Building Salt Lake announced on Monday that it has hired a veteran Utah journalist as its first full-time employee as it seeks to expand its coverage.

Jacob Scholl is an award-winning journalist with over seven  years of experience in and around the Intermountain West. Previously, he has worked for the Ogden Standard-Examiner, Idaho Statesman, KSL.com, Utah Public Radio and The Salt Lake Tribune.

Scholl will be dedicated to tracking Utah’s commercial real estate industry on a full-time basis as Building Salt Lake looks to grow its presence as a leading source of news.

“We’re honored to have grown into Utah’s biggest source of commercial real estate news, and we’re excited to have someone of Jacob’s caliber and integrity joining the team,” Taylor Anderson, Building Salt Lake editor, said in a statement.

Building Salt Lake was founded in 2014, and for the past 10 years it has grown as a part-time focus for two journalists and a stable of freelancers. 

In that time, Building Salt Lake has covered the rapid growth of the Wasatch Front, along with the expansion of Salt Lake City’s skyline, renter displacement and the recent ongoing slowdown in commercial real estate.

Thanks to support from readers and advertisers, the outlet has added more coverage than ever before. So far in 2024, we have published more than one story every weekday. Coverage is up 214 percent compared to when the site was acquired in 2019, and readership is up nearly 300 percent.

With major development projects in the pipeline in Salt Lake City, the valley and around the state, Scholl will help expand Building Salt Lake’s enterprise and trend coverage even further.

“We couldn’t have done this without the support from thousands of readers who come to our site every day expecting to learn about the projects and plans that will impact their lives and livelihoods,” said Luke Garrott, co-owner of Building Salt Lake. 

Readers and sources should contact Jacob at Jacob@buildingsaltlake.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Jacob_Scholl. You can also follow him on Bluesky at @jacobscholl.bsky.social.