As Project Principal for the Downtown Frederick Streetscape Project, I lead a multidisciplinary effort to advance predevelopment engineering and design for a transformative urban revitalization initiative. The project focuses on enhancing pedestrian infrastructure, optimizing public parking, and mitigating impacts to subsurface utilities across Downtown Frederick.

Managing the integration of topographic, boundary, and utility surveying with transportation and parking analysis to inform a comprehensive streetscape design. This includes overseeing a 15% design development phase that incorporates natural and cultural resource evaluations, such as urban forestry and landscape architecture, to support sustainable and accessible public spaces.

Coordinating closely with internal design teams, municipal departments and stakeholders to align the streetscape improvements with concurrent stormwater infrastructure upgrades, ensuring technical compatibility and cost efficiency. The design strategy prioritizes maintaining two 11-foot travel lanes and reconfiguring parking lanes to accommodate expanded sidewalks and tree planters, improving pedestrian flow and accessibility.

This work supports the City of Frederick’s CommUNITY 2030 Strategic Plan goals for sustainable urban planning, enhanced mobility, and vibrant community development. The technical scope includes survey data integration, traffic pattern modeling, utility conflict resolution, and preliminary cost estimating for future construction phases, which are projected to exceed $30 million across 15 city blocks.

Provided strategic leadership and oversight for the City of Frederick’s multi-phase flood resiliency initiative, guiding the delivery of four major storm drain and culvert infrastructure projects recommended by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These projects addressed critical urban flooding challenges through innovative design, regulatory coordination, and multi-disciplinary collaboration.

Key Projects:

• North Market Street: Oversaw the replacement of an undersized culvert with a dual 10’x4’ reinforced concrete box system, enhancing flood conveyance in the Detrick Branch corridor. Directed structural design, utility relocation, and hydraulic modeling (design in progress).

• Patrick Street: Supervised the design of a dual 8’x4’ culvert and stream daylighting solution, including pedestrian bridges and landscape integration. Managed agency coordination and environmental permitting.

• Downtown Drainage Area: Supervised the design of over 7,000 linear feet of new storm drain infrastructure across three corridors, integrating SWMM and FEMA modeling to mitigate floodplain impacts.

• Motter Avenue: Directed the design of a parallel 60” storm drain system to relieve capacity issues near the YMCA, including custom outfall structures and erosion/sediment control planning.

Ensured alignment with client goals, regulatory requirements, and technical standards while facilitating coordination among civil, structural, geotechnical, environmental, and traffic engineering disciplines. He oversaw permitting with MDE, USACE, and local agencies, and championed quality assurance, budget adherence, and schedule performance across all deliverables. His guidance was instrumental in delivering high-impact infrastructure improvements that enhanced flood resilience, public safety, and long-term sustainability for the City of Frederick.

As Project Manager, I led RK&K’s multi-phase engagement with the YMCA of Frederick County to address recurring flooding at its main branch facility, located at a low point within a 300-acre watershed. The project began with a comprehensive site study to evaluate sources of stormwater intrusion, including groundwater infiltration, sanitary sewer backups, and surface water entry through doors and windows.

I coordinated field investiations, stakeholder meetings, and desktop reviews of city infrastructure records to assess vulnerabilities and identify mitigation strategies. Our team prioritized passive, 24/7 floodproofing solutions and evaluated existing and proposed systems for effectiveness. The study culminated in a detailed report outlining recommended improvements, supported by exhibits and an opinion of probable cost.

In subsequent phases, I oversaw the redesign of floodwalls and waterproofing systems following the City of Frederick’s announcement of parallel culvert improvements that lowered the 100-year flood elevation by 2.6 feet. This allowed for significant cost savings and design optimization, including reuse of existing infrastructure and integration of automatic flood gates and barriers.

Responsibilities included:

• Managing civil and structural engineering teams

• Coordinating with city officials and subconsultants

• Overseeing site design revisions and erosion/sediment control updates

• Ensuring alignment with future city drainage improvements

• Delivering updated construction documents for bidding and implementation

This project exemplified RK&K’s collaborative approach to resilient site design and flood mitigation, and positioned the YMCA facility for long-term protection against extreme weather events.