Sunday, December 18, 2005

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Thinking beyond civil engineering
Company expands scope to become 'one-stop' shop for regional land projects

BY LISA CRUTCHFIELD
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Its fleet of green survey trucks has roamed the Richmond area for more than 40 years.

But what was once a small, local engineering-services firm is now a major regional player.

Timmons Group has expanded beyond basic site development into specialized areas such as landscape architecture, environmental services, sustainable development and urban planning.

"We're not just moving dirt," said Samuel Saunders III, a principal in the firm. "We're thinking more about environmentally sensitive issues, better design."

For a hospital, for example, a "healing garden" might be included in the landscape design.

'The guts of any project'

"We want to be known as land-development consultants rather than just civil engineers," said David Anderson, managing principal in residential services.

A civil-engineering firm is responsible for the layout of a site, determining where buildings and parking should go. It supervises construction of infrastructure and makes sure all plans meet building codes.

"We're the guts of any project," said Paul Trapp, managing principal of infrastructure and environmental services for the company.

Timmons' projects range from the Richmond International Raceway to St. Francis Medical Center, and Salisbury and Woodlake residential communities in Chesterfield County.

The company went through an organizational overhaul three years ago.

Company's reach broadens

Once a suburban firm, it has opened an office in downtown Richmond. Its new headquarters is in the Boulders business park in Chesterfield County. It also has offices in Northern Virginia, Tidewater, Charlottesville, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

With 300 employees and annual revenues that have nearly doubled in the past five years, Timmons sees itself as a "one-stop" shop.

The firm relies on a core group of civil engineers who prepare site and design plans. But it also has specialists, ranging from horticulturists to historic preservationists.

Timmons was reinvented under Dave Lucado, president and chief executive officer since 1999. "We realized that the systems, structure and even the culture of the company that had really sustained us for 40 years -- and had served us well -- had run their course.

"We spent a year being very introspective. We did focus groups with our employees, interviews with clients and managers. We said we needed a sense of the company -- of who we are. We had different cultures in our different groups, and we all defined success differently.

"We had a lot of cowboy, entrepreneurial spirit, and we sought to maintain that."

The strategic plan led to sweeping organizational changes, Lucado said.

"We consolidated 25 groups [which were based on location] to about eight and reorganized around clients. We're here to help them understand their visions."

The changes were made to serve a demographic that stresses efficiency in infrastructure and design.

"We are evolving with the industry," Anderson said. A recent trend is toward new urbanism, where people live, work and shop in the same area, he said.

In this setting, homes are clustered together, but green space is preserved for parks and open areas. The result is fewer roads and less sprawl than in a traditional development.

Timmons is doing the site preparation for Old Trail Village in Crozet: 237 acres of agrarian land in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville will be rezoned for a high-density community with as many as 18 units per acre. The emphasis will be on green views and woodland preservation. More than 137 acres will be left undisturbed.

Other projects include designs for the State Fair at the Meadows in Caroline County and West Broad Village in Henrico County near Short Pump Town Center. Once the Liesfield farm, the Broad Street location has been rezoned for retail, office and condo space.

The Watkins Centre, a mixed-use site in Chesterfield County, is on the drawing board. So is the remodel the John Marshall Hotel and the Miller & Rhoads building in downtown Richmond.

The old mentality was "pipe it and pave it," said Chris Earley, senior project engineer who specializes in urban renewal issues.

"You can do civil engineering in a way that does far less damage to the environment." Energy-efficient "green" buildings are popular, "but if you put green on a site that isn't well-designed, you're only doing half of it," Earley said.

Timmons stresses the importance of working closely with clients and municipalities to maximize options.

"We continue to feel as if we are their only client and our successes with the county approval process for our projects is unmatched," said Gaylon Beights, owner of Beights Development Corp. in Charlottesville and Warrenton.

Timmons offers the services that a new company needs when it comes to town, said Gregory H. Wingfield, president of the Greater Richmond Partnership Inc., an economic development group.

"Having the headquarters here and its presence concentrated here gives new businesses easy access to all kinds of expertise," Wingfield said.

Take, for example, Timmons' site design in the late 1990s for White Oak business park in Henrico County, home to Infineon Technologies. Earth was moved within 30 days after a contract was signed. The foundation was put in 30 days later.

"Things will happen as fast as permitting can allow them to happen," said Tom Seaborn, a senior projects manager for Timmons.

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