it brings light into the space. It makes everything nicer on the interior. We do a lot of glass. It’s generally an office building façade look, but it’s nice to bring it to the hospitality side. It’s always a ‘wow’ moment when people come into the hotel.”
The façade, while brilliant as a design concept, was “challenging for a number of reasons” to execute, said Adam Noelck, Project Manager for Hensel Phelps. “Our team allowed us to do some incredible things—there were 4,125 pieces of glass on the job. [Steel Encounters] did an exceptional job on the installation, and it takes those types of partners to build these landmark buildings.” 
“This was right in our wheelhouse,” said Charlie Thomas, Project Manager for Steel Encounters, who said his crews installed a combined 333 units of unitized curtain wall sections and window wall units primarily from January 2021 to February 2022 on the main tower. 
According to Thomas, levels 1, 4 and 26 were particularly challenging to install as they feature oversized curtain wall units up to 23 ft. tall and loaded with steel, that made them heavy and difficult to maneuver as they were upwards of 2,000 pounds each. Thomas also cited overhead structural cantilever elements that required precise placement, tucking units into spaces not accessed by the tower crane. 

The Contribution Cocktail Lounge on the first floor just off the main lobby is highlighted with exquisite décor and offers sublime sunset views to the west. (left) The lobby is warm and inviting, instantly connecting guests with the hotel’s character (photos courtesy Hensel Phelps).

Timing, Planning, Execution Key to Combating Difficult Climate

Talk of a convention center hotel in Salt Lake dates back well over two decades. Streetman said Portman had started initial discussions before the Great Recession of 2008-10 but didn’t get fully serious about it until five years ago when all four entities started the collaboration process.

Their timing proved fortuitous, with final funding coming through at the tail end of December 2019, according to Tyler Reagan, Development Manager for Hensel Phelps Development. Had funding been delayed another three months when the pandemic fully hit, the project wouldn’t have seen the light of day, period. 

“Nobody knew what was going to happen in March,” said Reagan, citing the ‘big three’ factors—pandemic, supply chain woes, labor pool constraints—that made construction difficult for the entire industry over the past two years. “If this job hadn’t financed until March, it wouldn’t be here. We hit [the schedule] on the day and delivered it under budget.”

John Cowan, Operations Manager for Hensel Phelps, said pre-planning meetings between designers and contractors across the board started well in advance of the actual January 2020 groundbreaking, which proved crucial in navigating the project through the pandemic.

“The entire team was engaged in planning on this project for over a year before construction began,” said Cowan. “The time we put into planning is what got us through the difficult times of 2020 and delivered an on-time completion.” 


The Hyatt Regency provides guests incredible views of Salt Lake City and its surrounding environment. Guest rooms are bathed in light and decked out in tasteful, modern furniture and amenities as displayed in a main room and bathroom (photos by ShutterScorpion).

Top Shelf Amenities, Sleek Design Elements Provide Significant “Wow Factor”

Convention center hotels are designed to pop, and Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City delivers that “wow factor” on multiple levels. 

In addition to the combination of 700 rooms and suites on floors 7-25, the hotel is equipped with 31 multifunctional event spaces totaling 60,000 SF and highlighted by two massive ballroom spaces—the Regency Ballroom clocks in at a mammoth 23,015 SF. Sourbeer said every space is carefully planned to account for pre-and-post functions in addition to main ballroom events. 

“There is an efficiency of the floor plans,” said Sourbeer. “To make the project feasible financially there is no wasted space in the building—it is efficiently stacked. It was strategical to design public areas next to glass. There was a lot of fine tuning to find the right balance (between form and function). Portman Holdings is good at understanding how to make beautiful outcomes while making the building efficient.”

The ballrooms are unique for their huge ceiling heights—22 ft. and 20 ft., respectively—and floor-to-ceiling glass on the south façade. The warm, inviting hotel lobby and reception area is highlighted with luxury stone and wood finishes, along with eclectic furniture and artwork. Amenities include four dining outlets—highlighted by Spanish-eatery Mar|Muntanya and the swanky Contribution Bar—a 24-hour fitness center, and outdoor pool and event terrace, and one level of underground parking. The “broadcast lounge” adjacent to the Recency Ballroom has two large digital TVs and plenty of space for guest to step outside and conduct business while maintaining connection to the main event. 

Interior public spaces are laid out for intuitive wayfinding with copious amount of glass allowing for maximum natural light and outside views, providing an interesting urban context to people on the outside. 

“I love that it has made a significant impact on the Salt Lake skyline in a positive way,” said Jodi Geroux, Sr. Associate with Salt Lake-based FFKR Architects and Project Manager on Hyatt Regency. “You drive toward it from any (direction) and it is prominent! All of the spaces in the hotel are truly inviting. This project is amazing […] it’s the beginning of a new Salt Lake City.”

FFRK served as the local architect and worked on interior spaces on floors 7-25 (guestroom floors), along with permitting, approvals and quality assurance. Geroux praised Sourbeer and the design team from Portman and said the working relationship between the firms was exceptional. 

“She was amazing,” Geroux said of Sourbeer, “and just remained calm under all circumstances. A shout out to the contractor (Hensel Phelps), too. They made no excuses through the pandemic, and then supply chain issues […] they came up with solutions that were acceptable to the design team and owner and delivered the project on time and on budget. In today’s day and age that’s remarkable.” 


Solid Foundation 

The hotel’s structure is comprised of cast-in-place concrete and structural steel with auger-cast pile foundations. Mechanical and electrical systems consist of a 15kV electrical service with multiple air handling units, energy recovery ventilation, three 900-ton chillers, and four-pipe vertical fan coil units serving each guestroom.

The foundation offered a host of challenges for Salt Lake-based Okland Construction, which served as the concrete subcontractor. The firm installed 1.2 million pounds of concrete reinforcing steel ahead of a giant 8,100 CY concrete pour for the post mat slab, which required five concrete batch plants and more than 90 concrete trucks over 13.5 hours, making it one of the largest single placements in Salt Lake’s history. 

Another challenge was construction of the podium structure for the building’s ballrooms. To achieve the open “column-less” space in these ballrooms, design called for the installation of 13 long-span steel trusses each weighing approximately 190,000 pounds. Tight site constraints made the safe and efficient erection of these trusses a herculean accomplishment for steel fabricator/erector Schuff Steel of Lindon. To ensure safety, it required the installation of 28 shoring towers below the level one concrete deck in conjunction with structural steel grillage above the level one concrete deck, all to support a 300-ton crawler crane that erected the trusses. In total, the weight of the crane and one truss section exceeded 1.29 million pounds.

The project team also performed nearly 20,000 individual laser scans of various components of the project, equating to more than one scan per 35 SF of building to ensure quality control and mitigate building conflicts. 


Memorable Once-in-a-Generation Project

During a post-grand opening tour of the hotel in November with Noelck, Cowan, Streetman and Reagan, each admitted to this project being something of a “one-off” in their respective careers, based partly on the unique environment fostered by the necessary response to Covid-19, but also on how effective the entire project team was in consistently hitting project deadlines, and the actual enjoyment of seeing a project of this magnitude come to fruition over an exhausting three-year period. 

“Our industry is unique in that all jobs we do have their own unique flavor and ‘fun factor’ so to speak,” said Noelck. “What’s cool about this job […] the team we brought together to build it was a really fun group to work with. With all the challenges that were presented to us, [our response] was always [to do] what’s in the best interest for the job. To work with that type of team and build a landmark job like this is really fun. It’s a beautiful building.”

“A lot of the projects we build, the public doesn’t get to see,” said Cowan. “A project like this is great because it’s so public, and so many people get to see it and enjoy it. These are neat projects to be involved with.” 

“This has been the most complicated project in terms of capital stack and getting it to come together,” added Reagan. “You throw in what happened in March 2020 and it became the most complicated project most of us had to deal with in our careers. At the end of the day, it’s a landmark project and it is changing the landscape of the city. We nailed the landing—we can all hang our hat on that.”

“This was a very complicated project from start to finish,” Streetman concluded. “Watching it come out of the ground every day was very rewarding in the environment we were in. We created a real camaraderie during Covid that I think wouldn’t have occurred during normal times. Because we were all together, all the time. It was very much like a family.”

Sourbeer also praised the tight collaboration of the project team.

“The best thing about this project was the partnership between owner, contractor and architect,” she said. “In this industry they call it the three-legged stool. We were like one big stump. We knew what we wanted to achieve and how to get there.”


Salt Lake-based Okland Construction was the concrete contractor on the project, which included a giant 7,500 CY consecutive pour for the mat slab, which required more than 90 concrete trucks over a 13.5-hour period— making it one of the largest single placements in Salt Lake City’s history.

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Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City

Location: 170 S. West Temple 

Cost: $377 million 

Delivery Method: CM-at-Risk 

Stories/Levels: 26 

Square Footage: 686,784 SF


Project Team

Co-Developer: Portman Holdings

Co-Developer: Hensel Phelps Development

GC: Hensel Phelps Construction Co.


Design Team

Design Architect: Portman Architects; Irene Sourbeer, PM (Architect of Record for core/shell, public areas, BOH)

Local Architect: FFKR Architects; Jodi Geroux, PM (Architect of Record for guestrooms, interface w/convention center) 

Civil Engineer: PSOMAS

Electrical Engineer: Spectrum Engineers

Mechanical Engineer: VBFA

Structural Engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Assoc.

Geotechnical Engineer: Kleinfelder

Interior Design: Looney & Assoc., Parts and Labor Design


Construction Team

GC: Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Concrete: Okland Construction

Plumbing/HVAC: J&S Mechanical

Electrical: Cache Valley Electric

Masonry: Child Enterprises

Drywall: Standard Drywall

Painting: Grow Painting

Tile/Stone: Castle Rock Int. Solutions

Millwork: Fetzer, Inc.

Flooring: Diversified Flooring

Roofing: Utah Tile & Roofing

Glass/Curtain Wall: Steel Encounters

Waterproofing: Rocky Mountain Waterproofing

Steel Fabrication & Erection:  Schuff Steel

Excavation: SIRI Contracting

Demolition: A-Core Concrete Cutting

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