RECENT ARTICLES
Midlife crisis? Try mid-life calm for New Star General Contractors as the Salt Lake-based construction firm celebrates 40 years of building great projects. As President Jeff Pettit sits in the firm’s conference room on the second story of the New Star office (self-performed in 1996), he reminisces on his 37 years there, as well as plenty of lore established when the firm emerged. In 1986, carpenters Dave Love and Steve Williams were building a home for their boss’s lawyer in Salt Lake City’s Federal Heights. Their boss, Ranch Kimball, was the owner of Cannon Construction, and announced he would be closing shop later that year. Love and Williams vowed to continue the good work, but under a new venture—New Star General Contractors. Based in Bountiful, New Star performed any small project or remodel they could, even venturing east to remodel an Episcopal church in Vernal. The two owners ran New Star from a “carpenter’s perspective”, Pettit said with a smile, “A good, honest trade.” As employees gained a deep understanding of fieldwork and constructability, New Star self-performed much of the concrete, framing, and interior and exterior finishes, buoyed by a large pool of high-level union carpenters from Utah Carpenters Union Local #184, ready to build. Pettit came aboard New Star in 1989, joining his father and uncle at the firm, two journeymen union carpenters, while he apprenticed as the company grew. Early Years; Midlife Struggles Pettit praised the foundation established by Williams and Love in New Star’s first decade, recalling how both owners worked as estimators and project managers as they sought to win work, while Treasa Love and Patti Williams, Love and Williams’ respective wives, ran accounting, billing, and payroll. The firm was at the cusp of taking off when Williams passed in 1997, but Love and the few dozen members of the New Star team pressed on, working for Deer Valley’s former parent company, Royal Street, on projects like Royal Plaza and Goldener Hirsch Phase 1. “Those projects helped put New Star on the map,” Pettit said. Another foundational project was Peace House, a four-bedroom domestic violence shelter for women and children built in 1995. “It was Dave’s way of giving back to the community,” said Pettit of the relationship between New Star and Peace House that has burned brightly ever since. Love joined the organization’s board of directors, and New Star built Peace House’s 40,000-SF expansion over 20 years later—a massive upgrade that delivered eight units of emergency shelter and 12 units of transitional housing for mothers and children. The project, a monumental community victory, eventually earned UC+D’s “Publisher’s Pick” award in 2019. Company culture in those early years benefitted from the “New Star Band”, a six-member ensemble of New Star employees. Love, his office wall lined with a notable guitar collection, led the charge. “Dave was a great musician and a great guitarist,” said Pettit of the culture- and relationship-building efforts of the New Star Band. “Anyone who knew New Star knew of the band.” But it wasn’t all roses, as New Star’s union roots counted for little as the firm and many other general contractors battled trade unions in the early 2000s. Pettit recalled the picket lines that formed around their Salt Lake City office and their job sites. As the Great Recession hit in 2007 and dragged on into the next decade, Pettit grimaced at how New Star laid off many employees as he, Love, and the remaining executives took massive pay cuts, following through on Love’s advice: “Keep money in the company, because there will be lean times.”
When it comes to classy sophistication, the sparkling new Delta Sky Club—Concourse B at Salt Lake City International Airport sets an incredibly high bar in both form and function. The opulent 34,000-SF club—Delta's second at The New SLC—offers members myriad ways to relax and decompress from the rigors of travel, highlighted by the truly unique Digital Immersion Room. Salt Lake-based HOK worked with Zenapptic of Novato, Calif., on the impressive display, which was designed with neuroinclusive principles in mind. The innovative space surrounds guests with seven expansive screens featuring aerial views of Utah’s iconic landscapes, including the state’s five national parks and cityscapes of downtown Salt Lake architecture. Synchronized natural soundscapes enhance the visuals, creating a calming, immersive, and four-dimensional experience. Velvet drapery, darker tones, and curved acoustic baffles further support the sensory environment. As the only club in Delta’s network to offer this experience, Salt Lake City sets a new benchmark for innovation and traveler comfort. "We wanted it to feel like a cocoon, a space you can get away from the hustle and bustle, even from what's going on within the club," said Sarah Oppenhuizen, Director of Interiors at HOK. The seven screens are tied into the speaker system, "so you're hearing birds chirping, or a plane flying by, or a storm rolling in. Zenapptic did a fabulous job of taking these scenes, images taken all across Utah, and splitting them into layers [...] that can move in a way that makes it feel like you are actually viewing that scene." The material palette and lighting selections also reflect and amplify Utah’s natural beauty. From warm tones to reflective surfaces, every detail connects travelers to the spirit of the state. The club itself is a diverse wonder of breathtaking spaces created from a highly curated and layered material palette. Each space was meticulously crafted into "neighborhoods" appealing to myriad client tastes and preferences. There are eight specific ceiling systems, eight custom terrazzo blends, a dozen tile products, and dynamic specialty lighting—creating a refined ambience inspired by Utah’s diverse landscapes while maintaining the elevated experience synonymous with Delta's iconic brand. The distinct neighborhoods highlight the club's supreme functionality supporting a robust 600-seat capacity—it's Delta's second-largest club after La Guardia in New York City—while maintaining comfort, intuitive circulation, and a soothing acoustical environment. Larger-scale stone flooring with red accents evokes a natural hiking path while providing durability and ease of movement for guests with rolling luggage. Sound-absorbing properties are integrated into ceilings and select walls throughout the space to maintain a serene guest experience. “Creating distinct neighborhoods gave us the flexibility to increase seating capacity without sacrificing comfort,” said Mishael Thompson, Design Lead at Delta Air Lines. “Guests can easily find a space that fits how they want to travel—whether that’s social, private, or somewhere in between.” “The goal was to bring a true sense of place into the space without overwhelming the guest,” added Oppenhuizen. “By layering materials, color, and technology, we were able to reference Utah’s landscape in a subtle way while maintaining the timeless, hospitality-driven feel of a Delta Sky Club.” Design elements on Level 2, which serves as the entry experience, incorporate cooler whites and blues inspired by a Park City winter, while Level 3 transitions to warmer reds and bronze tones that reference Utah’s caves and caverns. A signature seating area at the top of the escalators—featuring layered blue furnishings and a rippled metal ceiling—draws inspiration from the Great Salt Lake. An expansive, curving bar is an eye-catcher—a unique reflective ceiling above with twinkling lights is a highlight that recalls the state’s copper mines. Blue-veined marble countertops in the space reflect crystal-like light fixtures reminiscent of stalactites, adding a sense of natural wonder. Emphasis on High-Quality Finishes, Resort-like Feel Maintaining the Delta brand is always a top priority for designers, and while explicitly branded elements in Delta Sky Clubs are minimal—primarily limited to the check-in area and select touchpoints—the broader brand strategy centers on elevating the airport experience through high-quality design, materials, and comfort. Branding is subtly expressed through a hospitality-driven environment that conveys both luxury and durability. “We want all our guests to feel like they’ve just stepped into a high-end hotel lobby—not an airport,” said Thompson. “That sense of arrival, comfort, and quiet luxury is fundamental to how we think about the Delta Sky Club experience, and this project truly delivers on that vision.” While program standards remain consistent across all Delta Sky Clubs to ensure familiarity, hub locations such as Salt Lake City provide opportunities to further elevate the experience through regionally inspired materials and design cues. This balance of consistency and localization reinforces Delta’s brand promise while allowing each club to feel distinctive and connected to its location. The new club is larger than its sister Delta Sky Club in Concourse A—that one checks in at 29,000 SF. The expanded footprint provided opportunities to further elevate the experience through additional amenities, greater spatial variety, and a stronger emphasis on regional design elements while still maintaining consistency with Delta’s established Sky Club standards. Attention to detail is a Delta hallmark, added Thompson, with high-quality finishes essential to the project's overall aesthetic. Achieving this level of quality required extensive coordination, including detailed submittal reviews to ensure each material and design element met Delta’s performance and durability standards. Attention to craftsmanship played a critical role in delivering a club that aligns with Delta’s elevated brand experience. “Our guests notice the details,” Thompson emphasized. “From the durability of finishes to how materials feel and perform over time, quality was non-negotiable on this project.”
Dejan Eskic was blunt in his assessment of Utah's 2026 economic outlook during a January 13 presentation to the American Concrete Institute (ACI), Intermountain Chapter, remarking in his opening statement, "I feel like we're living in a season of the [television] show '24', where every episode, you're holding your breath." Eskic, Sr. Research Fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, was talking about geopolitics, specifically referencing the economic impact of the Trump Administration’s global tariffs after a year, and how economic outlooks are not so easy to predict when dealing with the potential impact of national and international factors. "Part of talking about economics, it can get political," he continued. "I try not to be political about it, but it's hard to unravel the two, right? Whatever [information] President Trump releaes on whatever media platform has influence on the market. Tariffs really brought a lot of uncertainty and made the market very skittish." Eskic said tariffs are his "least favorite subject, because we haven't had to talk about it for 100 years, and all of a sudden it's gone haywire—there's a lot of uncertainty with tariffs." He added that the Gardner Policy Institute will release a white paper detailing tariff impacts later this year. Interest Rate Cuts Not Anticipated in 2026 The Fed did not cut interest rates at its first meeting of the year on January 28, and Chair Jerome Powell believes keeping the current rate of 3.5% to 3.75% is prudent, with stabilizing unemployment and inflation rates signaling a steady economic year. "Employment rates have stabilized to the point where they're not forecasting a rate cut. I think they're anticipating steady rates between 3.5% and 3.75%," said Ryan Starks, Executive Director of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. "Just having that predictability is the most important thing." Home mortgage rates took a sharp dip in January, Eskic reported, from 6.8% to 6%, which is something "you pay attention to" considering it happened in just a few days. Steady rates mean developers know exactly what to expect and can determine whether or not to pull the plug on projects that have been paused while more favorable rates are seen. Utah Expected to Have Moderate Economic Growth Eskic cited the Gardner Institute's 2026 Economic Report to the Governor when announcing a slew of favorable projected stats that underscore moderate 1.5% economic growth, including: • Steady job growth of 1.5%, including a robust 3.2% construction job growth (143,000 jobs); • Rising average wages of 3%-4%, with some construction trades expected to eclipse 5% wage growth; • Continued population growth, albeit at a slower 1.3% clip overall; Utah County led the way with 2.1% growth; • Low state unemployment rate of 3.3% in 2025, significantly better than the national average of 4.4%. While these numbers are down from peak totals within the past decade, they still portend a growing economy, with construction playing a vital role in the state's overall economic health. AGC Optimistic for Another Solid Year The Associated General Contractors of Utah (AGC of Utah) remains a steady voice for construction in the Beehive State, and its members "are cautiously optimistic about 2026, with the strongest confidence in infrastructure, power, and data-driven projects," said Joey Gilbert, AGC of Utah President/CEO, citing his association's record-level 700+ members statewide as an indicator of the health of the industry. “Utah's biggest structural advantage is that it's still a growth state with strong population gains and job growth creation with durable demand for housing, commercial space, and public infrastructure," added Robert Spendlove, Chief Economist for Zions Bank. "We also benefit from a relatively healthy labor market and strong household fundamentals. Utah's unemployment rate (hovering around 3%) remains lower than the national average (4.4%), and wage growth has been running above the U.S." That's not to say everything is peaches and cream, as job growth "has cooled compared to the post-pandemic surge," said Ken Simonson, AGC of America Chief Economist. "Contractors are still dealing with labor pressures, wages are expected to keep rising 4%-5%, and policy actions affecting labor availability could make staffing harder in 2026. At the same time, the national data show job openings have fallen, which is consistent with a market that's still tight in key trades, but less overheated than a year or two ago." Gilbert agreed that construction labor in Utah has steadied a bit, saying "the labor market is still tight but stabilizing, with steady wage growth and increased focus on workforce development and retention." There are other tailwinds in Utah's favor as 2026 begins. Spendlove said, "Utah's underlying economic fundamentals remain strong: population growth (about 1.5%) and employment growth (north of 2.0%) are still outpacing the U.S., which supports a steady pipeline of construction demand. “ Simonsen agreed that Utah remains a hot business market—yet again—to have another solid year. “Utah remains resilient. The opportunity set in 2026 looks best where demand is most durable—data centers, power, and infrastructure. Utah is well-positioned to compete [nationally] in those areas. Even with uncertainty, contractors are planning, not freezing. The main watchouts are financing conditions and cost volatility, but there's still meaningful work in the queue.” Gilbert added, ”Utah's construction industry is well-positioned in 2026 due to strong economic fundamentals and sustained demand in key sectors.” Demand Brisk for Data Centers, Infrastructure, Energy, Other Markets Contractors and designers recognize the rapidly rising demand for data centers, and therefore, the energy to drive power-thirsty—not to mention water-thirsty—projects, and are positioning themselves accordingly. Utah Governor Spencer Cox has "Operation Gigawatt" rolling, a 10-year initiative started in 2024 to develop new energy production across multiple power sources. "It's absolutely essential that we get in front of energy," said Starks. "We're seeing that from a population growth standpoint, but also from a commercial growth standpoint. With more development taking place, somebody's got to take the lead, and we feel like Utah is well-positioned to be that leader. The Governor wants to double energy production as part of the 'Operation Gigawatt' initiative. Our approach to energy is an 'all-of-the-above' approach—natural gas, solar, nuclear, geothermal." Gilbert said Utah's legislative leaders are keen to see Governor Cox's energy ideas come to fruition. "Their priorities are energy production and reliability," said Gilbert. "Senator [Stuart] Adams believes the state that controls AI will control the world. AI demands power and a lot of it. [State legislators are] dedicated to making sure Utah has infrastructure and power resources. We're looking at energy resources, from nuclear to solar and everything in between."
LATEST ISSUE
