It doesn’t take long to spot a completed Big-D construction project in Weber County. McKay-Dee Hospital, the Ogden LDS Temple and Peery’s Egyptian Theater are just a few classic projects Big-D has had its hands on.

The 1,000 plus employee construction company is headquartered in Salt Lake City, but spends a lot of time in Northern Utah bidding, working on and completing projects. Big-D specializes in LEED Construction.

This year, the company is celebrating 50 years and is proud of its humble roots. According to its website, in 1967, Dee Livingood sold his blue Volkswagen for $1,000 and put everything on the line to start his own business. 

His nickname was “Big-Dee,” hence the name for the company. Although Livingood had little to nothing when he started – not much money, no business experience and no upcoming customers, he did have one thing – a big idea about how customers should be treated and how things could be accomplished efficiently.

He set about to find the best people for his business and called them, “Young Lions,” a name that still sticks today. And while the projects have been what has moved the company forward, it’s been employees who Livingood has considered to be the “catalyst for success” the website quotes. 

Big-D had its first million-dollar project in Ogden in 1974 when Cream O’Weber asked Livingood to design and build an addition to their Ogden freezer. The two came up with a price and shook hands on the deal. In those days, a hand shake was often sufficient, but because of the size and scope of the deal, Livingood decided it would be appropriate to write it down on paper. They pulled out a purchase-order book and wrote the deal down there. As things grew, Big-D has never forgotten where it got its start and has always tried to keep its hands in many local projects, although Big-D now has a national presence with offices scattered across the United States, most recently in Minnesota in 2013

Big-D is also known for its work on LDS temples – the Twin Falls, Philadelphia and of course Ogden Temple are some of their works that they are proud of. In 2016, Big-D hit one of its biggest landmarks: $1 billion in sales.

Ashley Conway, marketing and public relations manager for Big-D, said Big-D currently has its share of projects currently underway or just completed in the Ogden/Weber area.

“We recently completed the Brigham City Hospital MOB and the Ogden Cannery project for the LDS Church,” she said. Now underway are three projects at the Business Depot Ogden including the Home Depot, Reader Link and an expansion to Lofthouse Foods. The Riverdale Town Center is another Big-D project and its most recent project to get started: the Weber State University Social Science Building.

Rob Moore was promoted to Chief Executive Officer this year and the company is looking to continue to expand its brand nationally. There are now 7 regional offices and Big-D was named “Contractor of the Year” by the Utah Chapter of Commercial Investment Real Estate (CCIM).

“We are extremely excited about what we have going on in Northern Utah. Big-D has built nearly 200 projects in Ogden and the surrounding areas,” Moore said. “Our firm began here, and many of our employees still call it home. As we celebrate 50 years of business, although we have expanded and grown to reach $1 billion in revenues, we remain deeply rooted in the Ogden-Weber community.”