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Volume 13
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Number 6
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JUNE 2016
Making work zones safe
20 years and counting
The Stripes & Stops Co. Inc. team is ready to have a productive day.
The CDA Architects staff
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wner and president Steven P. McKinley founded Stripes & Stops Co. Inc. to start a parking lot striping company in 1988, which has grown into many other areas. The company provides work on new and existing roads, parking lots, and airports in Houston and all over Texas. “We have put the right team together,” McKinley said. “Today, we have 44 employees. “In addition, I purchased another 15 acres at the beginning of the year since our business is expanding.” McKinley says his father sparked his interest to work in the pavement marking and traffic control industry. “My father had a concrete pipe com-
pany in Houston for 60 years,” he said. “He began manufacturing car stops in the early ‘80s. “I bought and installed car stops by the truck load from my father’s business. Several people asked me if I did striping. So I decided to get a striping machine.” In the early days McKinley worked nights and weekends while he had a fulltime job. “I did this part-time for several years,” he said. McKinley started Stripes & Stops in a 1,000-sf warehouse in Houston. As the company grew, he purchased property on Greens Road and moved into a larger facility and warehouse that he built in 2002. continued on Page 18
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rchitect Charles L. Chambliss founded his architecture firm in 1974 and incorporated the firm as Chambliss Design Associates Inc. In 1995, the firm was renamed CDA Architects. To celebrate the recent 20th anniversary since the firm was renamed, CDA Architects held a family picnic, gathered at the Sandcastle competition and held a special celebration at TopGolf. “Twenty years can be a long time in this industry and we celebrated the milestone with 20 percent of our staff having been here from the time we started,” said President Ray A. Duerer, AIA, LEED AP. “It’s great to have a dedicated staff.” In 1995, CDA Architects had a staff of about 14 people and moved into a 3,400sf office space.
“In the last 20 years, we grew to 27 employees and almost 11,000sf of office space,” Duerer said. “After 2008, we reduced staff back down some and moved into a more fitting space. At 20 years of CDA, we have three partners, we are over our original size and in a much more conducive space to getting our work done in the 21st century and poised for more growth.” The firm is currently working on two significant projects: Valley Ranch Town Center and Saint Nicholas Schools. “Architecture is about creating the built environment but it is also about problem solving,” Duerer said. “Our staff generally loves what they do and we are continued on Page 18
Surpassing expectations
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epperLawson Waterworks (PLW), a subsidiary of Webber LLC, has completed the Bridgeland Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion to 2.1 MGD. Howard Hughes Corp. is the owner. The plant provides wastewater treatment for the Bridgeland Development, which encompasses 11,400-acres for up to 65,000 residents and 18,000 single family homes in West Houston. Located in the Katy Prairie, the area provides refuge and foraging for resident and migratory birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Construction manager Chris Smith says the project involved constructing a new 1.5 MGD expansion to the existing 0.6 MGD wastewater treatment plant. “The expansion was needed to accommodate the growing needs of the Bridgeland community and to reduce the development's dependence on groundwater,” Smith said. “Every gallon
of water from the wastewater treatment plant is recycled into the lake. The wastewater treatment plant project is projected to reduce the use of recreational water by 70 percent annually, and drastically reduces the community's dependence on groundwater.” Smith says the process allows the reuse of the water as opposed to wasting it. “Prior to this technology, all wastewater treatment plant effluent was discharged into the adjacent Cypress Creek, which flows out to the Gulf,” he said. “Now 100 percent of this effluent is captured and pumped back to the community lakes so that there is no longer a need for large volumes of fresh groundwater to replenish the lake system. Instead the effluent reuse is used.” For the 7-Day Functional Test prior to bringing the new expansion plant in service, PepperLawson Waterworks used The Bridgeland Wastewater Treatment Plant
continued on Page 18