Oct 5 2015
NV5 Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "NV5"), a provider of professional consulting design and engineering solutions, announced today that it will perform final design services for Starlight Park Phase II between Westchester Avenue and East Tremont Avenue along the banks of the Bronx River. This contract was won by The RBA Group as part of a task-order contract with the New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYCDDC). RBA recently completed Phase I of the Starlight Park project which resulted in design fees exceeding $1.6 million.
Starlight Park is part of an ongoing project that will create a continuous greenway trail and system of new City parks along the Bronx River accessible to thousands of Bronx residents and visitors. Bronx residents seeking open parkland have historically been denied access to the heavily industrialized and polluted Bronx River, but substantial strides have been made in recent decades to repurpose deserted industrial parcels along the river and to restore the ecology and health of the river itself. The Bronx River Greenway/Starlight Park project is the latest and largest of these efforts with a total estimated construction cost of approximately $40 million.
Dickerson Wright, PE, Chairman and CEO of NV5, said, "As all five boroughs of New York have begun to take eco-friendly planning, green design and construction practices, and the prevention of environmental damage to our existing infrastructure more seriously, they have sought RBA's talented landscape architects and engineers to solve these difficult problems."
"This project is a great example of the collaboration between our Landscape Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Services groups that has bolstered our reputation in major Northeastern cities like New York," added David Lapping, PTP, President of RBA. "This project alone calls for the custom design of nine specific landscape areas, each of which present unique engineering and environmental challenges."
Director of Landscape Architecture, Jackson Wandres, RLA, has been involved in the development and execution of the Starlight Park project for nearly a decade. He offered, "This project reintroduces New Yorkers to the natural environment. We are fully reconstructing the natural riparian habitat that once existed, complete with wetlands, mud flats, upland forest and meadows. In addition to the multi-use pathways and park spaces included in the design, valuable recreational components such as sports facilities and playgrounds have been included in the scope of work that will help this new park become a popular destination in South Bronx."
Project Manager Joseph Menzer, PE, provided, "What is so special about this project is its focus on clearing, cleaning up and creating new access to waterfront parcels that previously prevented the public from accessing the river. The project is creating three new bridges to reconnect formerly cut-off communities to the river. One of those bridges is a technically challenging structure over Amtrak, along a corridor that is under consideration for future high-speed rail, thus requiring a lot of coordination with multiple agencies and jurisdictions. Site reclamation along the river is also a big challenge for RBA's Environmental Division. Our team will apply stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) to the project -- for instance -- rain gardens and infiltration basins, and will reduce the risk of human exposure to toxic substances in case of future flooding events."
About NYCDDC
The New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYCDDC) is the City's primary capital construction project manager with a portfolio valued at $10 billion. NYCDDC frequently partners with other city agencies such as the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) to achieve its goal of providing New Yorkers with buildings and services that are socially responsible, progressively designed, and environmentally sound. Over the last decade, NYCDDC's staff of 1,200 has completed more than 745 miles of new roadway, 735 miles of water mains, 588 miles of storm and sanitary sewers, and 42,000 sidewalk pedestrian ramp installations in all five boroughs. To learn more about NYCDDC and NYCDEP, visit www.NYC.gov.
About NV5
NV5 Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVEE) is a provider of professional and technical engineering and consulting solutions to public and private sector clients in the infrastructure, energy, construction, real estate and environmental markets. NV5 primarily focuses on five business verticals: construction quality assurance, infrastructure, engineering and support services, energy, program management, and environmental solutions. The Company operates 42 offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, and is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.NV5.com. Also visit the Company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Vimeo.