Multi-family Highlights

Multi-family design and construction has cooled from 2023’s blaze of deliveries, but newly
built and upcoming projects are still looking to capture tenant interest in Utah. 
By Taylor larsen

Much like a good bonfire, multi-family construction in Utah, and especially Salt Lake County, has blazed.

According to real estate brokerage CBRE in their 2023 report, Utah multi-family builders delivered a steady burn of units between 2019-2022—over 5,700 units per year on average. And then the fire roared in 2023 with over 10,000 units delivered, nearly half of them coming from outside of Salt Lake. 

That’s hot.

But slow absorption, steady vacancy rates, and falling rents from 2023 to the present (1) have chilled the market somewhat since the “free money” era of the pandemic ended as Federal Funds Rate rocketed from 0.5% in March 2022 to 5.5% in July 2023. 

This cold water on the multi-family development fire made for a strange 2024 into 2025, even as deliveries reached similar heights from 2023’s delivery boom. 

While it’s made developers re-think a project or two, it has been excellent news for tenants. The growing range of options across the desirability and location spectrum from this recent delivery glut has pushed rents down in the form of concessions. Raise your hand if you’ve seen an apartment complex offering 10 weeks free—a substantial discount from the standard rental rate.

But make no mistake, even amidst a cooler period in development, there are plenty of recently completed, hot multi-family projects bringing unique features to the table for tenants, while showing how designers and builders are delivering successful work to a changing market. 

The Focal

New Ideas for Neighborhood Connection


Architect Beecher Walker and builder Pentalon Construction are nearly finished with The Focal—a three building mixed-use project in Murray. The development contains top-tier amenities for the tenants of the 400-plus units and, in a new trend, a shared community amenity in the form of ground-floor retail and a portion of two podium level plaza features—approximately 8,700 SF of the total 23,900 SF of podium and rooftop amenities.


Jory Walker, Principal Architect and President of Beecher Walker, mentioned that Murray City desired certain features for The Focal, such as ground floor retail and a portion of the amenities be shared to serve new residents and the surrounding community.


Is this idea a flash in the pan?


“We feel this ‘give back’ trend is here to stay,” Walker said of the shared amenities. “Both residents and the community are invited to ‘Come On Up’ to the podium amenity decks and make themselves at home.”


Community amenities rest on top of retail structure bump outs, one connected to Building A’s five floors of residences above one floor of concrete parking garage and the other connected to Building B’s five floors of apartments and two levels of parking garage. With design assistance from master amenity architect Loft Six Four, Pentalon constructed four-foot-tall, cast-in-place concrete planter boxes with flowering pear trees to create a privacy element for tenants on the rooftop floor and also a respite on sunny days. The plaza’s array of seating options, fire pits, festoon lighting, and BBQ areas are ready for future neighborhood parties.


Said Walker, “Fostering greater kinship between new developments and old and creating greater connection between the community and the apartments through sharing space encourages a harmonious neighborhood.”


Harmony continues in the building exteriors—metal paneling, stucco, hardie board siding, and masonry. The wood-framed structures of all the residential buildings stretch above two levels of post-tension concrete podium parking, said Richard Moffat, Pentalon Superintendent.


Gathering is a major theme in the property amenities—community rooms with kitchens, co-working spaces, rooftop lounges, clubhouse, state-of-the-art fitness center, and outdoor pool and spa, among others. And bringing it all together was a similar type of connection.


“If there was a definition for the word ‘coordination,’” said Walker, “it would be this project!”


On a site surrounded by commercial and residential developments, the freeway, and Little Cottonwood Creek, Pentalon accessed a lay down area across the creek with a tower crane to pick and place materials. Multifamily projects sharing The Focal’s site constrictions will be the norm, according to Carl Tippets, President of Pentalon. “All the easy projects are done,” he smiled.


While the project has challenged, living will be easy at The Focal. Residences come in studio, one- and two-bedroom varieties, with the latter containing essentially two-bath master suites. Each unit comes with quartz countertops, soft close cabinets, and full-size washer and dryer.


The Focal

Location: 447 West 4800 South, Murray, Utah 84123
Cost: $90 Million
Delivery Method: CM/GC
Size: 352,695 SF (residential), 12,885 SF (retail)

Project Team

Owner: IMH 4800 Lofts, LLC

Design Team
Architect: Beecher Walker
Civil: S.E. Science
Electrical: CR Lighting & Electric
Mechanical: Shakespeare Engineering
Structural: Dunn Associates
Landscape: STB Design

Amenity Deck: Loft Six Four

Construction Team
General Contractor: Pentalon Construction
Concrete: Pikus Concrete
Plumbing/HVAC: UMC, Inc
Electrical: CR Lighting & Electric
Masonry: Unique Exteriors
Drywall/Acoustics: Tolman Drywall

Painting: Paint-Tec LLC
Tile/Stone: Wasatch Floor Coverings
Carpentry: Acadian Builders
Flooring: Wasatch Floor Coverings
Roofing: Scott Roofing
Glass/Curtain Wall: All Purpose Windows & Doors
Waterproofing: Rocky Mountain Waterproofing
Steel Fabrication: SN Steel
Excavation: Covington Excavation and Construction
Landscaping: Sinc Constructors

CINQ

Historic Meets Modern with CINQ


Combining old builds with new construction always presents a monumental challenge. But in the case of CINQ, design from Dwell Design Studio and construction from RVC Construction wanted the challenge of reusing an existing warehouse and combining it with seven stories of new construction for a stellar multi-family project in Salt Lake’s Depot District. 


“Dwell Design Studio rejects boring,” said Evan Haslem, Associate Principal for the firm. “We like a challenge and this project certainly presented a challenge with the existing warehouse and the multi-family infill.”


Don Carroll, Project Manager for RVC, said the RVC team and their trade partners were up to the challenge, too, working around the existing Central Warehouse building, built in 1929 and counted among Utah historic sites. The design called for partially demolishing the warehouse, a prime example of Utah’s turn to commercial hub in the early 20th century, and repurposing it as an amenity feature and residences for 21st century living.


Meeting the challenge involved demolishing the back half of the Central Warehouse building while constructing the new apartments adjacent to the remaining building—all during a concrete powder shortage, an abnormal winter, and supply chain challenges, according to Carroll.


“What made this challenging was the design required us to cut the back 50% of the building off and coordinate the construction of the new building to the remaining warehouse,” said Carroll. “It involved protecting the old building during demolition and construction, getting the new buildings to line up with the existing floors of the old warehouse building, and then refurbishing the old finishes to be a focal point of the new project.”


Incorporating this existing build into the design without detracting from the new build and visa versa started with an industrial exterior. Cementitious, variable lap siding, metal paneling, and brick veneer create a connection between old and new for the post-tension cast-in-place podium sitting under the wood-framed new builds. Said Haslem, “The relationship and play between the warehouse and the new construction, as well as the bridge connection at midblock, brings a cohesion to the overall project.”


The first level of the warehouse is a two-story volume with mezzanine that houses the amenity clubhouse, mailroom, and other uses. Haslem said, “The remaining two levels of the space are very unique, industrial feeling units that have high ceilings and exposed structure of concrete and steel moment-frames.”


These amenity spaces and residences are great examples of design and construction expertise to build community. The exposed concrete slab sets a foundational tone, complemented by warm walnut, iron detailing, and vintage deco tile. Painted drywall, wood trims and doors, LVP flooring, tile backsplashes and showers all come standard across the modern studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom residences.


Modern multi-family must have amenities—CINQ has a warehouse full. Fitness center, BBQ, fire pits, yard games, and even pizza ovens make it a hosting dream. Co-working spaces and signature business booths nestled within the amenity building bring a modern flair, especially with the mezzanine-level speakeasy whiskey lounge, to give the historic building a new purpose.


These elements, and the team that designed and built it, form an environment that feels both lived-in and legendary.


CINQ Apartments

Location: 550 West 200 South Salt Lake City, UT

Cost: $48.6 million

Delivery Method: Design-Bid-Build

Size: 259,773 SF 


Project Team

Owner: dbUrban Communities


Design Team

Architect: Dwell Design Studio

Civil: CIR Civil Engineering and Surveying

Electrical/Mechanical: Phillips Gradick Engineering

Structural: Precision Systems Engineering

Geotech: GSH Geotechnical, Inc.

Landscape: Landform Design Group


Construction Team

General Contractor: RVC Construction

Concrete: Wadsworth Brothers Construction

Plumbing: Progressive Plumbing & Piping

HVAC: JM Mechanical

Electrical: Hunt Electric

Masonry: Unique Custom Exteriors

Drywall/Acoustics: Whistle Construction

Painting: Paint Tech

Tile/Stone: Dowland Tile & Stone

Carpentry: ProCon Construction

Flooring: Phil’s Fine Flooring

Roofing: Pro-West

Glass/Curtain Wall: Tanner Glass & Hardware

Waterproofing: Rocky Mountain Waterproofing

Steel Fabrication/Erection: Trisquare Fabrication 

Excavation: Wind River Excavation

Demolition: Grant Mackay Demolition

Landscaping: Lawson Landscape

Salt Lake Crossing

Big Amenities and Community for Smaller Apartments


Salt Lake Crossing, designed by owners SALT Development, with Method Studio as architect of record and Big-D Construction as general contractor, is 300,000 SF of multi-family marvel. Ethan Bedingfield, Vice President of Design for owners SALT Development, said their research to create the project led them to a question: What if the project was all small units that maximized luxury? 


The project consists of three connected seven-story structures (five floors for residences, two for parking) and a separate, seven-story amenity building to the south. Among the three residential structures, two consist of “open” one-bedroom apartments, while the third consists of 150 furnished studios split between two masses connected via a communal space that form a U. What studios lack in square footage is made up for in community, lifestyle, and quality.



This communal, “third space” so desired from today’s tenants, comes through in multiple areas, starting with the communal spaces in the studio building. Their double gourmet kitchens and comfortable living/dining rooms total 2,500 SF and support 30 residents on each floor. Said Austin Vegh, President of project operator Aurum Property Management, “[this emphasis on third spaces] is great for meeting new people in a similar stage of life.”

 

According to Big-D Superintendent Jason Gates, building out the 300 units and amenity spaces came from communicating sophisticated sequencing and scheduling to control the construction flow. 


“When you're managing repetitive work across hundreds of units, maintaining momentum becomes crucial—one trade's delay can create a ripple effect throughout the entire project,” said Gates. “Our success hinges on our ability to synchronize these complex workflows while maintaining quality across every floor and unit.”


The industrial masonry, stucco, and the lumber aesthetic of the CERACLAD fiber cement siding is gorgeous on approach, and fits snugly in the neighborhood, too.  Said Bedingfield, “Instead of ageless materials, we wanted timeless materials that gained character as they aged.”


Interiors are similarly sweet, with a mix of lumber and concrete ceilings combining well with interior masonry, massive windows, and elegant furniture and lighting to create warm and inviting common areas. All units contain two large windows, with floor-to ceiling windows in corner units, daylighting every unit from floor to 10-foot ceiling.


Vegh and Bedingfield said that enchanting third space quality was key for the ritzy co-working space that extends across two stories—with rich leathers complimenting the industrial modern materials creating a welcoming space for today’s urban entrepreneur.


“Building out these third places, and the opportunity for that community engagement to happen,” said Bedingfield, “must have form to go with function.”


Vegh said that “function” is happening via programming, most notably in the wellness amenities in the project’s fitness center and studio—yoga, meditation, breath-work, and instructor-led group workouts.


Building places where people are empowered to live, work, and thrive, Bedingfield and Vegh said, makes all the difference in multi-family.



Salt Lake Crossing Apartments

Location: 470 W. 200 N. Salt Lake City, UT
Cost: $90 Million
Contracting Method: Lump Sum
Size: 306,775 SF

Project Team

Owner: SALT Development

Design Team
Architect: Method Studio
Civil: Kimley-Horn
Electrical: Hunt Electric
Mechanical: CCI Mechanical
Structural: BHB Structural
Geotechnical: Kleinfelder

Interior Design: SALT Development

Furniture: OFS

Landscape: Widmier Design Studio

Construction Team
General Contractor: Big-D Construction
Concrete: Pikus Concrete
Plumbing/HVAC: CCI Mechanical
Electrical: Hunt Electric
Masonry: JH Masonry
Drywall/Acoustics: Mitchell Acoustics

Painting: Accent Painting & Special Coatings
Tile/Stone: Smith Stone Supply Company
Carpentry: LKL
Flooring: Flooring Services
Roofing: ACE Gutter
Glass/Curtain Wall: Mollerup Glass
Waterproofing: Guaranteed Waterproofing & Construction
Steel Fabrication/Erection: Greens Welding
Excavation/Demolition: Cazier

Precast: RAM Exteriors
Landscaping: Sinc Constructors

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."