Layton Construction Co Inc. was recently named 2013 Contractor of the Year by the State of Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM). The award was based upon the successful completion of construction projects awarded to Layton by DFCM, including the Veterans Administration Nursing Homes in Payson and Ivins and the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center at the University of Utah.

Photo courtesy of Layton Construction

Each VA community includes its own kitchen, living room, den, outdoor patio, nurses station and 12 single-occupancy bedrooms.

The Utah Dept. of Veterans Affairs added two 108-bed nursing homes to meet the needs of the state’s veterans. The two existing centers in Ogden and Salt Lake City had long waiting lists, and veterans in other parts of the state were not being served at all.

The new facilities were designed to create nine different communities for a home-like feel. Each community includes its own kitchen, living room, den, outdoor patio, nurses’ station and 12 single-occupancy bedrooms—each with a private bathroom and shower. The veterans can mingle with one another, yet have the privacy of their own rooms. Stucco, natural stone, board-and-batten siding and brick complement the surrounding mountainous landscape

“Layton provided excellent leadership over their design-build teams on each (VA) project. They provided value engineering that enabled us to meet a very tight budget,” said Jim Russell, state DFCM Construction Program Manager. “Without their teams’ efforts to provide a cost within the budget, we would have gone back to the bottom of the federal VA waiting list and it would have been many years before we would be approved again.

“The projects were not only completed ahead of schedule, they also passed a week-long complicated Federal VA inspection process the first time. There has only been one other new facility (in the United States) to pass the first time, and both (Utah) facilities passed the first time,” Russell said.

Dave McKay, DFCM construction program manager, commenting on the University of Utah Football Center, said, “The Layton team worked tirelessly to complete the project on time, even with surprises that could have delayed completion or raised costs. They kept daily communication open with the football representatives, and a host of specialists like commissioning, branding, nutrition, AV/IT, and facilities management staff.

"The design-build team re-designed original work to achieve the football program’s goals even though they could have justified adding significant charges to their fees. The Layton team went out of their way to visit other Pac-12 facilities bringing a wealth of experience to the project, yet they remained flexible and adaptive to the needs and circumstances presented by the existing facilities and site,” McKay said.

The award was presented by DFCM Division Director P. Joshua Haines at the Associated General Contractors of Utah Annual Awards event on January 25.