Underhill is Five!

It is amazing to think about it but Underhill Engineering is now celebrating its 5th birthday. It seems like yesterday when I started Underhill, registering it in Greene County, Virginia in 2015, initially as a sole proprietorship. The firm's first project was a home in Ednam, a referral from UVA's Civil Engineering Department. From that humble start, we built on the residential work, expanding to commercial projects such as Riverside Plaza and Harvest Moon Catering. The firm also built a strong footprint in public housing work with Friendship Court and Westhaven. In late 2015, we organized as an LLC and opened shop in downtown Charlottesville.

In 2016, our portfolio expanded with Virginia Distillery Co., Rosewood Village, Keswick Estate, CHEMetrics, Tandem Friends School, Hollymead Bojangles, and T&N Printing's Annex. 2017 brought Three Notch'd Brewery, the Rt 15 Water Tank, greenway projects in Harrisonburg and Elkton, and several bridge and dam projects. I was also accepted in the CIC entrepreneurship training workshop - that experience proved invaluable, giving me the confidence to take the leap of faith and hire Susan Ray, Staff Engineer, the firm's first full-time hire (we also took that opportunity to provide health insurance and retirement benefits - a feature that I remain proud of as a new company).

In 2018, the firm continued to build on its success adding more bridges and dams (and a tunnel project), Ruckersville Self Storage, new subdivision work, fire and rescue projects, Montessori School, numerous worship facilities, apartment complexes, and more commercial projects. I also became a facilitator at CIC, where I could give a little back to the organization that had provided me with so much insight in growing the business.

In 2019, we expanded our presence at Keswick; added more road, bridge, and dam projects; sinkhole evaluations; apartment buildings and winery projects; the Price Hyundai dealership; Murphy's Coffee & Bagel shop (very fine coffee!); the WVIR tower replacement; Cherry Hill WTP; work at Wintergreen Resort; and the Center for Christian Study. Our geographic service footprint expanded to the Valley, Northern Virginia, and the greater Richmond area. With this momentum, the firm brought on Elliot White, Staff Engineer, and Kate Tryon, Operations Coordinator, and we moved to our current location at the Randolph Building on East Market.

Of course, this journey would not have been possible without the family members, friends, fellow professionals, and clients who have and continue to support us. It is truly a blessing - I thank you all for making Underhill a success, and I look forward to working with each of you as we continue on this journey.

Chris