Land Development Design Initiative • www.lddi.cee.vt.edu • Blacksburg, VA Phone: (540) 231-2474 • Fax: (540) 231-7532 • E-mail: lddi@vt.edu March 2021 Volume 15, Issue 2
In this issue: • Spring Greetings and Giving Day Success (p. 1) • DC welcomes innovative agriculture and historic renovation projects (p. 2) • A Manassas Park community gains much needed improvements (p. 3) • LDDI Coordinator receives CTE award (p. 3) • Virtual Course Modality Provides New Opportunities (p. 4)
LDDI Bridges is a publication of
Virginia Tech’s Land Development Design Initiative Editors: Kelly Shayne Young ksyoung@vt.edu Kevin Young keyoung@vt.edu
Virginia Tech The Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Spring greetings from Virginia Tech! I hope this message finds you and your organization enjoying the rising temperatures and the season of new beginnings. We are now past the halfway point of the spring 2021 semester, and things are growing increasingly busy for students and faculty alike as we enter into the final stretch. For our graduating seniors, life may feel nothing short of chaotic as they seek to find balance between class projects, evaluating competing job offers, preparing for the FE exam, and planning graduation celebrations. With a cumulative enrollment of more than 230 students across all LDDI courses, things are equally busy in the virtual classroom for myself, LDDI Assistant Coordinator Claire White, and the practitioner instructors in Municipal Engineering (CEE 4254) and Advanced Land Development Design (CEE 4284). Outside of the classroom the Sustainable Land Development Club (SLDC) remains very active, with long-standing events such as the Career Night Mixer, Design Charrette, and Young Professionals’ Panel being held in a virtual format. Thanks to site hosts from LDDI sponsors Advanced Drainage Systems and Balzer & Associates, SLDC members were even treated to an onsite, in-person field trip earlier this semester. Still yet to come this semester, our spring General Meeting will be held virtually on Friday, April 9th and, along with an LDDI update and student presentations, will feature a presentation on the City of Raleigh North Carolina’s Dorothea Dix Park with guest speakers from the City and LDDI sponsoring firms Dewberry and McAdams. If you have not already registered for this meeting, I invite you to do so prior to COB on April 7th by visiting https://tinyurl.com/LDDISpring. I would be remiss to provide an update on the spring semester without highlighting Virginia Tech’s recent Giving Day and offering sincere gratitude to those who supported LDDI. Giving Day is a 24 -hour celebration of the Hokie Spirit that provides an opportunity for students, alumni, employees, family, and friends to come together and show support for their favorite Virginia Tech organization. When Giving Day 2021 closed at noon on February 25th, LDDI had received a total of 81 individual donations, ranking 9th among all organizations and departments in the College of Engineering. For further perspective, the previous best for individual donations made to LDDI on Giving Day was 37 in 2019. But the good news doesn’t end there. Each of the first 60 donations made to LDDI, regardless of the amount, was matched with $250 for a total matching amount of $15,000. On behalf of the entire LDDI organization, I thank the following individuals whose generosity made this match possible: • • • • • • • •
Mr. Kyle Bollinger Mr. Derrick Cave Mr. Young Ho Chang Ms. Alisa Cowen Mr. John DeBell Mr. Sid Dewberry Mr. Louis Genuario Mr. Jeff Gilliland
• • • • • • • •
Mr. Andy Gorecki Ms. Suzy Harding Mr. Caleb Hurst Mr. Bob Jansen Mr. Paul Johnson Ms. Meredith Jones Mr. Jeff Lighthiser Mr. Kevin Murray
• • • • • • • •
Mr. Skip Notte Mr. James Patteson Mr. Rick Rabil Mr. Tom Rust Mr. Brian Utterback Mr. Jack Vega Mr. Adam Volanth Ms. Sue Wolford
It’s an exciting time of year, and an exciting time to be involved with LDDI. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this newsletter, and I welcome your feedback on any and all aspects of the program. Kevin D. Young, PE, M. ASCE, VT LDDI Coordinator
LDDI Bridges March 2021
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Bowman Provides Services for DC’s The Well at Oxon Run
In the spring of 2021, DC residents and visitors will welcome The Well at Oxon Run, a unique urban agricultural space that will serve as a source of healthy food and engaging community focused spaces. Renderings by SHoP Architects
As we continue to navigate through the COVID pandemic, access to fresh, healthy food and safe outdoor spaces has never been more important to our communities. With this goal in mind, three local nonprofits, DC Greens, The Green Scheme, and The Friends of Oxon Run, have partnered with the DC Department of Parks and Recreation and community members to create an urban agricultural space like no other. The vision for The Well at Oxon Run will transform DC’s Ward 8, which is historically lacking in vital resources, into an urban farm and wellness space that will serve the local community and beyond. DC Greens, who previously operated the wildly successful K Street Farm until it closed in 2018 to make way for a Pepco substation, began its search for a new location and a space that could be both a source of healthy food and a gathering space for the community. Tucked in Oxon Run Park, the one-acre site will be home to seasonal crop production with a farm stand, and a variety of engaging community focused spaces including an orchard with chickens, a greenhouse, herb and pollinator
gardens, a pick-your-own flower garden, and a large youth garden with an immersive outdoor classroom. Designed to serve both young and old alike, the space will display local artwork, host theater and dance performances, house a small free library and engagement pods, and feature a commemorative memory forest to honor victims of gun violence. Bowman is proud to partner with DC Greens to support its long history of serving disadvantaged communities through sustainable farming and public engagement. To date, Bowman has provided land surveying, planning, civil engineering, landscape architecture, arboreal, environmental, and permit coordination services, and will continue to assist as the project moves to construction in Spring 2021. With grassroots in the DC region, Bowman has a vested interest and commitment to the success of The Well long beyond construction and will continue to support DC Greens’ mission to advance food justice and health equity in the nation’s capital.
GordonDC Takes on Ambitious Restoration of Historic Carnegie Library
At the center of Mount Vernon Square, Apple’s new global flagship retail store has restored the historic Carnegie Library into a center for education, discovery, and imagination for the community. Bottom Photo by Foster and Partners
Originally constructed in 1903 and located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Washington, DC, the historic Carnegie Library and now Apple global flagship retail store sits across from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and at the nexus of Massachusetts and New York Avenues, an extremely popular and prominent intersection within the District of Columbia. This Andrew Carnegie landmark was delicately converted from a highly under-utilized and underappreciated library and museum into a cultural and commercial destination. There are only a handful of Apple global flagship retail stores in the world, and the iconic Carnegie Library was identified as a space that required thoughtful restoration and extensive historic preservation; a structure that deserved to be transformed into a space that fostered innovation and now promotes cultural experiences and education. According to Apple, Inc. CEO, Tim Cook, Carnegie Library was Apple’s “most historic, ambitious restoration by far, in the world.” As the lead civil engineer for the transformation, GordonDC had the honor of
designing all proposed site improvements supporting the project. Exterior improvements included a complete redesign of the exterior plazas and pathways to become ADA accessible, and implementation of blended bioretention and rainwater harvesting systems to meet the District of Columbia’s stringent stormwater management requirements. Bioretention systems located around the building perimeter are fed by the roof drainage system and routed to a 25,000gallon rainwater harvesting system hidden under the building’s southern entrance plaza. The harvested rainwater is then used to irrigate the public lawn panels that surround the historic library. The project required extensive coordination with and approval by both Federal and District reviewing agencies and is the recipient of numerous design awards, including the prized 2020 District of Columbia Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation, the highest honor bestowed by the State Historic Preservation Officer
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LDDI Bridges March 2021
Concrete Pipe & Precast Assists 400 Manassas Park, VA Residents Back to Their Homes Early Wednesday morning, August 12, 2020, twin corrugated metal pipes (CMP) failed during a rain event in Manassas Park, VA, cutting off access to approximately 400 residents from their homes. Concrete Pipe & Precast (CP&P) received the request to provide 84” Diameter Class III Reinforced Concrete Pipe (RCP) for pipe replacement that Friday, and began delivering concrete pipe to the washout location bright and early the following Monday morning. The existing metal pipeline was a twin line consisting of a 96” diameter CMP alongside a 72” diameter CMP. These pipes were designed as “flexible pipe systems” which rely heavily on the soil embedment constructed around them to carry the weight of the roadway overtop. Because the soil around a flexible pipe carries so much of the load, once an event (like heavy rain) starts to compromise the soil embedment, the entire system strength can catastrophically give way. Flexible pipes do
not have the proven performance and life expectancy of concrete pipe. While it is unfortunate that 400 Manassas Park residents were temporarily cut off from their homes, they can now have confidence that a similar failure will not happen again at this location thanks to the timely response from CP&P and installation of its high quality products. Bowman Consulting, out of Herndon, VA, was engaged to oversee the engineering for the pipe replacement project and Shirley Contracting was hired to install the new twin runs of 84” diameter concrete pipe. About 300 Linear Feet of 84” Class III RCP was shipped from CP&P’s Jessup, MD facility, while the double 84” diameter endwalls were produced and shipped out of CP&P’s Ashland, VA facility. Concrete Pipe & Precast is proud to be a part of a long-lasting solution for this community.
Each year, Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering awards four Certificates of Teaching Excellence in recognition of faculty who have demonstrated effective student learning, exemplary curriculum design, professional development, and impact beyond Virginia Tech. In 2021, three of the four award recipients are from the civil and environmental engineering department, including LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young and his faculty colleagues Dr. Matt Eatherton and Dr. Eric Jacques. This year marks Kevin’s third time receiving a Certificate of Teaching Excellence from the College of Engineering (2015, 2018). Kevin’s students frequently cite his enthusiasm in the classroom as a source of their own emerging interest in land development design. Current Sustainable Land Development Club (SLDC) President Morgan Newcomb is one of Kevin’s former students and offers, “What people don't always see on the surface is how much time Kevin has poured into the LDDI program, and ultimately how grateful students are for this commitment. Even outside of the classroom his dedication can be seen by his support of SLDC functions and giving up his evenings and weekends to host events and take us on field trips all
across the state. Students admire Kevin for both his compassion and leadership, and I'm looking forward to working with him further as one of the first students in the Sustainable Land Development Master's Program.” With thousands of his former students now working in industry, employers have also taken note of the passion that Kevin brings to the classroom. Skip Notte, Vice President and Business Unit Manager for Dewberry, and a member of the LDDI Advisory Board states, “During the 11 years that I have known Kevin, the one thing that has remained constant is his commitment to engaging and preparing Virginia Tech students for a lifetime of success. We have all heard so many stories about educators being tough but fair, thus earning the respect of each student. I have personally witnessed this time and again, as students consistently provide unsolicited feedback on Kevin that can only be explained as a sense of both pride and enthusiasm as they work diligently to deliver their best response possible to each assignment. It is truly a joy to watch him inspire each student.” Please join us in recognizing Kevin for his commitment to LDDI and Virginia Tech CEE students!
Shirley Contracting installs twin 84” EW-7 and 84” RCP at Manassas Park Project.
by Claire White
LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young oversees students during his CEE Measurements lab. Photo by Virginia Tech
Thank you to our corporate sponsors and municipal members! DYMOND Advanced Drainage Systems ▪ Bohler Engineering ▪ Bowman Consulting ▪ Concrete Pipe and Precast, LLC ▪ Pennoni Associates, Inc. PLATINUM
ATCS, P.L.C. ▪ christopher consultants, ltd. ▪ Dewberry ▪ Draper Aden Associates ▪ Edens Land ▪ Gordon ▪ J2 Engineers, Inc. ▪ KimleyHorn and Associates, Inc. ▪ McAdams ▪ Timmons Group ▪ Tri-Tek Engineering ▪ WithersRavenel GOLD Accumark Subsurface Utility Services ▪ AES Consulting Engineers ▪ AST Cowen Design Group LLC ▪ Balzer & Associates, Inc. ▪ Brookfield Homes ▪ Burgess & Niple, Inc. ▪ Delta Airport Consultants ▪ Gay and Neel, Inc. ▪ Hurt & Proffitt ▪ Land Design Consultants ▪ Lumsden Associates, P.C. ▪ Rodgers Consulting ▪ Van Metre Homes ▪ VHB ▪ Whitman, Requardt & Associates, LLP ▪ Youngblood, Tyler & Associates, P.C. SILVER Colman Engineering, PLC ▪ Cunningham Engineering Corp ▪ Eden & Associates, PC ▪ Mattern & Craig ▪ Ramey Kemp & Associates ▪ Wetland Studies MUNICIPAL Fairfax County
LDDI Bridges March 2021 Late in the afternoon on the Wednesday of spring break 2020, Virginia Tech faculty and students received an email from University President Tim Sands. The email stated that spring break would be extended by one week, and when classes reconvened they would be fully online. This abrupt move to a fully online course modality arguably impacted LDDI even more profoundly than many other areas of academic study because student-practitioner GordonDC’s Jessie Ponce de Leon speaks engagement is such a foundational to CEE 3274 students via Zoom. element of the program. Gone were the spring semester field trip, the annual Design Charrette, and the on-campus product exhibitions. Gone were the frequent guest speakers and in-person meetings between students and design project mentors. In many ways, the spring 2020 semester was a trial by fire that forced LDDI instructors to quickly become competent in a new, virtual classroom. The lessons learned during the second half of the spring 2020 semester, along with a summer to prepare for the coming academic year, provided an opportunity to restructure LDDI courses to restore, and even increase practitioner engagement in the new, virtual classroom. One illustration of this occurred in CEE 3274 – Introduction to Land Development Design. CEE 3274 is the first LDDI course offering available to Virginia Tech students, and each semester LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young and Assistant Coordinator Claire White teach a section of the course. During the second half of the spring 2020 semester, and continuing through the fall 2020 semester, Young and White worked collaboratively to produce approximately 30 “on-demand” videos spanning the entirety of the course’s diverse subject matter. These videos include traditional lectures, step-by-step computational design examples, and even CAD and GIS tutorials. Next, they looked at how these videos could be strategically integrated into the chronology and structure of the existing course such that guest presentations from industry professionals would directly compliment and expand upon this course material. An example of this was requiring students to watch a pre-recorded video on a course topic and complete an online quiz before having an industry professional deliver a live, synchronous lecture on that topic, often in the context of one of the guest’s own projects. The result was not only a continuation of the student-practitioner interaction for which LDDI is so well known, but also a more engaged and conversational student audience during those practitioner visits. In total, the fall 2020 semester featured eight practitioner lectures, and a similar format is being employed in the spring offerings of the course. Jessie Ponce de Leon (GordonDC) delivered live lectures to both sections of CEE 3274 earlier this spring, and of the experience states, “From an engagement perspective, in-person is always going to be preferred over virtual; however, given my distance from Blacksburg, teaching a session of the course may not have been possible without the temporary transition to a virtual format. I was able to engage with two fantastic groups of students which was certainly a welcomed silver lining!” Michael Cardman (Bowman Consulting, Lansdowne Development Group) who participated in the course last fall and again during the spring semester echoes Ponce de Leon’s comments, and adds, “I recently had the pleasure of guest lecturing for a few of this semester’s LDDI and real estate courses. As fun—and important—as yield analysis and due diligence frameworks are, it was truly a pleasure to share some ‘real-world’ applications with the students. It’s exciting to see both the growing size and increasing quality of the program coupled with the enthusiasm of the students. The only downside was hearing Kevin’s introduction reminding me how long I’ve been out of the program.” Young and White intend to continue utilizing their catalog of videos and newfound skills in the virtual world even when classes eventually return to an in-person modality. Young states, “the pandemic thrust these changes upon us, but it’s been an eyeopening experience and the outcome is that we have a lot of new and effective tools in our instructional toolbox.”