Utahraptor State Park near Moab prepares for grand opening /  by Keaton Howell

MOAB, Utah — Utah’s newest state park is preparing for its grand opening this spring. Utahraptor State Park will provide more recreation options in the busy Moab area and preserve Jurassic-era dinosaur fossils.

The park was formally created in the 2021 Utah legislative session, but with minimal infrastructure, the park had a long way to go before opening to public use. Primitive camping areas within the new park’s boundaries that were previously open to the public have remained so but with a $15 per night fee.

With new roads, trails, campsites and a visitor center, park officials hope to preserve the historic significance of the area and provide easy access to popular outdoor recreation areas.

The new park is located about 15 miles northwest of Moab, the famous gateway city for both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

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Building up community: 2023 Exemplary Public Servant Jeff Martin /  by Keaton Howell

Jeff Martin literally dove into a career in public service in high school, becoming a lifeguard for Murray City Corporation (Murray City), Utah, a job he kept through college. “Then I left for a brief stint to work in the automotive industry and ended up coming back to manage the pools in our city,” Martin says. “And then about 2017, they created the facilities division, and I was lucky enough to become manager of that.” …

Three GSBS projects honored with UC&D 2023 Most Outstanding Projects awards /  by Keaton Howell

Left to right: Murray City Hall, GSBS Architects SLC Office, Recursion Pharmaceuticals

By Eric White, GSBS—Published December 28, 2023

GSBS Architects and our partners were recognized at the annual Most Outstanding Projects Awards Breakfast, hosted by Utah Construction & Design Magazine. Three of our recent projects were awarded, and you can find video links to each project below.

Most Outstanding Adaptive Reuse: GSBS Architects SLC Office—the renovation of our 125-year-old warehouse in downtown Salt Lake City into a modern, flexible space that celebrates this historic landmark.

Most Outstanding Municipal: Murray City Hall—a new 85,000-square-foot combined city hall and PD that welcomes the public and revitalizes its neighborhood into “the emotional heart of the city.”

Most Outstanding Tenant Improvement: Recursion Pharmaceuticals—an expansion that repurposed 24 previously retail spaces into 120,000 square feet of state-of-the art health-sciences laboratory and office space.

NEW LONE PEAK TRAM OPENS AT BIG SKY RESORT /  by Keaton Howell

By SAM Magazine—Big Sky, Mont., Dec. 19, 2023

SAM Magazine—Big Sky, Mont., Dec. 19, 2023—Lone Peak tram, the largest on-mountain infrastructure project in Big Sky Resort’s history, opens today. Big Sky Tram. The resort broke ground on the installation in summer 2022 and began load testing the new Doppelmayr/Garaventa ropeway system in November of this year.

The grand opening will be marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and traditional bell ringing, as well as live music, craft beer, and coffee. Places on the inaugural public tram ride were auctioned off to benefit local organizations, including the Big Sky Community Organization, the Gallatin River Task Force, and the Morningstar Learning Center.

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How GSBS and Salt Lake City plan to keep 'Hobbitville' a unique mix of art and nature /  by Keaton Howell

The exterior of the Allen lodge of Allen Park is pictured on Sunday. The space is slated to remain a mixture of art, nature and history moving forward, according to an adaptive reuse and management plan final draft released on Monday. (Carter Williams, KSL.com)

By Carter Williams, KSL.com | Posted - Dec. 12, 2023 at 8:03 a.m.

SALT LAKE CITY — Allen Park, a 92-year-old space that Salt Lake City acquired and made a public park in 2020, will remain a unique blend of "art and sciences in the wild" for generations to come, park planners said Monday.

Salt Lake City Public Lands Department officials unveiled their proposed final draft of an adaptive reuse and management plan for the park Monday evening, which seeks to maintain its quiet nature and build on its art history by possibly opening some of its buildings to become art studios.

"Most people preferred the direction of 'art in the wild' — that idea of preserving the tree canopy, making it an area for quiet use of the community, maybe small gatherings," said Christine Richman, director of planning and economic development for GSBS Architects and a consultant on the project, during an online open house where the draft was released.

The draft will go through another public comment period before it's sent through the city approval process. Salt Lake City Council members, who will likely vote on the measure next year, have the final say on what the final plan will look like.

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Major renovation project to finally solve Salt Lake City Library's infamous leaking roof /  by Keaton Howell

A rendering of what the rooftop of Salt Lake City's Main Library Branch will look like after it is renovated. The project is set to begin Monday and be completed by the fall of 2024, according to the Salt Lake City Public Library System. (GSBS Architects via Salt Lake City Public Library System) 

By Carter Williams, KSL.com | Posted - Aug. 5, 2023 at 10:31 a.m.

SALT LAKE CITY — Employees at the Salt Lake City Public Library knew the routine when it started pouring Wednesday afternoon.

Patrons and staff alike have endured roof leaks every time there's been a major storm for some time now. So when it started raining, employees got the trash cans out to catch leaks coming from the ceiling. This routine is potentially coming to an end soon, as Salt Lake City Public Library System is set to renovate the building's rooftop experience beginning Monday.

GSBS Architects, which was brought on for the project, came up with a design that features more shade and seating. The project calls for a small play area for children to run around and some vegetation with turf, trees and native plants, too.

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