Environmental, planning and engineering firm AKRF Inc. has opened its first Connecticut office at 700 Canal St. in Stamford ”” a location that Senior Technical Director Ashley Ley says was a natural choice.
“This was an ideal time for us to expand our business in Connecticut,” said Ley, who will help lead the New York City-based firm”™s Stamford operations. “Up until now our staff in New York and White Plains have been working the state for us, but we wanted to have a physical presence here to give us the ability to better reach clients throughout the state.”
She said the firm focused its search on Stamford and Norwalk, with the former being selected for what has become a standard set of reasons: Its burgeoning economic and demographic growth and the fact that a number of its staff live in the area, including Stamford resident Ley.
“Locating an office in Stamford will allow us to better serve our existing clients in Connecticut and offer our full range of environmental, engineering and planning capabilities to public and private sector entities across the state,” affirmed AKRF CEO Karen Franz. “For nearly four decades, AKRF has contributed to the most impactful land development, water, energy and transportation projects in the tri-state area, and we will continue to bring the same passion and level of expertise to the Stamford office.”
Ley noted that transportation systems and green infrastructure design are among the firm”™s specialties for Connecticut clients.
Recent experiences in the state include:
Ӣ Master planning for Compo Beach in Westport;
Ӣ Watershed-based management plans for the Saugatuck, Mianus and Five Mile River watersheds in Fairfield County;
Ӣ Multifamily zoning code revisions and conceptual design planning for the town of Salisbury;
Ӣ Environmental assessment for the Connecticut River Bridge replacement; and
Ӣ Economic analyses for the Interstate 84 project in Hartford.
For the Compo Beach project, objectives included: improving the traffic flow at the beach entrance as well as circulation throughout the park; evaluating the condition and usage of existing facilities at the park; recommending landscape improvements; and evaluating potential flood impact and protection. The master planning process included an extensive public engagement component, including a community charrette, interactive website and public outreach media campaign.
The firm also led the environmental review process for construction of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge that replaced the Tappan Zee Bridge.
AKRF has been the ongoing planning consultant for the village of Pelham Manor for about 15 years and is assisting the city of White Plains in completing landfill closure requirements for the Gedney Way Landfill Closure, a leaf and yard waste compost facility.
Established in 1981, AKRF provides everything from simple environmental analyses for a single building to highly complex environmental impact statements for major development and infrastructure schemes, complex site engineering tasks and hazardous materials investigation and remediation.
With 11 offices ”” the northernmost in Albany, the southernmost in Hanover, Maryland, and the westernmost in Columbus, Ohio ”” totaling more than 350 planners, engineers and scientists, AKRF expects to maintain its focus on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, Ley said.
