Top Utah Architectural Firms Firms Ranked by 2012 Revenues Also: Owner Spotlight: the Boyer Company ABC Utah, IEA Awards
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APRIL | MAY 2013 Top Utah Architectural Firms Firms Ranked by 2012 Revenues Also: Owner Spotlight: The Boyer Company ABC Utah, IEA Awards Don Finlayson Roger Jackson Steve Crane Kevin Miller Peggy McDonough Architectural Nexus FFKR Architects VCBO Architecture GSBS Architects MHTN Architects UC&D Utah Construction & Design Table of Contents 6 Publisher’s Message 9 GOED Column 13 Construction Law/Legal Matters 16 Industry News 18 Design Trends: Schools 20 A/E/C People Features 22 Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center 26 Owner Spotlight: The Boyer Company 33 Layton Construction 60th Anniversary 38 Utah Electrical Firms, Individuals Honored at 28th Annual IEA Awards 42 Association Spotlight: ABC Utah 48 Utah’s Top Architectural Firms On the cover: Top executives from Utah’s Top 5 ranked Architectural Firms (based on 2012 revenues). From left to right: Don Finlayson of Architectural Nexus; Roger Jackson of FFKR Architects; Steve Crane of VCBO Architecture; Kevin Miller of GSBS Architects; Peggy McDonough of MHTN Architects. See page 48 for a complete ranking of all firms who participated in this year’s survey. (Photos by Dana Sohm, Sohm Photografx) Apr | May 13 | UTAH CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN | 5 < Publisher’s Message UC&D Top Utah Architect Rankings a Positive Sign for the A/E/C Market Utah Construction & Design Magazine 4516 South 700 East, Suite 205 Murray, UT 84107 A quick glance at our publication’s debut rankings of O: (801) 747-9202 Top Architectural Firms in Utah indicate that firms are Brad Fullmer M: (801) 433-7541 holding steady after weathering numerous challenges of the www.utahcdmag.com ‘Great Recession’. In chatting with the five executives shown on our cover from the state’s top five revenue-producing firms, I got a sense that they all were encouraged Bradley H. Fullmer about their firm’s future, and grateful to be looking at the recession in the rear-view Publisher/Managing Editor mirror, even if the economy isn’t even close to being as robust as it was in the Halcyon [email protected] days of 2004-2007. Ladd J. Marshall These executives oversee design firms who for many years have been at the top Advertising Sales Director of the local market in terms of annual revenues year-in and year-out, a veritable [email protected] alphabet soup of names including FFKR (Roger Jackson), MHTN (Peggy McDonough), VCBO (Steve Crane), GSBS (Kevin Miller), and Architectural Nexus (Don Finlayson). When Jay Hartwell the recession fully hit at the end of 2008/beginning of 2009 many firms had to make Art Director brutally painful decisions in order to keep their doors open for business long-term, including laying off staff, which is arguably the most emotional move any employer must make. And while these firms have not fully rebounded to their peak years, the positives of what is to come for the Utah market far outweigh any negatives. In addition to the Top Architect Rankings, this issue of Utah Construction & Design includes informative guest columns, including an analysis of why Utah is attracting businesses, and one on Preconstruction Service Liens. We look at the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center, a visually stunning, highly sustainable LEED Platinum project that was designed by Salt Lake-based ajc architects. We also offer an inside perspective on The Boyer Company, one of Utah’s most prominent and Utah Construction & Design is published eight (8) times a year. Postage successful commercial real estate developers, in addition to paying homage to Layton paid in Salt Lake City, UT. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Subscriptions: Construction, which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. $64.00 per year. Subscribers: If Postal Service alerts us that magazine is undeliverable to present address, we need to receive corrected As always, we appreciate the growing support of our publication from the local address. Postmaster: Send address changes to 4516 S. 700 E., Suite Utah A/E/C industry, both from an editorial and advertising standpoint. Each of your 205, Murray, UT 84107. To subscribe or contribute editorial content, or for reprints, please call (801) 433-7541 or email bfullmer@utahcdmag. firms plays a vital role in the success of the design and construction market and we com. For Advertising rates/Media Kit, please call (801) 872-3531 or encourage you to contact us regarding unique, informative projects, topics and people [email protected]. Vol. 1 No. 3 that our readers should know about. Coming in June issue of UC&D: Regards, Top Utah General Contractor Rankings Owner Spotlight: DFCM of Utah Association Spotlight: AGC of Utah Accelerated Bridge Construction Industry Legend Profiles Brad Fullmer Publisher/Managing Editor 6 | UTAH CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN | Apr | May 13 > GOED Boeing Expansion: Is it Because of Utah’s Strong Performing Economy, or its Business-Friendly Culture? By Andrew Gillman n the aftermath of the Great Recession, nationally-recognized and growing IT sector. Ithere has perhaps been no news quite so We know business is thriving in Utah. encouraging to economists as the broad With 4% job growth, Utah is outpacing rebound in construction, in particular the the nation by a factor of 2.5. With housing market. Yet, in some ways, Utahns unemployment hovering close to 5%, were sheltered from the sheer desolation Utahns are finding work, or reentering experienced by other states in the entire the active job search thanks to the state’s construction sector. Instead, we have had nation-leading economic outlook (read: a capital city skyline perpetually graced #1 for five straight years according to the with active tower cranes, thanks to savvy, American Legislative Exchange Council). responsible investments that have driven The private sector has the opportunity nation-leading projects like downtown Salt to confidently risk growth capital thanks Andrew Gillman Lake’s City Creek Center, the NSA project, to a stable, fiscally prudent government and the reconstruction of I-15 in Utah that promotes efficient collaboration. In Cabinets) with a new large facility in West County. Thoughtful collaboration has also fact, the success of Utah’s private-public Jordan was decidedly impacted, resulting helped drive industry growth across Utah’s partnerships has captured the imagination in that firm consolidating operations most important sectors, headlined by the of the nation’s thought leaders. elsewhere. The company had received a recent expansion of The Boeing Company Our growth assistance model is post-performance Economic Development in West Jordan, as an addition to its Salt sustainable and stable. For example, when Tax Increment Financing (EDTIF) incentive Lake plant. the housing bubble burst, a major national from the Utah Governor’s Office of The City Creek Center project was housing product manufacturer (KraftMaid Economic Development (GOED). >> awarded the Best Retail Development in the U.S. by the International Property Boeing’s decision to Awards in 2012. But more importantly, City renovate the old KraftMaid Creek has risen out of the dust of a once- Cabinet Facility in West antiquated downtown zone, presciently Jordan is a boon for Utah. (photo courtesy GOED) capturing the spirit of Utah’s emergent cultural renaissance and cleanly paralleling Utah’s broader recovery. The City Creek Center also has pushed the “living downtown as a choice” envelope with stately new residential options, and there is significant momentum in aligning Salt Lake’s multiple entertainment assets into a unified entertainment theater/ arts district around a new $110 million performing arts center. Information technology, for example, whose digital media sub-sector has become defined by a top-ranked gaming program at the University of Utah and award-winning animators at Brigham Young University, continues to draw national attention. In Lehi and Draper, Adobe, IM Flash, Twitter, eBay and Oracle round out new additions to our Apr | May 13 | UTAH CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN | 9 > GOED Thanks to the post-performance criteria of the State of Utah’s business incentives, Utah did not also lose a major investment. Instead, the company made a significant capital investment in Utah and continued paying state and local taxes even though they shuttered the modern plant. Because of the post-performance incentive process only a few hundred thousand dollars were credited to the company from the taxes they had paid — not the millions they could have earned if the operation had endured the recession. The private sector has the opportunity to confidently risk growth capital thanks to a stable, fiscally prudent government that promotes efficient collaboration. In fact, the success of Utah’s private-public partnerships has captured the imagination of the nation’s thought leaders. But the road block hit by one company created an opportunity for another company when the state could market a modern 850,000 SF plant to Boeing. Now hundreds of high paying jobs are returning to West Jordan. Utah’s economic dynamism and vitality were certainly no secret to Boeing when the company began looking for the best opportunity around the country to expand. While it may seem a stretch to imagine a cabinet manufacturing facility shifting to fabrication of composite horizontal stabilizer components for Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner, it made perfect sense for the company given the proximity of the building to its existing facility, and the stability of Utah’s economic and political climate. While design and construction on the facility’s refurbishing will take a couple of years, the company will begin filling some positions right away. In the meantime, the State remains committed to supporting the renowned business- friendly environment that has elevated Utah to its premier global business destination status. And with Utah’s cultural vitality and unrivaled quality life continuing to underpin the State’s one-two punch of economic and workforce dynamism, it is no wonder Utah’s project pipeline is full of multi-national companies considering expansion in the state.