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Tag: Dewberry

Dewberry wins $810M FEMA contract

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded Dewberry, an engineering, architecture and construction firm in Fairfax County, an $810 million contract to deliver logistics planning and construction services to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a System for Award Management (SAM) notice published Friday.

The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract will support FEMA’s Logistics Management Directorate, the agency’s major program office responsible for overseeing its logistics support, services and operations.

Dewberry is charged with supporting FEMA’s temporary direct housing activities and emergency management functions by providing emergency management planning, construction planning and management, project management, quality control, technical analyses and administrative services, according to a solicitation request. 

Dewberry is waiting until the bid protest period has ended before making public statements on the award, according to Molly Johnson, chief communications officer for the company.  

Dewberry reported $711.45 million in revenue in 2023 and has more than 2,500 employees. 

Real Estate 2023: DONALD E. STONE JR.

Stone, who has been Dewberry’s chief executive since 2010, oversees a $602.7 million engineering, architecture and construction firm with more than 60 offices nationwide.

A 1980 civil engineering graduate of The Citadel, Stone was an Army second lieutenant, and after leaving the military in 1983, he joined the engineering firm O’Brien & Gere, serving in various technical and leadership positions during his 25-year tenure. In 2008, he joined Dewberry as chief operating officer.

Since 2010, Stone has overseen the acquisition and integration of at least six businesses, adding more than 350 employees to the firm and contributing to Dewberry’s continued expansion into the Southeast and California. He is a licensed professional engineer in 18 states and Washington, D.C., a member of the Society of American Military Engineers, as well as a 2020 inductee in The Citadel’s Academy of Engineers.

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPIEST: Every quarter, I set up a phone call, a “coffee chat,” with our newly licensed engineers, architects and scientists. It’s time dedicated to hearing what they’re passionate about in their chosen profession and what they’re curious about.

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: New York Giants, The Citadel football

VEDP’s new board chair is Dewberry COO

Dan Pleasant, chief operating officer for Fairfax-based planning, design and construction company Dewberry, has been named chair of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Board of Directors.

His two-year term began July 1. The motion to approve Pleasant’s nomination passed unanimously during the 17-member board’s April 29 meeting. Pleasant has served on VEDP’s board for 10 years.

“Today, I am proud to say that the VEDP organization is a high-functioning organization with great leadership,” Pleasant said in a statement. “Additionally, we have a very engaged board of directors that supports VEDP’s leadership and advocates for support of the organization and programs that cover the entire state, including rural Virginia.”

Created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1995, VEDP supports the commonwealth’s economic development, with focuses on business recruitment, expansion and international trade.

Dewberry acquires Alabama engineering firm

Fairfax-based professional services firm Dewberry has acquired Birmingham, Alabama-based Edmonds Engineering.

A mechanical, electrical and plumbing design and facilities engineering company, Edmonds has 75 employees and five offices in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

The new subsidiary will be branded as Dewberry | Edmonds and will continue operating under its existing leadership. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Edmonds Engineering has a large footprint in the Southeast, and a strong reputation as an MEP firm in several market segments, including health care, education, laboratories, municipal, industrial, commercial  and federal,” Dewberry CEO Donald E. Stone Jr. said in a statement.

Edmonds Engineering CEO Dan Blackman said, “Our immediate comradery and strategic alignment are two of the many reasons why Edmonds Engineering is excited to join Dewberry. This will allow us to provide resources from a national firm with expertise across the U.S. and encompassing many markets and services.”

Dewberry selected to develop Va. coastal resilience plan

Updated March 19

Fairfax-based engineering and planning firm Dewberry has been awarded a $2.6 million contract by the state to develop Virginia’s first Coastal Resilience Master Plan, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday.

Dewberry, joined by Louisiana-based The Water Institute of the Gulf and Virginia subcontractors GKY & Associates, Vision Planning and Consulting, and The Miles Agency, will work with officials at the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and the master plan’s technical advisory committee to address sea-level rise and coastal flooding in Eastern Virginia, the governor’s office said in a news release. A plan based on the state’s coastal master planning framework is due in November.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding between the state and Dewberry, the plan must include a prioritized list of critical infrastructure for national security, public health and safety, and the economy, as well as a list of natural resources that are necessary to protect the area from flooding. The firm also must produce a detailed funding needs assessment and a list of recommended funding sources to implement the plan. The agreed timeline would include a final coastal flood hazard framework due April 30, a prioritized project list by Aug. 20, a funding analysis due Sept. 8 and completion of the master plan document by Nov. 30.

In recent years, Dewberry was lead consultant on Virginia Beach’s Sea Level Wise project, and the company also worked on developing Louisiana’s coastal protection and restoration plans. According to the state, about 250,000 acres and property valued at $17.4 billion are less than five feet above the high tide line in Virginia, affecting such economic drivers as Department of Defense-funded shipbuilding and ship repair projects, as well as impacting historical and cultural landmarks, fisheries and wildlife.

The contract was awarded after a request for proposals in December.

The state’s technical advisory committee was created in October by executive order and includes officials from state agencies, universities’ coastal and environmental departments and executive directors from Virginia’s coastal planning district commissions and regional commissions. Dewberry will work with the committee and Ann C. Phillips, special assistant to the governor for coastal adaptation and protection. Along with developing the master plan, the firm will also create a public outreach plan to make sure residents of coastal communities are able to provide input on the process.

“Dewberry knows Virginia, and we are ready to hit the ground running,” Dewberry Project Manager Brian Batten said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Gov. Northam’s team and the Coastal TAC to produce a sound plan for a more resilient commonwealth.”

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Dewberry to provide advanced mapping of Alaska

Fairfax-based engineering consulting firm Dewberry announced Friday it has won a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) task order to complete updated hydrography (maps of bodies of water) for the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) for approximately 9,880 square miles in northern Alaska.

An amount for the task order was not disclosed.

From 2010 to 2020, Dewberry mapped Alaska with advanced modeling including interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) data and hydro-enforced digital terrain models (DTM). The new modeling created under the Geospatial and Services Contract 3 will triple the amount of NHD features, according to the company.

“The collaborative efforts of USGS, local stakeholders, and private companies such as Dewberry are paramount to making a project like this succeed,” Dewberry Associate Vice President Mark Safran said in a statement. “The updated hydrographic features of the NHD will be a benefit to all inhabitants as well as preserving the wilderness that Alaska is known for for generations to come.”

Founded in 1956, Dewberry offers engineering, geospatial, survey, mapping, environmental and construction services to government and commercial clients. The company employs a total of 2,000 people across more than 50 locations. Last year, it reported $470.8 million in revenue. 

In late July, the company announced it would provide quality assurance services for the entire $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) project — the largest construction project in Virginia and the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) history.

 

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Dewberry names VP, business development director

Fairfax-based engineering consulting firm Dewberry announced Wednesday it has hired Jay Harper as vice president and business development director in the company’s federal group.

With more than 15 years of experience, Harper is the former senior adviser to the administrator with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In his new role, he will work with Dewberry’s federal clients, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey and FEMA.

Harper has also previously worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and during his career has focused on emergency management, government affairs, federal procurement, strategic communications, grants management, regulatory compliance, private-sector engagement and interagency coordination. He earned his bachelor’s degree in general business studies from Louisiana State University.

Founded in 1956, Dewberry offers engineering, geospatial, survey, mapping, environmental and construction services to government and commercial clients. The company employs a total of 2,000 people across more than 50 locations. Last year, it reported $470.8 million in revenue. In late July, the company announced it would provide quality assurance services for the entire $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) project — the largest construction project in Virginia and the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) history.

 

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Dewberry to provide QA for $3.8B Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel project

Fairfax-based engineering consulting firm Dewberry announced Friday it will provide quality assurance services for the entire $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) project — the largest construction project in Virginia and the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) history. 

A contract amount was not disclosed.

The Interstate 64 HRBT is currently 3.5 miles long and has two-lane tunnels which connect artificial islands with trestle bridges to shore. The expansion is expected to take five years and will include twin two-lane bored tunnels, which will increase capacity for traffic. Tunnel boring machines are being used for only the fourth time in the nation to complete the project. 

“This design-build project requires a robust quality program and our team, working in collaboration with the tunnel contractor and VDOT, will help deliver a successful construction project,” Dave Mahoney, Dewberry executive vice president, said in a statement. “The two new tunnels and bridge/roadway improvements will have a huge impact on traffic safety and ease the congestion in such a populated area of Virginia.”  

In February 2019, Hampton Roads Connector Partners, a joint venture led by New York-based Dragados USA, won the design-build contract for the project. This spring and early summer, workers relocated utilities on South Island and shifted lanes on the south-approach trestle, with North Island expansion set to start in October. To keep thousands of royal terns and other nesting seabirds out of the way of construction on South Island, a pack of 20 trained border collies are patrolling the island redirecting seabirds to a new, safe nesting ground at Fort Wool, an island off the coast of Norfolk. 

The Willoughby Bridge is scheduled for widening starting in January 2021, followed by replacement of the north and south trestles in February, as well as the widening of the Oastes Creek Bridge. Next March and April the Mason Creek Bridge is set to be widened, and the Mallory Street Bridge will be replaced. 

Land and tunnel work will happen simultaneously, with land work beginning this year and tunneling beginning in 2022. Underwater drilling will happen 24 hours per day, two years into the project. The Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission is the primary funding agent for this project, using local revenue from sales and gasoline taxes in the Hampton Roads Transportation Fund.

Founded in 1956, Dewberry offers engineering, geospatial, survey, mapping, environmental and construction services to government and commercial clients. The company employs a total of 2,000 people across more than 50 locations. Last year, it reported $470.8 million in revenue.

 

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