Architectural and engineering firm, LAN Associates (LAN), has expanded its Civil Engineering and Land Use departments with four strategic hires. Often acting as one division, LAN’s Land Use department ensures a site is capable of supporting development, while the Civil team provides site design and construction contract administration services.
With the recent addition of Water Resources Engineer Hannah Talos, Civil Engineer Edward Grimsland, and Senior Civil Engineers, Paul Ercolano and Jim Mauer, LAN is fully prepared for the increasing number of large and diverse projects the division has taken on lately. Recent projects include work on the $71M, retirement community that features 199-units at The Vista at Christian Health Care Center and the $6.4M and $6.5M athletic field overhauls at Monroe Woodbury Central and Goshen Central School Districts.
“Our Civil and Land Use departments have nearly doubled over the past year,” said LAN’s Director of Civil Engineering Erik Boe. “We are thrilled to see this division grow in staff, services, and technology we provide.”
Paul and Jim were hired in 2018 as a strategic move to start the expansion of the Civil and Land Use departments. Both are licensed professional engineers that bring several years of site design, regulatory compliance, civil infrastructure, and municipal engineering expertise to LAN. With years of relevant experience, Jim and Paul also shore up the division’s water resource management offering and have already introduced the firm to new advanced flood mapping software.
In another first for LAN, Jim is using drones to document construction progress utilizing photogrammetric mapping to analyze topography and conduct visual assessments. These assessments are particularly useful for projects with large open areas such as LAN’s solar farm projects where the impacts of tree foliage are minimal.
Both Hannah and Ed honed their skills as interns at LAN before completing their degrees and joining the firm full-time this summer. Hannah studied Environmental Resource Engineering at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Her addition to the team has expanded LAN’s flood hazard mitigation, storm water management, erosion and sediment control plans and wetland delineation capabilities and services. Ed earned his degree in Civil Engineering Technology at Fairleigh Dickinson University. As a member of the Civil Engineering Department, he specializes in civil site design and stormwater management. Both Hannah and Ed are already perusing their engineering licenses.
“LAN is poised to highlight our hydrologic and hydraulic engineering capabilities and expand our land use compliance and floodplain modeling services,” said LAN’s Director of Land Use Chris Guddemi when asked about the expansion. “From stormwater mitigation to floodplain analysis and permitting, our team is fully prepared to help clients meet their goals within this very dynamic regulatory landscape.”
Development within the department does not just include new hires. Environmental Scientist Karen Young recently completed the extensive process to obtain her Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) certification, adding more experience and qualifications to the Land Use department. Karen is one of only 175 people in New Jersey with this certification and one of only 40 women in the state.
Civil engineering and land use development projects demand expertise across many disciplines including planning, surveying, geotechnical, transportation, structural engineering, landscape architecture and more. The entire division ensures that LAN meets its goal to be there every step of the way for their clients, from site evaluation and design to acquiring permits and overseeing construction.