The HR Green Project of the Year Awards were established to recognize teams internally for projects that demonstrate HR Green’s mission to build communities and improve lives while demonstrating innovation, collaboration, client service, and financial excellence. Each business line may submit one project per region and the projects are evaluated by an internal selection committee.
A winning project is selected for each business line which includes Construction, Land Development, Governmental Services, Transportation, and Water. From the winning business line selections, one project is honored as the ultimate HR Green Project of the Year. During the month of June, we’ll share each winning project team and the project details, revealing this year’s winner at the end of the month.
Congratulations to all the project teams honored – excellent work delivering landmark projects and exemplary services to our clients!
Governmental Services
Congratulations to the Cedar Rapids Flood Control Planning and Design team for receiving both the honor of HR Green’s 2021 Governmental Services Project of the Year and the HR Green 2021 Ultimate Project of the Year! In 2008, The City of Cedar Rapids experienced one of the country’s most devastating natural disasters, causing $5.4 billion in damage to real estate and private property. The impacted area was approximately 10 square miles. In addition, over 18,000 residents were dislocated, and nearly 5,400 homes were destroyed.
The flood mitigation design focuses on levees; utility removal and relocation; related infrastructure (e.g., roads, pedestrian trails, park amenities); stormwater models that define design limits as well as fulfilling the design of pump stations, gate wells, and detention ponds; and removable walls; while our construction services team provides critical construction observation and administrative services for specific flood-related improvements.
The team adopted a design philosophy that the FCS (Flood Control System) will be present 100% of the time but will hopefully only be needed 1% of the time. The remaining 99% of the time, the system will contribute to community betterment through recreational trails, parks, and detention ponds that can also serve as recreational venues.
Top-notch work by a project team of over 150 HR Green staff! Receiving the award is Tim Cutsforth, Jim Halverson, Chad Kronlage, Teresa Stadelmann, and Ian Corbin.
Transportation
Congratulations to the Des Moines ITS Master Plan project team for receiving the honor of HR Green’s 2021 Transportation Project of the Year! The City of Des Moines desired a phased plan to evaluate and update its intelligent transportation system with the flexibility to accommodate future autonomous vehicle technology. Existing traffic signal and ITS infrastructure, including over 450 traffic signal cabinets, were efficiently and accurately inventoried utilizing an innovative ArcGIS Data Collector application loaded onto smartphones.
The ITS Master Plan provided a full deployment schedule for the recommended system, with a focus on the initial 5-year phasing plan and associated costs. The HR Green team has moved into the implementation phase with the City of Des Moines. The team has assisted the City in further evaluation of Advanced Traffic Management Software (ATMS) and advanced through the stages of PS&E package development. Phase 1 and 2 plan set packages have been let to the Contracting community. Phase 3 of the implementation plan is currently under design.
Great work by the project team Chase Cutler, Nate Buckingham, Tyler Wiles, David Bovee, Pete Lovell, and Andy Swisher (not pictured, Ted Yelton, Emily Carney, Mike Liska) for developing and implementing a future-proofed and resilient intelligent transportation system for the City of Des Moines.
Land Development
Congratulations to the Bridgeland Creek Parkway project team for receiving the honor of HR Green’s 2021 Land Development Project of the Year! Bridgeland Creek Parkway in Cypress, Texas (near Houston) serves as one of the main entrances to Prairieland Village and is located within the Cypress Creek Watershed, an area with a long history of challenges related to stormwater management.
The Howard Hughes Corporation wanted to focus on utilizing sustainable solutions in the new Village and HR Green, Inc. assisted with implementing the vision by utilizing sustainable infrastructure and low-impact design principles, a newer concept in the City of Houston and Harris County. The four-lane Bridgeland Creek Parkway design manages stormwater flows through a tiered system using vegetative swales and bio-retention basins connected to a traditional storm system.
Great work by the project team Peter Huinker, Christi Morgan, Daysi Gomez, Frank Nguyen, Jesus Montemayor, Eric Leuenberger, Richard Le, and Vinay Goel for implementing a welcoming new entrance for the community that also provides a sustainable and low-impact development.
Water
Congratulations to the Davenport Flood Resiliency Plan project team for receiving the honor of HR Green’s 2021 Water Project of the Year! In 2019, the City of Davenport, Iowa experienced record flooding when the Mississippi River exceeded the flood stage for 103 days and reached a new record crest. The event galvanized public support to re-assess the City’s approach to mitigating flood risk.
The planning process included three waves of public and stakeholder engagement opportunities; building consensus around the themes of resilience, operations, equity, and public access; and developing concepts and recommendations for structural and non-structural flood mitigation, operational efficiencies, and transportation improvements.
Great work by the project team Mike Liska, Teresa Stadelmann, Jim Halverson (Not pictured: Isaac Schrock, Jeremy Kaemmer, Jaclyn Gutman, Emily Carney, David Sibert, and Tricia Mathews) for helping the City of Davenport plan for flood resiliency.
Construction
Congratulations to the Aurora Transportation Center (ATC) project team for receiving the honor of HR Green’s 2021 Construction Project of the Year! The improvements to the ATC and the construction of a new pedestrian bridge across the Fox River were not just a local project for the City of Aurora but an improvement to the quality of life for the Northeast Illinois region. The most unique element of this project was the superstructure itself which incorporated a single hollow-box girder with multiple horizontal curves.
Great work by the project team Kevin Berry, Chris Bigall, Chris Lirot, and Matt Hanegmon on bringing the multi-award-winning amenity to fruition for the City of Aurora.
