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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

• Wiseguys Comedy Club at The Gateway in Salt Lake City has opened The Lounge at Wiseguys, a bar and restaurant offering appetizers, entrees drinks. It is located next to Wiseguys Comedy Club and will be open to patrons 21 and older. It features oversized couches, bar stools, flat-screen TVs, a stage, and unique comedy memorabilia. The site also will host live entertainment shows and is available for private parties and corporate events.

• Spy Hop, a nonprofit youth media arts organization, and the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) of Salt Lake City recently had a groundbreaking ceremony for Spy Hop’s new headquarters at 208 W. 900 S. in the RDA’s West Temple Gateway Project Area. The 22,000-square-foot building will house Spy Hop’s offices, programming and classroom space, production facilities, and a community event and performance venue. Spy Hop was selected through a public, competitive process by the RDA, which specifically sought out a community-oriented organization to redevelop the surface parking lot on the northwest corner of 200 West and 900 South, a key intersection in the Central Ninth neighborhood. Since 1987, the RDA has been working in Central Ninth’s encompassing West Temple Gateway Project Area to improve infrastructure, create connectivity, increase transportation access, and support the development of neighborhood-scale commercial and residential buildings. The Spy Hop project was designed by Atlas Architects and will be built by Okland Construction. The project received financing through Ally Bank. Financial support came from the state of Utah and several foundations.

ASSOCIATIONS

• The Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce has moved its office to the new Mountain America corporate headquarters at 9800 S. Monroe St., Suite 806, Sandy.

BANKING

• Zions Bank, Salt Lake City, has promoted Annette Brooksto president of its suburban Salt Lake region. Her responsibilities include overseeing branch operations and business development at18 branches in Salt Lake County. Brooksjoined Zions Bank in1986asa commercial relationship manager for Davis County. She has also served as commercial relationship manager for the Women’s Financial Group and for the Salt Lake City area. Most recently, Brooks was retail lending manager for the bank’s Cottonwood Region.

CONSTRUCTION

• Sunroc Building Materials, an Orem-based building materials company serving Utah and Idaho, has changed its name to Sunpro. The company said the change “more accurately reflects what the company is: a building materials supplier who serves the pro-contractor/builder.” It also will help Sunpro differentiate itself from sister company Sunroc Corp. Sunpro is a subsidiary of Clyde Companies Inc.

DIVIDENDS

• The board of directors of People’s Utah Bancorp, American Fork, has declared a quarterly dividend payment of 13 cents per common share. It is payable Aug. 12 to shareholders of record Aug. 5.

• The board of directors of Overstock.com, Salt Lake City, has declared a dividend payable in shares of its Digital Voting Series A-1 Preferred Stock. The dividend’s record date is Sept. 23 and the distribution date is Nov. 15. The dividend will be payable at a ratio of 1:10, meaning that one share of Series A-1 will be issued for every 10 shares of common stock, Series A-1 or Voting Series B Preferred Stock held by all holders of such shares as of the record date.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Utah ranks seventh in Thumbtack’s eighth annual Small Business Friendliness Survey, which ranked 49 states and 44 cities with grades from A+ to F. Utah earned an A+ for overall small-business friendliness. The factors included licensing requirements, tax regulations, and labor and hiring regulations. More than 5,000 small-business owners were surveyed nationally. Utah was ranked No. 5 last year and this year scored higher than neighboring states Nevada (C+) and Idaho (A). Small-business owners also gave Utah an A+ for ease of starting a business; an A for government websites; a B for licensing; a B-minus for both regulations and employment, labor and hiring; a C for tax code; and a D+ for both ease of hiring and training and networking programs. Details are at www.Thumbtack.com/UT.

• Utah is No. 17 in a ranking of “States With the Most Affordable Home Health Care,” compiled by SeniorLiving.org and using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Genworth and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Utah patients spend 87.1 percent of their annual household income on care inside the home. By comparison Washington residents spend 145.4 percent of their annual household income. The most-affordable state was Maryland, at 64.5 percent. Nationally, by 2027, spending on healthcare inside the home is projected to increase by 72 percent to $200 billion per year.

• Monument Valley is Utah’s most affordable place to live and Springdale is the least affordable, according to rankings compiled by UnitedStatesZipCodes.org and based on U.S. Census Bureau data to compare local home prices with local incomes to determine housing affordability. Following Monument Valley on the most-affordable list is Tridell, Hinckley, East Carbon and Delta. Following Springdale on the least-affordable list is Rockville, Kanarraville, Park City and Dammeron Valley.

EDUCATION/TRAINING

• Weber State University has selected Enrique Romo as assistant vice president for student affairs. Romo joined Weber State in 2015 as the executive director for access and diversity. In that role, he supervised various programs and initiatives that help underrepresented students access higher education and increase overall retention and graduation rates. Romo will assist in the overall management of the Division of Student Affairs as well as continue to lead access and diversity. He previously worked at the University of Texas at Austin in a variety of positions, including as director of Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Educational Success) and the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color.

ENERGY

• By the end of August, Zions Bancorporation will have installed 29 electric vehicle charges at four major employee hubs in Salt Lake City and West Valley City, allowing its employees to recharge their vehicles during the work day. Working with the nonprofit organization Leaders for Clean Air and through an incentive from Rocky Mountain Power, Zions Bank began the project in 2018 with the installation of four charging stations at its Salt Lake Service Center at 2200 S. 3270 W., West Valley City. In June and July, the company installed 17 chargers at two corporate buildings in Salt Lake City: the Stonewater building, 255 N. Admiral Byrd Road, and the Utah Service Center, 1875 S. Redwood Road. This month, eight additional chargers will be placed at its Redwing building, 2460 S. 3270 W., West Valley City. Charging is offered for free to all Zions Bancorporation employees, their families and on-site guests who would like to charge their electric plug-in vehicle during business hours.

EXPANSIONS

• Layton Construction, Sandy, has opened an office in Denver. It is the company’s 11th office. Layton has been building in Colorado for more than 15 years and has extensive experience in the healthcare market in Denver. Layton recently broke ground on a 216 room, 11-story boutique hotel near Denver’s Union Station. Layton has completed projects in more than 40 states.

• Amp Human, a Park City-based lotion company, has received approval by Health Canada to launch in that nation. Canadian regulators approved PR Lotion as a natural health product.

INTERNATIONAL

• World Trade Center Utah will lead a delegation of Utah life science companies to exhibit at the MEDICA Trade Show in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Nov. 18-21. The show is the world’s largest event for the medical sector, with more than 5,100 exhibitors from 70 countries. WTC Utah is providing a booth dedicated to Utah companies, and STEP Grant funding is available for companies that qualify. Details about the grant are at https://wtcutah.formstack.com/forms/step_grant_fy19_application.

• The government of Baja, Mexico, will take on an Aug. 19-21 a group of up to 10 Utah businesspeople interested in conducting business in Tijuana and others cities of the state for their manufacturing operations in the U.S. Meetings will be held with government officials as well as entrepreneurs. Local hotel costs, transportation will be covered by the organizers. Participants would only need to pay for their airfare between Salt Lake City and San Diego. More information is available by contacting Patricia Cortés, deputy consul of Mexico, at pcortes@sre.gob.mx.

 

INVESTMENTS

• Curza, a Salt Lake City-based privately held small-molecule drug development company, has received a $5.25 million investment from the REPAIR Impact Fund. The company, a spinout from the University of Utah, said the proceeds will be used to advance its CZ-02 program, which targets multi-drug-resistant gram-negative infections. The REPAIR Impact Fund was established in February 2018 by Novo Holdings A/S with $165 million focused on investments in companies and projects aiming at combating antimicrobial resistance.

• Private equity firm DW Healthcare Partners, with offices in Park City and Toronto, has closed its fifth fund. The fund was oversubscribed and met its cap of $610 million in total capital commitments. This brings DW Healthcare Partners’ total capital under management to USD $1.43 billion. DW Healthcare Partners has invested in 34 platform companies and 52 add-ons since 2003. DW Healthcare Partners V LP will partner with founders of exceptional middle-market healthcare companies. Fund V currently has one platform investment, Cefaly. M2O Private Fund Advisors acted as DW Healthcare Partners’ placement agent, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel.

OUTDOOR PRODUCTS/RECREATION/SPORTS

• Snowbird has appointed Tess Hobbs as director of marketing. Hobbs will oversee the resort’s advertising, branding, events, communications and partnerships. Hobbs has more than a decade of marketing experience and most recently served as assistant director of marketing at Snowbird. Prior to Snowbird, Hobbs was director of marketing and public relations at Snowbasin Resort, marketing and communications manager at Woodward Tahoe and Boreal, and action sports marketing manager at Killington Resort.

PHILANTHROPY

• AvantGuard Monitoring Centers, Ogden, and the AG Cares Foundation are working on a project to donate school supplies to Lifting Hands International, a nonprofit organization that helps support and provide for refugee families. Company employees are donating school supplies that will be organized and built into “school kits” for refugee children. The kits will be donated to Lifting Hands International on Aug. 16. Since 2016, Lifting Hands has supplied aid to 250,000 refugees through their volunteers. Some of the areas where they supply aid are Jordan, Lebanon, Somalia, Bangladesh and the southern U.S. border.

REAL ESTATE

• The Ensign Group Inc., based in California, has acquired the real estate and operations of The Terrace at Mt. Ogden, a skilled nursing facility 114 beds in Ogden. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Ensign Group is the parent company of the Ensign group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, home healthcare, hospice care, medical transportation, and assisted living companies. The Terrace will be part of Milestone Healthcare LLC, Ensign’s Utah-based subsidiary.

RECOGNITIONS

• O.C. Tanner is at No. 42 on a list of “50 Companies that Care,” compiled by Great Place to Work and People. The Salt Lake City-based company, focused on employee recognition and workplace culture, made the list for the third consecutive year. The rankings represent feedback from over 4.5 million U.S. employees.

• Deer Valley Resort’s Fireside Dining, The Mariposa and Seafood Buffet have each received Wine Spectator’s 2019 Award of Excellence for their respective wine programs. The award is bestowed on establishments featuring wine lists with at least 90 selections that include an assortment of quality producers, along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style. Fireside Dining joins the ranks of Award of Excellence winners this year. Seafood Buffet has held the honor since 2016. The Mariposa has earned the award since 2010.

• Impartner, a Salt Lake City-based partner relationship management company, has earned three ACQ5 Awards for International Technology Company of the Year, SaaS-Based PRM Solution Provider of the Year and Gamechanger of the Year for CEO Joe Wang. This is the second year in a row that Impartner has received multiple ACQ5 awards, which are chosen from nearly 100,000 submissions from the corporate news site’s global readership. The awards recognize organizations and individuals that demonstrate an ability to deliver services and skills to meet clients’ needs and adapt to market and regulatory conditions.

• Galileo, a Salt Lake City-based payments technology company, has been selected as a finalist in the 2019 Emerging Payments Awards for “Best Use of Payments Data or AI in Financial Services.” The 12th annual Emerging Payments Awards event will be Oct. 3 in London.

• The Housing Authority of Salt Lake City (HASLC) was recently awarded two National Awards of Excellence from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) for its 9th East Lofts at Bennion Plaza (Project Design Category) and Framing Program for Persons Experiencing Homelessness (Resident and Client Services Category). The authority also presented the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City with five other awards of merit in affordable housing, resident and client services categories. The 9th East Lofts, in the East Central Community Council District of Salt Lake City, is a transit-oriented development. For the Framing Program for Persons Experiencing Homelessness, the authority partnered with state and local government and a community college to create a construction framing program to be offered to single individuals experiencing homelessness.

RETAIL

• Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc., a Midvale-based outdoor specialty retailer, has appointed Phil Stevens as chief technology officer. He will oversee all technology aspects of the company and develop policies and procedures to enhance the overall customer experience. For the past six years, Stevens supported thousands of retail locations worldwide as the Army and Air Force Exchange Service’s executive vice president and CIO/CAO in Dallas. Prior to that, he served as the CIO and corporate advisor at Scintel Technologies in Atlanta from August 2009 to February 2013. He was also the senior vice president and CIO for Education Finance Partners in Austin and the senior vice president of infrastructure and operations for Macy’s Systems and Technology in Atlanta.

SERVICES

• ConsultNet, a South Jordan-based provider of IT staffing and solutions, has hired Kate Cervoni as senior vice president of business operations and John Larrabee as vice president of client engagement of CNOmniMedia Solutions Group. Cervoni’s experience includes IT consulting within the media, entertainment and telecommunication industries. She will provide technology and strategic guidance to media companies. Larrabee oversees complex projects, identifies operational efficiencies and builds teams for CNOmniMedia’s client organizations.

• U-Haul Company of Utah Inc. has announced that Point of the Mountain Storage, 15112 S. Pony Express Road, Bluffdale, is now offering U-Haul products and services. It will offer U-Haul trucks and towing equipment.

VENTURE CAPITAL

• Sorenson Ventures, based in Salt Lake City and Menlo Park, California, has appointed Chris Downer as its newest principal. Downer has knowledge and expertise in the analytics and insurtech markets, most recently serving as a principal at XL Innovate, where he invested in, partnered with and helped scale analytics and insurtech companies across North America, Europe and Asia. While there, he was also a board observer at Pillar Technologies and a board member at Stonestep. Prior to joining XL Innovate, Downer was an associate at Goldman Sachs in the alternative investments and manager selection group, part of the investment management division.