The firm maintains solid green credentials, with more than 50 LEED Accredited Professionals on staff. It has completed five LEED-Platinum projects, has one pending Platinum and dozens of LEED-Gold and Silver projects under its belt. One of Big-D's goals was to incorporate sustainable building practices and LEED-certification standards into 100% of its projects by the end of this year, and company leaders say they will meet that goal. Big-D's own corporate office in Salt Lake City is not only a LEED-Gold certified building but also was the first LEED-Gold building in Utah.

Local Market Flat But Improving

Moore's assessment of the Utah building market is mostly upbeat—with a few exceptions. He says that state and local colleges have been a good source of work over the past few years but adds that higher education is cutting back, with the market down 30% to 40%.

"The federal sector has also provided several opportunities for us in the past few years," Moore says. But he sees much heavier competition there now. "Federal work has dried up significantly. We're seeing about two opportunities per quarter now versus two opportunities a month in past years," he says.

McNabb agrees that the local economy has hit some rough spots—probably fewer than in many parts of the country—but says it is coming back slowly. "Some people here thought we'd see the market bounce back last summer, but it continues to be flat," McNabb says. "The overall dip was relatively short for us."

Livingood says the Utah market hit bottom about a year ago and is seeing some improvement. But construction is "still very competitive everywhere," he says. "The workload is far below what companies like us are set up to manage. Big-D has been luckier than most."

One bright spot, Moore says, is that the private sector is finally returning to the commercial marketplace, with billions of dollars in new work planned in Utah for the near future, led by more robust multifamily and office construction.

"Many company leases are up for renewal this year, and they are looking to build something new," Moore says. "It's a refreshing change for that segment."

Big-D also sees opportunities for more work in the health care and mining industries, where the company has a long history of work.

The company owes much of its current success to a handful of recent landmark projects, including construction of a new regional icon, the $102-million Natural History Museum of Utah in the Rio Tinto Center. Nestled in the foothills above Salt Lake City, the museum began welcoming visitors last November. The 163,000-sq-ft structure houses a collection of 1.2-million artifacts, including items from Utah's Native American tribes, regional flora and fauna specimens and the state's sizable number of dinosaur fossils.