Land Development Design Initiative • www.lddi.cee.vt.edu • Blacksburg, VA Phone: (540) 231-2474 • Fax: (540) 231-7532 • E-mail: lddi@vt.edu November 2020 Volume 14, Issue 6
In this issue: • LDDI Winter Meeting– Save the Date (p. 1) • A new sports complex comes to Fauquier County, and Southampton welcomes a new solar-power generation facility. (p. 2) • Advisory Board member reflects on the past and present, and LDDI welcomes support (p. 3) • Support LDDI through the 22 by 22 campaign. (p. 3) • LDDI finds new ways to remain engaged. (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
Thanksgiving greetings from Virginia Tech! I hope this message finds you on the verge of setting aside work for a few days to spend some relaxing, quality time with loved ones. Campus is now quiet, with most students having departed for the holiday break, and the remainder of the semester being conducted fully online. Notwithstanding this virtual modality, when classes reconvene on November 30th it will be a whirlwind sprint to the finish line with less than two full weeks of classes remaining before the start of final exams. This is our last newsletter of 2020, and that it coincides with the season of giving thanks provides me with a perfect opportunity to recognize those individuals and organizations who have helped LDDI navigate a year that has challenged us all in ways we never could have predicted. First, I would like to thank our entire Advisory Board, in particular Chair Sue Wolford and Vice Chair Jeff Gilliland, for giving so generously of their time, energy, and ideas to continually improve upon the partnership between academia and industry for which LDDI is uniquely known. Virginia Tech CEE students are indebted to this group of passionate industry professionals. Next, I would like to thank LDDI Assistant Coordinator Claire White for her service in that role, and for being an invaluable and wonderful colleague. It’s impossible to overstate Claire’s contributions to LDDI, both inside and outside of the classroom, and it has been great to see her leadership role in the program expand this year. I would also like to thank the 41 corporate sponsors and municipal members, and all of the individual donors, from whom LDDI enjoyed financial support over the past calendar year. This support is the program’s financial lifeblood, and a majority of the LDDI courses are funded entirely through the corporate sponsorship program. Finally, I want to thank all of the industry professionals who, over the past year, served as design project mentors, professional development mentors, guest speakers, course instructors, and in countless other ways to provide LDDI students with an educational experience unlike that at any other university – Go Hokies indeed! I hope you enjoy our final newsletter of 2020, and I look forward to connecting with you again in early 2021. Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season! Kevin D. Young, PE, M. ASCE, VT LDDI Coordinator
LDDI 2021 Winter Meeting– Save the Date Please mark your calendar and plan to join us on Friday, January 8, 2021 when LDDI will host its annual winter meeting via Zoom. The meeting will feature student presentations, an LDDI program update, and guest speakers discussing background and case studies on the Envision rating system. Virginia Tech CEE Department Head Dr. Mark Widdowson will also join the meeting to provide a departmental update. A formal invitation with additional registration information will be sent in December.
LDDI Bridges November 2020
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Timmons Group Lends Services to Brand New Central Fauquier County Sports Complex
The new Central Fauquier County Sports Complex opened in the fall of 2020 and boasts six full size rectangular fields, two little league baseball fields, two softball fields, one competition baseball field, two concession stands, two recreational pavilions, batting cages, and related amenities.
Timmons Group is a proud partner in the Central Fauquier County Sports Complex. Situated just east of Warrenton, VA on approximately 75 acres, the complex is surrounded by working farmland, the Fauquier County Fairgrounds, VEPCO substation, and an outdoor wedding venue. Since the facility is a staple of this thriving local community, Timmons Group worked with multiple user groups to formulate a plan that kept in mind the consideration of its neighbors. Timmons Group provided the final design, construction cost estimates, site and environmental permitting, drawing and specifications, and construction administration for the overall development. Fauquier County Parks and Recreation hosts multi-day sports tournaments, local sports teams, and summer camps at the facility. The complex is home to six full size rectangular fields, two little league baseball fields, two softball fields, one competition baseball field, two concession stands, two recreational pavilions, roads, trails, parking, maintenance areas, batting cages, and
related amenities. Because the facility will see lots of trafficÂ, both from pedestrians and vehicles, Timmons Group was sure to exercise a functional approach in the layout of the complex. Timmons’ plan to minimize traffic conflicts included an outer ring road that was designed to provide full site access while placing the fields and parking inboard of the main roadway. Additionally, Timmons Group accommodated ADA access to each field, amenities, and parking lots into the design. The land area also presented design challenges that influenced the final layout including steep slopes, floodplain, wetlands, specimen trees, power lines, existing structures, and entrance locations. Timmons’ response included a cut and fill project plan that avoided elements that could not be relocated, minimized wetland disturbance, and strategically located stormwater management. The final design included the use of retaining walls, a new stormwater management facility, road widening and turn lanes.
Kimley-Horn Provides Solar Expertise in Southampton, VA
Kimley-Horn responds to growing solar power interest in rural Virginia with a 100-megawatt solar-power generation facility in Southampton.
Kimley-Horn provided solar civil engineering and solar permitting services on the development of a 100-megawatt solarpower generation facility in Southampton, VA. Located on 1,200 acres, the project consisted of multiple agricultural and forested parcels located on the north and south sides of General Thomas Highway. As part of the comprehensive plan update, rezoning and conditional use permit assistance, KimleyHorn worked closely with stakeholders including adjacent property owners, planning commission members, board of supervisor members, local hunt clubs and other various interested groups; assisted in the development of proffers; presented at the public hearings; and prepared the preliminary site plan for the entitlement application. Kimley-Horn assisted the developer and Dominion Virginia Power through the final site plan process, and staff conducted a wetland delineation on the limits of disturbance for the project parcels. The delineation included identifying, flagging, and GPS locating wetlands and waters and preparing shapefiles, mapping, and a delineation report for submittal to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Kimley-Horn prepared and submitted a solar permit application for a Nationwide
Permit (NWP) from USACE. Since the project does not exceed 100-megawatts, the project is permittable by VDEQ under the Solar Permit By Rule (PBR) process. Kimley-Horn is assisting with the PBR process, which includes coordination with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF), the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the Department of Historic Resources (VDHR), Department of Mines Minerals and Energy (DMME), and the State Corporation Commission (SCC). As part of the PBR process, Kimley-Horn assessed potential impacts to threatened and endangered species based on an analysis of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), DGIF, and DCR databases and on-site habitat review. This effort included development of avoidance and minimization efforts and a technical report of findings. In addition, Kimley-Horn worked closely with DGIF and DCR through the threatened and endangered species review process. KimleyHorn also conducted meetings and outreach with the local DEQ Tidewater Regional Office for wetland permitting and as part of the PBR process.
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LDDI Bridges November 2020
Who We Are: Graham serves as Project Manager in AES Consulting Engineers’ Williamsburg, VA office and is a member of LDDI’s Advisory Board. What is your specialty within the land development industry? I specialize in commercial site design and stormwater management. What attracts you to land development? When I started at Virginia Tech, I knew I wanted to go into engineering, but I had no idea what type of engineering I wanted to learn about. When I learned what Civil Engineering was all about, I was really drawn to the idea of having a hand in designing the world around me. One of my favorite things about what I do is going to a site I designed and seeing it fully realized. Please mention the highlights of your career? The highlights of my academic career include receiving the T. Marshall Hahn Engineering scholarship entering Virginia Tech and receiving my degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech. Highlights of my professional career include earning my P.E. license, being promoted to Project Manager at AES, and winning AES’s “Highest Earner” award in 2019.
What motivated you to become involved with LDDI? Arch Marston, former president of AES, was very involved in the LDDI program from its inception and brought me on board to help with the mentoring program. Once I found out what LDDI was all about, I became very interested in being involved and helping out the program in any way I could. What do you think are the strengths of this program? I think the biggest strength of the LDDI program is how applicable the classes are to what we actually do at a Civil Engineering Firm. The advisory board’s involvement with the program ensures that it remains constantly relevant to the Land Development field. Can you please share your personal hobbies and/or interests? I enjoy golfing, running, freshwater fishing, hiking, reading, and craft beer. Could you please share something unique about you? I have been a skateboarder for 25 years and have judged quite a few skateboarding competitions around my local area.
“Through the LDDI curriculum, students have the unique opportunity to be mentored by industry professionals and to learn the skills necessary to hit the ground running when entering the land development profession.” Graham Corson, AES Consulting Engineers Project Manager
This is the time of year when many people are evaluating where to direct their end-of-year charitable donations. We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that all individual donations made to LDDI go directly to an endowment fund, with the goal of ensuring the program’s long-term sustainability. Individuals wishing to make a tax deductible donation to LDDI may do so through the Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit nonstock corporation. Virginia Tech alumni have an important role in the success of the university after graduation, and the percentage of alumni who give back annually is a key factor in the US News rankings. Before 2016, Virginia Tech averaged an annual giving rate from alumni of nine percent. Compared to peer land-grant institutions of similar size, Virginia Tech’s annual giving rate should be above 20 percent. Since 2016, more alumni have given back as the university works towards achieving 22% alumni giving each year by June 2022 or, in other words, 22% by ‘22. Last year, the university finished at 13 percent. So far this fiscal year the university is at 6.7 percent with a goal of reaching 20 percent. I ask that you consider supporting LDDI this year with a gift of any size made by December 31st, further helping Virginia Tech reach 22% by 2022! To give directly to LDDI please click HERE and reference fund number 860728 when making your donation.
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 ▪ Brookfield Homes ▪ Burgess & Niple, Inc. ▪ Cowen Design Group, LLC ▪ Delta Airport Consultants ▪ Gay and Neel, Inc. ▪ Hurt & Proffitt ▪ Land Design Consultants ▪ Lumsden Associates, P.C. ▪ Rodgers Consulting ▪ Townes Site Engineering ▪ Van Metre Homes ▪ VHB ▪ Youngblood, Tyler & Associates, P.C. SILVER Colman Engineering, PLC ▪ Eden & Associates ▪ Mattern & Craig ▪ Ramey Kemp & Associates ▪ Wetland Studies MUNICIPAL Fairfax County
LDDI Bridges November 2020 2020 has forced many changes in the way we all do things, both personally and at the organizational level. LDDI is not immune to these changes, and maintaining the student-practitioner engagement that serves as the program’s foundation has required creativity, above-and-beyond effort, and help from many of you! While events such as on-campus product exhibitions, field trips, and in-person mixers are temporarily on hold, LDDI debuted a number of new events during the fall 2020 semester and put a virtual twist on an old favorite. Once in September, and again in October, LDDI hosted virtual lunchtime information sessions. During these sessions, Kevin and Claire delivered updates on recent program happenings and provided an open Q&A forum for attendees. The president of the Sustainable Land Development Club also presented during the September session, giving an update on student club activities. The October meeting featured a presentation from CEE Assistant Professor Dr. Tripp Shealy about student impressions on climate LDDI Advisory Board member Skip Notte change. The final informational (Dewberry) chats with students during the fall 2020 session of the semester will be Career Night Mixer held on Remo. held on Friday, December 4th, and will feature a presentation from Dr. Kevin Boyle, Willis Blackwood Director of Virginia Tech’s Program in Real Estate. Prior to this fall, and for 23 consecutive semesters, LDDI hosted a Career Night Mixer on the eve of the CEE Career Fair. The mixer continued this fall, but in a virtual format via the online platform Remo. In Remo, representatives from LDDI sponsoring organizations occupied private rooms where they hosted student attendees. Students were able to move freely from room to room, and upon entry to a room they could then video chat with employers. While perhaps not quite as fun as the Hokie House, the Remo platform effectively connected students with recruiters in advance the CEE Career Fair held the following day. This semester, LDDI hosted three “Industry Professionals Panels” with the goal of better acquainting students with land development professionals beyond the site engineer. Panel One featured residential and industrial developers and municipal economic development. Panel Two highlighted engineering specialists (transportation, geotechnical, environmental) and architects. Panel Three concluded with panelists representing construction and construction support services. LDDI thanks Practitioner Involvement Chair Josh MacDonald for organizing the panels, and we look forward to hosting a similar series of presentations during the spring 2021 semester. Since 2006, a hallmark of the LDDI program has been the pairing of professional mentors with CEE 4274 students on a semester-long design project. This fall marked the inaugural semester for the 3274 student mentoring program. Differing from the arrangement in LDDI’s senior design course, the CEE 3274 mentoring program connects students with industry professionals to provide career advice, professional development, and expanded discussion of material being covered in the junior course. Roughly one-third of eligible students participated in this voluntary program, and it is planned to continue in future semesters.