Stromberg/Garrigan & Associates, Inc.

It's that exciting time of year when design firms are seeking new talent, and we're no exception! Last week, we visited the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. The?Illinois School of Architecture hosted the XPO 25 Career Fair, bringing together students from Architecture, Urban & Regional Planning, and Landscape Architecture. We were thrilled by the enthusiastic turnout and the chance to connect with passionate students. Despite navigating a snowstorm, we had a fantastic time. We shared what makes our firm unique—our five core markets, strategic plan, and our position as a small firm with a national footprint owned and led by landscape architects. Interested in joining our team??Don't forget to check our website for new exciting positions. We can't wait to meet more talented individuals who share our passion for design and innovation! #careerxpo #careerdevelopment #archatillinois #landscapearchitecture #forwardyourcareer #uofi #wedesign #xpo25

Located adjacent to the neighborhoods of Gates Park, Roosevelt, and Good Shepard in Waterloo, Iowa, the former Chamberlain Manufacturing site will serve as a centrally located hub of Northern Waterloo to reconnect both the community and natural resources in a place of recreation, education, and healing. The brownfield site was originally developed as an engine and munitions production facility during WWI and has been the subject of extensive environmental remediation over the past 20 years. SGA’s park design for the site is inspired by its historical activities. Just as the Cedar River is the primary waterway of Waterloo, a central vein will define the layout of this park, built upon the preserved railroad trench that once ran across the former factory floor. This vein will be the locus of stormwater management, pollinator gardens, and environmental education on the site, while also serving as a primary conduit for connection throughout park and its surrounding context. The new park will serve as a centrally located hub of Northern Waterloo to reconnect both the community and natural resources in a place of recreation, education, and healing.

City of Shamokin residents and business and property owners came out to a public workshop highlighting our proposed design for the Independence Street streetscape improvement project as well as city-wide transportation safety recommendations as a part of the U.S. DOT funded Safe Streets for All Safety Plan. SGA, in partnership with Kittleson & Associates, is undertaking these two projects with the city, SEDA COG, and PennDOT District 3-0. It was great to see such a great turnout for the workshop focused on these major Complete Streets implementation projects that will promote multi-modal safety and foster downtown economic investment. Both projects are outcomes from the GOShamokin Downtown Revitalization Implementation Plan, prepared by SGA in 2020.

Stromberg/ Garrigan & Associates is pleased to be recognized today by the Elizabeth River Project for our Water Street Open Space project at Harbor Park, in downtown Norfolk, VA. Located next to the Berkley Bridge, the project transformed a prominent riverfront brownfield into a vibrant public space by utilizing innovative remediation techniques that incorporate public space with native habitat, a trailhead for the Elizabeth River Trail, all while achieving Virginia DEQ's voluntary clean-up program certified closure. The project integrates elements that improve the city’s resilience to sea level rise in area noted for chronic flooding. The open space is now a naturalized public refuge where residents can now touch the Elizabeth River. SGA was highlighted as a 2025 River Star Business as a company that achieved significant results in pollution prevention and wildlife habitat enhancement. Congrats to our design team on creating a great civic asset from a formerly polluted liability.

Season’s greetings from the entire SGA team!?Last week, we celebrated our staff and another successful year aboard Norfolk’s own Spirit of Norfolk. Thank you for being a part of our journey, and we wish you a happy holiday season.

Is your Brownfield a success? DEQ is updating its Brownfields Program Success Story GIS application and we need your help! If you have been involved in a Brownfield project in Virginia—whether ongoing or completed—we would love to hear your success story. DEQ is working with funding from the EPA to highlight impactful projects across the state, and your story could be featured in the updated platform. Share your Brownfield success story using the link below for consideration: https://lnkd.in/eivYxnb4

We are thrilled to announce that Ashlie Ranhorn has been promoted to Partner and appointed as our Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Ashlie has been a cornerstone of our team since 2016, managing front-end and back-end accounting, human resources, recruitment, payroll, and invoicing. Her dedication and efficiency have been critical in streamlining our operations and ensuring smooth day-to-day functioning. Promoted to Associate in 2022, Ashlie continued to demonstrate exceptional leadership and a deep understanding of our company's needs. Now, as CAO, she oversees all aspects of our operations, focusing on improving internal processes, implementing new policies, and reporting on company performance as we continue to grow. Her leadership will be instrumental in guiding us towards our future goals, adding credibility and stability to our team. Please join us in congratulating Ashlie on this significant milestone. We are honored to have her help steer our company to greater heights.

Lorimer Park, located along the scenic Pennypack Creek and the regional Pennypack Trail at the border of Philadelphia, is the oldest park in Montgomery County, PA’s park system. The park has grown over the years to 230+ acres with an extensive trail system. As a part of SGA master improvement planning process, we convene focus groups around key topics and user groups. SGA brought together regional trail groups such as SoMont Youth Mountain Biking Team which has a mission focused on engaging and training youth as a physical activity and as a sport. SoMont uses Lorimer Park as its home base. Focus groups allow for deep dive discussions to understand how people use the park today, their likes/dislikes, needs, and ideas for how to make valuable public spaces even more equitable and intertwined with what the community treasures.

SGA has been fortunate to be able to support One North, developed and managed by Our Katahdin, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes community and economic development in the Katahdin region and is leading the charge to redevelop what was once the largest newsprint paper mill in the world. We have been hired to provide a wide variety of technical support to One North through a contract with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and ICF. Out latest work advances work we provided in 2022 focused on the former R&D complex near the entrance to the mill. Our work is focusing on adaptively reusing several structures, including the large engineering & research building and the creation of mixed industry commercial waterfront campus. One North is a national model for how non-profit, community focused organizations can take on massive redevelopment projects in a systematic and incremental manner that results in significant positive economic and quality-of-life impact.

Community revitalization is intrinsically tied to a high quality-of-life of residents, especially in terms of safety and mobility. As an implementation element of the Award Winning GoShamokin Revitalization Plan for the revitalization of industrial town in the heart of the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania, the city of Shamokin was able to obtain U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Street for All grant to focus on address long-standing transportation mobility safety issues in the city. We are thrilled to be supporting Kittelson & Associates, Inc., a national leader in transportation safety action planning, in undertaking the city SS4A plan. Recent activities included a community safety workshop focused on analyzing and validation historical accident data and prioritizing potential areas for needed safety improvements. This work is also supporting the design of Shamokin’s Independence Street complete streets makeover, led by SGA with roadway engineering support by Kittelson, which is funded through federal sources and is being done under the direction of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 3-0 engineering staff.