As visitors exit Interstate 15 onto Provo’s Center Street and travel toward the heart of the city, they are welcomed by a new five-story, 204,000-square-foot city hall that is not only an impressive welcome mat to everyone who visits, but meets the growing administrative needs of the approximately 115,000 citizens who call the city home.
The heart of Utah Valley and the hometown of Brigham Young University and large companies including Nu Skin and Vivint, Provo has needed an update and expansion for a number of city services, highlighted most by the need for 21st Century office space, amenities and police headquarters.
And the results of the new facility, built by Layton Construction and opened last summer, are already being felt for the better.
“Rare is the opportunity to architecturally change local government,” says Michelle Kaufusi, mayor of Provo. “Provo’s new City Hall has created a new level of efficiency and responsiveness, which makes our community safer and more dynamic.”
The new City Hall includes sorely needed public safety improvements, including up-to-date evidence storage capabilities, a crime lab, police dog kennels and emergency operations center. It also houses office for city departments and legal services.
But getting the landmark erected was no easy task, which builders knew from the beginning.
“The Provo City Hall was located right in the middle of Provo’s downtown,” says
Jon Brinkerhoff, director of field operations for Layton Construction. “Access to the site was limited and neighbors were close. Everything about getting materials in place had to be planned and well orchestrated.”
It was with these challenges in mind that Layton reached out to Geneva Rock during the bidding process.
“We became involved in the project during the bidding process with Layton
Construction,” says Mark Memmott, concrete ready-mix salesman for Utah County. “We worked with the Layton team through the bidding process and were proud to be with them the whole way.”
The partnership with Layton Construction has been an important one for Geneva Rock for decades.
“When bidding work with Geneva, we have all the confidence that there aren’t
any hidden costs and that our expectations will be met with a fair price. Often times, pricing in material costs change, but once Geneva bids a job, the price is the price.”
And, Geneva also works to make sure their trusted partners get the materials and service they were promised.
“We serviced this project through two cement shortages,” says Terrence Savage, vice president of concrete for Geneva Rock. “Supply of cement was tight, and it had a big impact on our market. We worked very closely with Layton to ensure they had the Ready-Mix concrete available when they needed it. This was achieved by working together in order to achieve the requirements of this project.”
This came with some difficulty and took planning, but is what good partners do.
“This is how you build a 40-plus year partnership,” Terrence says. “You recognize the need of the partner and fully commit to each other.”
For Layton, the ability to count on suppliers and partners enables the company to deliver predictable outcomes to clients, a key to the success of the new Provo City Hall.
“Provo City Hall was designed to be the centerpiece for the city,” Jon says. “Without predictable outcomes, the vision the design team had may have looked different. Geneva provided colored and gray concrete so consistently, the color match was perfect. The colors were very important to the owner for the aesthetic value of the design.”
Consistent outcomes is what partners learn to expect from Geneva and what clients appreciate from Layton.
It’s a perfect match.