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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board, at its September meeting, voted to increase a tax rebate incentive for the production of “High School Musical: The Musical,” a 10-episode series that will air starting Nov. 12 on the Disney+ streaming service. Last October, the production was approved for an incentive of up to $3.7 million, based on expected spending in Utah of $14.7 million. This month, the GOED board boosted the incentive for Salty Pictures Inc. to nearly $3.9 million, based upon the in-state spending estimate increasing by about $700,000. The fourth installment of the “High School Musical” productions will be told in documentary style and follow a group of East High School students as they stage a performance of “High School Musical.” The three prior productions — a TV show in 2006, a TV sequel in 2007 and a feature film in 2008 — all were shot in Utah.
CONTESTS
• Registration is open for the 2019-20 High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, a statewide business model competition open to all students in Utah ages 14-18. The registration deadline is Feb. 19. Teams compete for $30,000 in cash and in-kind prizes, including a $7,000 grand prize. The competition is managed by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, and sponsored by Zions Bank. Students can visit lassonde.utah.edu/hsuec to view the competition guide and apply online. Students must submit a written business model.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Residents of a ZIP code area in Park City have the highest average household income in Utah, according to rankings compiled by UnitedStatesZipCodes.org using Census Bureau data for cities with populations of 60,000 or more. The average in the 84098 ZIP code is $118,245. The other top ZIP codes in Utah are (in order) 84092 (Sandy), $113,880; 84004 (Alpine), $113,807; 04020 (Draper), $110,270; 84060 (Park City), $104,645; 84108 (Salt Lake City), $103,297; 84664 (Mapleton), $101,357; 84095 (South Jordan), $99,682; 84093 (Sandy), $98,758; and 84025 (Farmington), $97,440. The 10 ZIP codes in Utah with the lowest average household income, are 84536 (Monument Valley), $22,837; 84534 (Montezuma Creek), $26,652; 84520 (East Carbon), $27,989; 84111 (Salt Lake City), $31,169; 84606 (Provo), $35,153; 84329 (Park Valley), $37,500; 84115 (Salt Lake City), $38,914; 84102 (Salt Lake City), $40,909; 84104 (Salt Lake City), $42,130; and 84321 (Logan), $42,584.
• Airbnb recently announced that its hosts in Utah welcomed about 360,900 guest arrivals and earned a combined $37.3 million between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The top five city destinations for guests to Utah were (in order) Salt Lake City, Moab, Park City, Hurricane and St. George. Salt Lake City had 75,800 arrivals and host income of $8 million. The top five origin cities for travelers booking Airbnb listings in Utah were (in order) Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Provo and Orem.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• The application deadline is Oct. 2 for Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program, which provides participants with skills development for business growth. Participants must be the owner or co-owner of a business that has been in operation for at least two years, has a minimum of $150,000 in revenues, and employs at least four people. The next program begins in January. The application is at www.10ksbaapply.com/. More information is available by contacting Deb Bilbao at Salt Lake Community College at deb.bilbao@slcc.edu or (801) 957-5336.
ENERGY
• Ingka Group, based in the Netherlands, has reached an agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to acquire a 49-percent stake in solar photovoltaic projects in Utah and Texas, with a total of 403 megawatts of capacity. The Utah acquisition is 636,000 solar panels coming into operation later this month. Financial terms were not disclosed. Ingka owns and operates 900,000 rooftop solar photovoltaic panels on IKEA stores, distribution centers and other buildings worldwide. Ingka also has two wind farms in Illinois and Texas, geothermal projects at two stores, and biogas-powered fuel cell systems.
FINANCE
• JLL has announced it has arranged preferred equity financing for the development of Upper West, a 207-unit, Class A, transit-oriented, multi-housing property in West Jordan. JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, Salt Lake City-based Boulder Ventures Development Inc., to place the non-recourse financing with a private capital fund. The total project cost is $52 million. Situated on 2.43 acres, Upper West will consist of four levels of residential space housing and will be part of the Jordan Valley master development, which includes 1,396 multi-housing units, 83,200 square feet of office space and nearly 35,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The JLL Capital Markets team representing the borrower was led by Mike White, managing director in JLL’s Denver office.
GOVERNMENT
• Heather Kahlert and Doug Dilley have been appointed to the board of directors of the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). Kahlert is executive vice president of the Kahlert Foundation, a charitable foundation providing grants to nonprofit organizations to improve quality of life and well-being in the areas of healthcare, youth programs, education, veterans and human services. She has decades of experience in grantmaking, community engagement and capacity building. Dilley is general manager at Parker Aerospace, a global leader in motion and control for the industrial and aerospace markets. He has an extensive background in the aerospace industry, working for Moog Inc., Honeywell, Collins Aerospace and Messier Services. The GOED board consists of 15 members appointed to four-year terms by Utah’s governor with the advice and consent of the Utah Senate. Kahlert and Dilley replace Brent Brown and Christopher M. Conabee, whose terms expired.
MANUFACTURING
• Traeger Grills, a Salt Lake City-based wood pellet grill company, has hired Corey Savory as vice president of customer experience. Savory previously was global senior director of customer care at iRobot Corp. and held roles as the former customer care leader for the Americas at TE Connectivity, as director of quality assurance and leader of customer care project management e-learning at DirecTV, and as a senior business consultant at NICE Systems.
MILESTONES
• Subaru of America Inc. recently sold its 10 millionth vehicle in the U.S. It was sold by Nate Wade Subaru in Salt Lake City to Dr. Craig Harmon, whose family has owned a total of seven Subaru vehicles. Harmon took delivery of a 2019 Impreza for his daughter, Rachel Harmon. Nate Wade Subaru is the oldest Subaru retail facility in the U.S.
OUTDOOR PRODUCTS/RECREATION/SPORTS
• Solitude Mountain Resort has announced several initiatives to alleviate traffic and parking congestion in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Paid parking will be implemented at Solitude’s parking lots, with fees as low as $5 per day for multi-occupancy vehicles. Tiered pricing and preferential parking will be offered to encourage carpooling. A portion of parking proceeds will be donated to Breathe Utah, a clean air advocacy organization. Solitude will use a piece of its private property on the west end of the Moonbeam parking lot to accommodate approximately 200 more vehicles as a way of easing parking congestion on Highway 190 near the resort as well as reduce erosion. The spaces will be served by a shuttle to move guests to and from Moonbeam Lodge. For guests who want to find a carpool partner, Solitude is investing in a ride-sharing app to allow skiers and snowboarders to share available space in personal vehicles by offering or joining a ride to Solitude. The app will include incentives for teaming up to reduce pollution and congestion. Solitude will lease four 15-passenger shuttle vans from the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) to transport staff seven days a week. To make it easier for guests to use the UTA Ski Bus, Solitude has added over 100 new guest lockers, located on the ground levels of both Moonbeam Lodge and the Snowsports building. Solitude has long provided free UTA Ski Bus access to its season pass holders. That benefit has now been extended to all Ikon Pass holders for the entire season.
PHILANTHROPY
• Big O Tires Utah donated $30,000 to Shriners Hospitals for Children — Salt Lake City as part of the hospital’s annual “Walk for Love” event Sept. 21. Big O pooled resources from its 40 stores from Logan to Richfield to donate their highest amount to date to the Salt Lake City Shriners Hospital, tripling its 2018 donation. The Salt Lake City Shriners Hospital is a 40-bed specialty facility, with comprehensive in-house orthopaedic services, including wheelchair and seating services, therapy services, motion analysis center, and a pediatric orthotic and prosthetics lab.
REAL ESTATE
• MedCore Partners, Trinity Private Equity Group, TNRG and UMB Bank have acquired a new 122-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care property in North Ogden. The Lodge at North Ogden opened to new residents in June. It has 18 independent living, 82 assisted living and 22 memory care units. It is the fifth and final property in a portfolio acquisition completed by MedCore this year that consists of five properties with a total of 531 units. Financial terms were not disclosed.
• Inside Real Estate, a Draper-based real estate software and technology company, has appointed Steve Ozonian to its board of directors. Ozonian has more than 30 years of experience, including serving as a senior executive at Coldwell Banker Real Estate, chairman and CEO of Prudential Real Estate & Relocation, CEO of REALTOR.com and CEO of RealEstate.com, and currently serving as the lead independent director of Lending Tree and CEO of Williston Financial.
RECOGNITIONS
• The Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah) recently recognized community members for their outstanding leadership in economic development. Carlos Braceras, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation, received the Thayne Robson Award, a public-sector honor. Dean Luikart, former EDCUtah board chair and regional vice president for Wells Fargo, received the Nick Rose Award, a private-sector honor. Salt Lake Community College received the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Cornerstone Award, presented to organizations and foundations.
• Three Utah companies are listed in the 2019 Forbes Cloud 100, which recognizes the world’s top private companies leading the cloud technology revolution. They are No. 76 Workfront, Lehi; No. 88 BambooHR, Lindon; and No. 97 Weave, Lehi.
RETAIL
• Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc., a Midvale-based outdoor sporting goods retailer, has appointed Philip C. Williamson to its board of directors. Williamson has spent over 35 years at Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co., better known by its brand Dickies. He currently serves in an advisory role to Dickies, after serving as president from October 2017 to July 2019. Prior to that, Williamson served as chairman, president and CEO of Dickies from 1997-2017, at which time Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co. was acquired by VF Corp. From 1994-97, he served as CEO and vice chairman. He began his career at Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co. in 1983 and held various roles of increasing responsibility. He currently serves on the board and executive committee of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and previously served as chairman of the board of directors of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) from 2013-14. Prior to serving as chairman, he was secretary of the AAFA’s board of directors. He also was previously a board member at Blessings Corp.
• Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., a national retail chain of craft and home décor stores, will open a store at 3500 S. 2700 W., West Valley City. The 61,000-square-foot store is the chain’s eighth Utah location. Hobby Lobby has more than 850 stores in the U.S.