Five-Star Excellence
The 11-story, 460,000-sq-ft St. Regis Deercrest hotel/condominium project in Park City, Utah, is a five-star property that offers luxury amenities, amazing views and a year-round pool that dazzles the senses.
St. Regis Deercrest is nestled in the heart of the Deercrest development, just east of the main Snow Park lodge at Deer Valley Resort.
The five-plus-year project, estimated to have cost more than $140 million, proved to be a monumental undertaking by all involved.
“It’s been a challenging project, without question,” says Vernon Monger, project director for Okland Construction of Salt Lake City, the general contractor. “Working in a climate like this (winter conditions for more than seven months of the year) puts a toll on all those involved, including our workers and all the subs. It’s a matter of staying focused and doing whatever is necessary to get the job done.”
Mountain Refined
St. Regis Deercrest includes 26 private residences and 67 condominium suites that can be turned into 200 total rooms. The resort is situated on two pieces of land connected by a dual-car funicular rail tram with luxuriously appointed cabs. The property will feature a gourmet restaurant, martini bar and après ski lounge.
The upper portion of the hotel will house guest rooms, private residences and condominium suites, a spa, restaurant and lounge areas, and outdoor amenities with generous landscaping that blends into the surroundings.
A lower lodge will include additional welcome facilities and provide quick access to the base area ski lifts.
The resort was designed by IBI Group, an architectural firm known for its design of high-end resort properties throughout North America. IBI Group is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and has local offices in both Park City and Salt Lake City.
“It’s not easy designing a project of this magnitude,” says Peter Pillman, director of IBI Group’s Salt Lake City office. Pillman started with IBI Group in 1989 in Vancouver and moved to Park City in 1998 to open the firm’s first Utah office.
“I started on this project seven years ago,” he adds. “It’s a large project on a fairly contained site. There was a lot of work involved in moving the building around on the site to maximize exposure to the pools and interact with ski runs. Everything ties in directly to the building, and the views are simply amazing.”
Pillman says St. Regis Deercrest offers views of the Uintah Mountain, Jordanelle Reservoir and virtually the entire Park City area.
“It definitely has a mountain character, but we also wanted to include a more refined feel in terms of materials and other elements,” Pillman adds.
He says there are several different types of stone throughout the project, including the exterior stone, an eastern desert-style with lichen on it to tie in all colors used on the building.
Design Changes
Monger says change orders have been a major challenge throughout the process, but was adamant in saying his team at Okland, and all subs involved, have been resolute in doing whatever has been needed to get the job done.
“There was a change in ownership early on and some design revisions made that were challenging for everyone,” Monger says. “It’s hard when something is under construction to make changes to the documents.
“But our goal from day one was to do whatever the owner wanted, and at the end of the day, this is a hotel that will stand as a landmark for this area.”
One of the key aspects of the entire project has been the sitework and excavation, performed by Coalville, Utah-based Geary Construction.
Geary project manager Mike Calderwood says his firm just finished up its portion of work in December after more than four years on the job. Geary did the excavation and site utility work at both the main site and on the Snow Park Lodge side, including excavation for the footings and foundation of the five-passenger funicular, installed by German-based Doppelmayr.
Calderwood says Geary workers hauled out approximately 120,000 cu yd of material from the overall site, some of which contained mine tailings and had to be disposed of carefully. Geary also constructed the retaining walls, including the one at the main site.
“We did a step-excavation process on the main retaining wall,” says Calderwood. “We’d dig down 10 ft, do the soil nailing and shotcrete, and excavate down another 10 ft. We’re really proud to be involved in a high-end resort project like this. Despite a lot of changes and complications trying to work around other contractors on a small site like this, it’s been a wonderful project for us.”
Project Team
St. Regis Deercrest Resort
Owner: St. Regis Deercrest, Park City
Owner’s Rep: DDRM Greatplace, LLC, Salt Lake City
GC: Okland Construction Co., Salt Lake City
Architect: IBI Group, Park City
Electrical: BNA Consulting Engineers II, Salt Lake City
Mechanical: CCI Mechanical, Salt Lake City
Structural: Englekirk & Sabol Consulting Engineers, Los Angeles
Key Subs: Geary Construction, Coalville, Utah; CCI Mechanical; Arco Electric, Draper, Utah; Daw Inc., Draper, Utah
