2008 Top Projects of Utah and Idaho

Intermountain Contractor’s 2008 Top Projects

The commercial construction industry in the Intermountain area remains strong and steady, despite the recent woes of the residential construction market and fears that the local economy will follow the slowing trend happening in other regions of the country. One thing is certain – there are a number of impressive projects under construction in this region, ranging from landmark buildings to state-of-the-art transportation systems to impressive civil/infrastructure projects.

Intermountain Contractor’s list of Top Projects for 2008 includes 61 projects in Utah and Idaho over $25 million in value. These projects are under construction, or scheduled to break ground in June 2008.

Information was gathered through McGraw-Hill’s Construction Network, and from firms within the A/E/C industry through an informal inquiry. We apologize for any omissions, and encourage firms to consider submitting project information for next year’s Top Projects list in June 2009.

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Note: As a whole, City Creek Center is the largest project in the Intermountain region, and is expected to ultimately cost between $1.5 and $2 billion to design and construct. This diverse mixed-use project is divided into three main blocks (76, 75, and 74) and currently four general contractors are working on various blocks. Our goal from now through City Creek’s completion (slated for mid-2011) is to list projects individually, provided that information is available. Two major projects left off this list are Midtown Village in Orem, Utah ($82 million) and Tamarack Resort Village Plaza near Donnelly, Idaho ($81 million). Substantial construction has been done on both, but the projects are on hold, due to lack of funding and the sharp downturn the past 18 months in the residential housing market. Additionally, there are 10 projects that were submitted without actual costs, at the request of the respective owners.

A dissection of this list reveals some interesting statistics. The combined value of these 61 project equals more than $4.53 billion dollars. There are 49 projects over $25 million in Utah; 12 in Idaho. There are 13 highway/road projects, 14 educational projects, 11 townhome/condo/resort projects, 10 institutional projects and 8 healthcare projects. The good news for firms working in the A/E/C industry is that there are a plethora of significant projects in various design phases that are slated to break ground within the next 6-12 months. Among these projects includes a major expansion to the Salt Lake City International Airport ($1.2 billion overall), a commuter rail line from Salt Lake City to Provo ($450 million), a new U.S. District Courthouse in Salt Lake City ($200 million), and a USTAR Neuroscience & Biomedical Research Building ($107 million).

We appreciate the interest of our readers and the contributions made to our publication, and wish all firms in the A/E/C industry future success in designing and building the incredible projects that greatly enhance the quality of our lives.

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