The Intermountain Chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) held its annual BEST Awards competition on May 16 at The Natural History Museum of Utah, with the UVU Sorensen Student Center capturing the "BEST of the BEST" and "BEST Play" categories. BEST stands for Brilliantly Executed Spaces & Thinking, and the IIDA awards are among the most prestigious given to interior design professionals in both residential and commercial markets. An array of unique projects were submitted, projects that go beyond painting a pretty picture while truly encompassing great design in function, form, and style. IIDA Intermountain recognizes that successful interior design requires a collaboration of many disciplines including consultant teams, project managers, vendors, contractors, and more. These awards are a celebration of that collaboration and of dynamic overall design happening throughout the Intermountain region.

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UC+D: Why did RDO move into the Utah market and what business moves has the firm made recently in addition to the Honnen acquisition? Anderson: The opportunity to expand into Utah—along with eastern Idaho and Wyoming—presented itself at the right time, and we were thrilled to be able to make it work and add eight stores in markets adjacent to ones we have been working in for many years. RDO now operates three construction equipment stores in Utah. After last month’s acquisition of Rocky Mountain Transit and Laser, we've expanded our construction technology services. As a close partner with Topcon, we're eager to bring time-saving technology solutions to Utah contractors building on the success we've experienced in states across RDO's footprint. UC+D: What have you enjoyed about the Utah market so far? Anderson: For many years we have grown our business, particularly the construction side, within the confines of our existing geographic territory. RDO leaders and team members are excited for this opportunity to expand and serve customers working and living in Utah. The Utah team welcomed us in, and we are certainly eager to be a part of this diverse and growing market. Utah’s large aggregate, mineral, and roadbuilding sectors, among many others, fit perfectly with RDO’s strong partnership with Wirtgen equipment and technology, not to mention John Deere’s construction expertise. UC+D: What areas of the business need improvement? Anderson: Our top priority early on has been expanding our service capabilities by recruiting and investing in more service technicians and adding more field service vehicles. Beyond that, we’re also working to increase our inventory, including parts and rental machines, while continuing to develop our entire team in the region and integrate RDO’s broader best practices and resources. RDO team members can connect to the company's vast network, so different communities can benefit from shared knowledge, strong manufacturer partnerships, and 24/7 remote support. UC+D: What construction sectors are good right now? Anderson: Across RDO’s footprint, the construction market is strong. Our customers tell us they have work, and equipment or parts availability has vastly improved. When we look at Utah’s construction market, we see a lot of promising activity in sectors like aggregates, housing, infrastructure, and roadbuilding. It’s really exciting for our customers and our team members. UC+D: What are you hearing from your clients about the state of the industry? Everyone seems busy despite various headwinds (interest rates, labor, competitive environment, material fluctuations, etc.). Anderson: Utah contractors are optimistic, despite very real headwinds. Most are dealing with labor shortages and higher-than-expected interest rates. This is why we’ve focused our priorities on investing in our service teams, along with our rental and technology teams. We’re here to be a true partner to our customers, so our goal is to provide the resources our customers need to work as efficiently and effectively as possible, and that’s what we’re doing with these types of investments. UC+D: How is equipment availability right now? What items are hard to get or have long lead times? Anderson: Equipment inventories have recovered from recent years’ supply shortages. The challenges dealers across the industry faced coming out of the pandemic are behind us, like being able to find and provide the machines customers needed in a reasonable amount of time. RDO has also been able to maintain a robust parts inventory. Pair all that with the variety of aftermarket service package options we offer, and we feel really good about where we are at this point. UC+D: What are RDO's goals in terms of bottom-line sales and profitability? Anderson: RDO’s goal is always to grow and build, whether it’s team members' abilities, technology expertise, service experiences, or the overall business. Ultimately, we want to expand our presence. We want to invest in our team members and resources—focusing heavily on the service side of our business to begin—so we can provide the world-class level of service our customers depend on.

Founded by brothers (left to right: Scott Gerber, Max Gerber, and Preston Gerber) in 1974, Gerber Construction has grown from doing residential work to taking on some of the toughest heavy civil projects in Utah.

The recent completion of three new manufacturing facilities in Utah—two of which produce materials for the building industry—is proof positive that the Beehive State continues to be recognized nationally as an excellent place for business expansion. Indeed, highly diversified, multi-billion-dollar corporate giants Nucor and Holcim both celebrated the opening of new plants in April—in Brigham City and Salt Lake City, respectively—while Leitner-Poma of America (LPOA) held a ribbon-cutting in June for its new Skytrac facility in Tooele, which houses its headquarters and sole-manufacturing base. These highly anticipated, state-of-the-art facilities total more than $125 million in construction, plus millions more in high-tech manufacturing equipment within the buildings. With hundreds of well-paying jobs for Utahns coming too, the whole package of increased manufacturing will add significant money to the state's overall economy. "The new Nucor and Holcim manufacturing facilities in Utah are significant in nature specifically for the construction industry because they are core-base materials used in that industry," said Todd Bingham, President/CEO of Utah Manufacturers Association (UMA) in Salt Lake. As Utah continues to be highly ranked across the country for its economy, growth, and overall success, these types of materials are needed as our population grows. Manufacturing has been one of the few industries over the last number of years that has continued to see job growth and significant economic impact and a driving force in the economy." "To have a resource manufacturing [these products] locally is a great asset to our state and the future of construction," added Joey Gilbert, President/CEO of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Utah. “[These projects] offer significant economic, social, and environmental benefits, including job creation, economic growth, innovation, and sustainability.”

It's been a whirlwind ride for Young Automotive Group (YAG) as the long-time Layton-headquartered dealership—celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024—has experienced phenomenal growth the past decade, expanding from 10 to 30 locations while integrating a slate of new products and services. A testament to that growth is found in a pair of generational building projects—Young Automotive Headquarters in Layton, and Young Powersports XL in Centerville—helping showcase a company firing on all cylinders and poised for a robust future as it kicks off its next 100 years in business. "The Young Automotive Group is constantly growing, and these two projects clearly signify that," said Spencer Young Jr., President of YAG. "A lot of work was put into having both developed at the same time, but it was critical to helping our company reach its next phase. We were a single dealership 100 years ago and a dealership chain 20 years ago. Today, we're dedicated to setting industry standards and becoming a model of excellence and success. These two facilities are designed to help us do just that." Century-Old Roots The company traces its history back to founder Seldon "Jack" Olsen, who had a partnership in a small repair shop in Morgan in 1924. He ultimately bought the business that year and signed his first Oldsmobile contract, turning the shop into an auto dealership. Born in Mt. Pleasant in 1900, Olsen was a hard worker who lost his father at age 14 to a heart attack, prompting him to drop out of school in 8th grade to work on an Idaho ranch to help support his family—setting the tone for future generations of family members with his no-nonsense approach and strong ethics. He moved his business to Layton in the 1940s, opening Young Chevrolet, which thrived for many years under the direction of Jack Olsen and Sam Young. In the 80s the dealership name changed to Young, and by the early ‘90s, Young Automotive Group added a second dealership under the third-generation leadership of Spencer Young Sr. and Seldon Young, grandsons to Olsen. The company made significant strides after the 2008 recession, adding Young Subaru in Ogden in 2011, and dealerships in Morgan and Logan in 2013. By 2015, Young Powersports in Idaho was added to the firm's growing number of dealerships, with plans for even more explosive growth. Since 2016, YAG has tripled its number of businesses to 30—including 20 auto dealerships, 8 Powersports locations, and its stately new headquarters. "That growth mode stemmed from an effort to diversify," said Brandon Huston, who joined YAG in 2016 and serves as CFO. "Both in the manufacturers we franchise with and the products and services we offer from a vertical integration standpoint." The two new building projects were viewed as essential to help the company function at a higher capacity. The new headquarters in Layton centralizes major administrative duties, along with providing a massive warehouse for its huge parts inventory. The new Young Powersports XL in Centerville showcases YAG's comprehensive selection of "big boy toys"—motorcycles, snowmobiles, and virtually anything you can imagine in the outdoor powersports world. With 1,800 employees, a rock-solid leadership group and strong organizational base, YAG is poised for a bright future. Huston said the company will go as far as its employees take them. "We have a lot of tenured employees, but a lot have been here less than five years," he said, adding that Young's in-house training, excellent benefits/amenities, coupled with legitimate opportunities for promotion, are critical to retaining the best people. "It's important to see where we came from, and also to see where we need to go in the future, and to look at where [employees] can continue to take us into the next 100 years," Huston said. "We'll continue to have success, with [consistent] growth part of that strategy."

“It’s not often that you get to build an entire neighborhood,” said Brandon Blaser at Post District’s ribbon-cutting in early May 2024. Utah’s major opportunities to develop community emanate from The Pointe and Daybreak, the giant master-planned developments in the South Valley. But urban renewal at the neighborhood scale happens much less frequently. Blaser, the Founder and President of Blaser Ventures, Alex and Ben Lowe of Lowe Property Group, and other investors and stakeholders took the chance with what is now Post District—an entire Salt Lake City block of mixed-use development. But taking an area suffering from urban decay and giving it a new lease on life with new builds and adaptive reuse structures would be a process that required everyone reading from the same page.

The era of full-scale mass timber design and construction has officially arrived in Utah, courtesy of the majestic new $80 million, five-story Baltic Pointe building in Draper, a trendsetting, 194,665 SF office project that sets a high bar for this aesthetically pleasing and environmentally conscious building type in the Beehive State. Highlighted with gorgeous mass timber and CLT (cross-laminated timber) columns and beams, interior spaces within Baltic Pointe are simply jaw-dropping, as visitors—and particularly occupants—marvel at the simplistic beauty of interior wood finishes and the calm, peaceful energy it inspires. Jared Wright, Project Manager for Salt Lake-based Method Studio, said witnessing responses of people who tour the project has been unlike anything he's ever experienced. "When people come to see it in person, whether it was early when framing was just going up or near completion, their reaction [...] you can see the light bulb moment of 'I thought I knew what this would look like and oh, now I get it!' When you can smell the wood, feel it and touch it, it's a different experience." "I've given more tours of this building than any building I've been a part of in my career," added Eric Barton, Project Executive for Salt Lake-based Okland Construction. "Pretty much everyone who sees this building in person, they stand inside and look around and say 'this is awesome, we want to do this on our project'." That aesthetic "wow factor" of mass timber is exactly what developers had in mind more than four years ago when this venture of bringing a multi-level, mass timber spec office building to the Wasatch Front began. A team from Salt Lake-based Gardner Group—led by Christian Gardner, CEO and Chairman—and architects from Method Studio set out in early 2020 to learn as much as they could about mass timber, including touring several notable projects on the West Coast for inspiration. The complexities of designing and constructing a completely new building type proved challenging on many fronts, coupled with the unfortunate timing of the pandemic and subsequent chaos affecting material and supply availability and pricing. All parties worked hard crunching numbers to make the project pencil, knowing materials and new processes would add approximately 10% to the bottom line, a sizeable number to a project pushing nine figures. Method Studio quickly assembled a "Mass Timber 101" report for Gardner on how CLT and glulam timber products could work, and the project gained traction post-Covid when Gardner approached Pelion Ventures Partners about being a partner on Baltic Pointe, with Pelion executives so enamored with the mass timber concept it's occupying the top floor as its new headquarters, while subleasing floors three and four. HB Workplaces is moving its headquarters from downtown Salt Lake and will occupy the main floor. Gardner's firm began doing its research with local and national design firms and mass timber consultants because of the uniqueness of the mass timber market and as a more sustainable way to build projects. "The goal is to find a way to make a significant change in how we're consuming fossil fuels," said Ryan Bevan, President of Construction for Gardner Group, "and become more environmentally conscious. That precipitated what we want on the construction and development side. In lieu of giving lip service to green building, we want to live what we're preaching. This project is a testament to our efforts." "We believe in using state-of-the-art technologies and building materials to reduce our building impact to the environment," said Gardner. "Part of Gardner’s mission is to discover more sustainable ways to build. To do this, we need to venture from the status quo and embrace new innovations and building materials. This building will be the first commercial project in Utah to be built with mass timber, and we are optimistic that it will be the first of many.” “In many ways, building using this new technology embodies our vision as a company,” said Blake Modersitzki, Managing Partner at Pelion Venture Partners, whose firm occupies the top floor, while subleasing floors 3-4. “We value creation, vision and positive disruption as we build successful communities, and Gardner Group has been an amazing partner to work with as we embrace this innovation.” "We think the benefits of the prefabrication process of mass timber—compared to traditional steel and concrete construction methods—will see an offset of cost from the rising rates of labor, making mass timber more cost-effective," added Bevan. "Our hope is that Gardner sets a new precedent in Utah for prioritizing the use of renewable natural resources in construction."