Featured Project: LandStudies Collaboration

Brubacher’s strategic approach to project planning is key to producing beneficial results for our clients and to being good stewards of the natural environments where we work. The Painters Crossing project, which included complex stormwater management and a culvert replacement in a condominium complex community in Delaware County, PA, presented an opportunity for a unique collaboration with LandStudies, Inc., a company at the forefront of innovative water management solutions.

The development’s location, near a wetlands area in the region of a floodplain, required stream channel realignment and naturalization. The LandStudies team was engaged very early in project planning and provided a design plan that aimed to restore the stream to its natural layout and support the surrounding residential area. This thoughtful preparation ensured a sitework and storm management plan that would best serve the owner, the community, and the surrounding natural landscape.

The Painters Crossing project included a pond, dam, and impoundment where flooding and erosion were occurring. After LandStudies performed a feasibility study and assisted with permit authorizations, Brubacher began construction on the stream channel realignment, returning the area to a wetland as it was originally (prior to settlement). The end result provided many benefits to the Painters Crossing community and environment, including:

• lowering a FEMA 100-year floodplain
• updating a condominium building to be out of the FEMA-regulated floodplain
• eliminating maintenance of the pond and liability associated with ownership of the dam and spillway
• improving long-term stability of the site, bio-diversity and aesthetics
• reducing erosion and sediment deposition downstream
• reducing pollution and improving water quality
• improving infrastructure protection, infiltration, and system stability

“We have a great relationship with LandStudies, the conservation districts, developers, and municipalities. We all work together towards a common goal,” shared Allan D., Director of Estimating and Project Management. “There are environmental benefits and economic benefits that come from a thoughtful project design, and if something doesn’t go as planned, we provide the Insight. On Site.® that Brubacher promises and make adjustments as needed to keep working towards achieving our clients’ goals.”

“We recognize that LandStudies’ value proposition can have a great impact for more clients,” added Melvin P., Chief Operations Officer. “This approach to stormwater management design helps increase the square footage that clients can build on, gaining buildable space and more revenue opportunity while also taking care of our natural environment.”

Kelly Gutshall, President of LandStudies and Landscape Architect, shared her feedback on the Painter’s Crossing project and collaboration with Brubacher:

“One of the key reasons why Brubacher and LandStudies worked so well together is because we saw how similar our values were in how we want to provide clients with long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes. We take a holistic approach, looking at how we can provide a myriad of benefits – aesthetically, for wildlife habitat, flood reduction, groundwater recharge, buildable areas, and more. We believe in Economic Ecology, the blending of providing economic benefit while also improving the environment, and we’re always looking for ways to approach our clients’ challenges effectively and efficiently. Brubacher handled every task well and had the right piece of equipment on site as soon as it was needed. The team really excelled in many ways that made a big difference for a more challenging project like this one.”

We look forward to collaborating on future projects to help our clients improve their land and stormwater management strategies while maximizing their buildable space for economic use. Protecting our planet and delivering solutions that create positive environmental impacts is an important part of delivering on our mission of Shaping The World We Live In.

 Interested in learning more about working with LandStudies and Brubacher? Reach out to our team to start a conversation about your next construction project!