Woolpert delivers industry-leading strategic planning and consulting services to owners, developers, and stewards of the built and natural environment. Whether guiding land use, infrastructure, or environmental planning, we provide geospatial project consulting, infrastructure planning solutions, and urban and regional planning support to help clients make informed decisions that shape stronger, more resilient communities.
USACE Europe District and U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) contracted the joint venture of Woolpert and Black & Veatch to provide master planning and programming services for the Poland Provided Infrastructure (PPI) program.
Woolpert Senior Associate and Project Manager Chad Hartley and Black & Veatch Federal Planning Studio Manager Steve Baird wrote an article to discuss the hurdles the project team overcame and the lessons they learned during the one-of-a-kind initiative. To read their article, please visit Challenges, Solutions, and Lessons Learned from PPI Planning in the Federal Planning Division’s 2024 Spring Newsletter.
The firm is known internationally for the exceptional planning and design of maritime facilities.
DAYTON, Ohio (Jan. 25, 2024) — Woolpert has acquired Bermello Ajamil & Partners (BA), a full-service architecture, engineering, planning, and landscape architecture firm that specializes in services for the maritime, aviation, health care, commercial, and municipal markets. Among the largest AE firms in South Florida, BA has more than 160 staff members, is headquartered in Miami, has additional offices throughout Florida, and has an office in New York.
Welcome to Woolpert, Bermello Ajamil & Partners!
BA has grown through a 30-year partnership between Chairman of the Board and Principal in Charge Willy Bermello, a leading architect in South Florida, and President and CEO Luis Ajamil, a planner and professional engineer known for his expertise in the maritime industry. Bermello and Ajamil came together through a shared goal to meet client needs by integrating innovative design and technologies to produce functional, intelligent, and sustainable solutions. This partnership has yielded more than 200 awards for design excellence and project wins across six continents.
BA is known internationally for the planning and design of cruise line and port terminals. The combination of Woolpert and BA creates an ecosystem of integrated maritime solutions that leverages architecture, marine engineering, modeling, strategic consulting, and geospatial services. These include acquiring topographic, bathymetric, and hydrographic data and imagery along coastlines and the near-shore environment.
Bermello said BA chose to join Woolpert to deepen its AE services and to successfully tap into new and adjacent industries with Woolpert’s geospatial and strategic consulting capabilities.
“Woolpert provides BA with the opportunity to expand and integrate technologies across markets, accelerate our growth in geospatial technologies and artificial intelligence, increase our geographic footprint, and enrich what our talented staff can provide our clients,” Bermello said. “Together with Woolpert, we will be able to develop and deliver comprehensive and potentially trailblazing services to coastal zones worldwide. Additionally, the combination will allow us to accelerate the growth of our aviation, health care, commercial, and municipal markets.”
Woolpert Vice President and Buildings Sector Leader Suzette Stoler said this merger enhances Woolpert’s ability to provide full architecture, engineering, and interior design services with an emphasis on strengthening design capabilities and expertise across a multitude of markets servicing both private industry and public development.
“BA is a progressive and high-performing firm that embodies our core values,” Stoler said. “Gaining bench strength and adding geospatial solutions to their architecture, engineering, and interior design capabilities will expand our collective ability to advance the built environment—whether we’re talking about ports and airports, health care facilities, educational facilities, municipal parks, hotels, etc. This combination makes us all stronger.”
Neil Churman, Woolpert chief corporate development officer, said he looks forward to working with this outstanding new team of architects and engineers.
“Willy and Luis have built BA with the same philosophy as Woolpert: To create a culture that is rooted in deep industry leadership and is continually motivated to drive innovation to benefit each client and the industry as a whole,” Churman said. “We are very excited to welcome BA into our Woolpert family.”
About Bermello Ajamil & Partners Inc.
Bermello Ajamil & Partners Inc. (BA) is an international interdisciplinary A/E firm established in 1939. Offering services that include Architecture, Engineering, Planning, Landscape Architecture, Interior Design, Public Involvement, and Construction Management. The incorporation of all these disciplines in-house allows for an efficient interface to respond to our client’s needs. BA serves various market sectors consisting of Municipal, Transportation, Aviation, Maritime, Education, Health Care, and Residential. Headquartered in Miami, the firm has offices in Florida and New York and is highly recognized for its award-winning designs and extraordinary service. The firm’s professional staff of over 153 talented individuals is always committed to embracing the client’s vision and needs first. With an abiding promise to its clients and the communities it serves, BA has the unique expertise to connect projects on an intimate level and constantly evolve the quality of life in regions around the world. The firm has consistently developed innovative design technologies resulting in intelligent, sustainable solutions that enrich the built environment.
The five-year contract will support U.S. military branches throughout 30 countries in Europe.
WIESBADEN, Germany (Dec. 3, 2024) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District has selected the joint venture of Woolpert and Black & Veatch to provide architecture, engineering, master planning, and design services under a five-year, $94.5 million contract. The contract supports military installations and projects throughout 30 European countries.
The contract, expected to be completed in September 2029, will include preparing installation and facility master plans for military infrastructure, preparing related concept designs, completing designs, and supporting documentation in support of military and other facilities.
This is Woolpert and Black & Veatch’s second-straight selection for this shared capacity, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, which was previously awarded in 2019.
“We look forward to continuing and furthering our relationship with USACE Europe by applying our expert, full spectrum of AE services and capabilities to support and enable vital U.S. defense and security capabilities and mission sets across Europe,” Woolpert Vice President and Federal Market Director Doug Brown said.
“This is a critical contract win and represents the continued trust that USACE Europe has put in our Woolpert-Black & Veatch team to complete high-profile and complex planning projects across the European theater,” said Rick Kaiser, a retired U.S. Army major general who leads Black & Veatch’s federal client segment and mission-critical solutions. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with USACE and its clients to solve the most challenging facility and infrastructure needs in support of the warfighter.”
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Follow us on www.bv.com and on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram.
Facility planning and condition assessment services provide a proactive evaluation of building systems that identifies issues early, estimates system lifespans, and plans for repairs or replacements. Woolpert champions this forward-thinking approach to promote safe, efficient, and cost-effective operations. Our expert team uses proprietary software and a user-friendly database to collect and analyze data, prioritize corrective actions, and deliver tailored strategies that support long-term facility stewardship and strategic facility planning.
The Dublin Port Company commissioned Bermello Ajamil, a wholly owned subsidiary of Woolpert, to prepare a master plan for the development of cruise tourism in Dublin. The city of Dublin has developed into a very popular destination for cruise liners in recent years. However, currently, cruise liners are accommodated at berths within the port, which are also used for other cargo operations. The scope of work included preparing a plan for the development and growth of cruise tourism in Dublin based on constructing a suitable facility at the North Wall Extension and identifying the type of facility to be built.
Collaborating closely with Marine Façade, the private entity responsible for constructing the port, Bermello Ajamil, a wholly owned subsidiary of Woolpert, spearheaded the development of a comprehensive cruise facility master plan for the Port of St. Petersburg, Russia. This master plan outlined the design of a seven-cruise ship port and ferry complex, a visionary project aimed at rejuvenating the city’s waterfront and cementing St. Petersburg’s position as a frontrunner in the region’s cruise and tourism sectors.
Bermello Ajamil, a wholly owned subsidiary of Woolpert, developed a comprehensive 30-year strategic master plan for Port Canaveral, focusing on the port’s major business sectors: cruise, cargo, fishing, parks and recreation, marine recreation, commercial development, and the emerging commercial space industry. This effort follows a cruise facilities market assessment and cruise master plan.
BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (Dec. 4, 2024) — The city of Beavercreek, Ohio, has selected Woolpert to provide stormwater management analysis services under a drainage master planning contract to help improve flood prevention and ditch erosion protection. This will be the Dayton suburb’s first comprehensive stormwater management analysis in over 40 years.
“Like many communities, the city of Beavercreek is facing more frequent flood events affecting their open-channel drainage system,” Woolpert Project Manager David DiCesare said. “This project is critical in helping identify necessary and impactful maintenance and system improvements for the city to better protect residents and properties from the impacts of flooding and soil erosion.”
Under the contract, Woolpert will examine channels and ditches experiencing natural erosion, sediment deposition, and debris accumulation, as well as identify utility and other non-natural blockages, assess culverts for blockages, and conduct condition assessments to determine access, maintenance, and structural issues.
DiCesare said that using a hydrologically correct digital elevation model, Woolpert will then develop a model of the city using the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS). Developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, HEC-RAS is a simulation software used to model the hydraulics of water flow through natural rivers and other channels.
“In combination with information gathered during our field efforts, we will catalog channel maintenance and erosion points, often reported by residents, to inventory the city’s drainage network,” DiCesare said. “This information will then be utilized to develop a HEC-RAS model, enabling us to identify potential solutions to the city’s flooding and erosion problems by delivering a detailed, phased implementation plan.”
The contract is underway and is expected to be completed in May 2025.
HOUSTON (April 18, 2024) — The Texas Department of Transportation has awarded Woolpert a $10 million contract to provide plans, specifications, and estimate (PS&E) services supporting statewide roadway and bridge reconstruction and improvement projects.
The contract will support a range of TxDOT projects, including highway widening to accommodate growing traffic demands, bridge replacement and rehabilitation, and intersection upgrades to enhance safety and traffic flow at critical intersections.
“Woolpert possesses a deep understanding of PS&E delivery requirements and we’re thrilled to join forces with TxDOT in building the future of Texas transportation,” Woolpert Project Manager David Zheng said. “We understand the importance of every road and bridge in this vast state, and our team is dedicated to delivering creative solutions that will have a lasting, positive impact on the lives of all Texans.”
Zheng said the projects will focus on enhancing roadway safety, bolstering economic growth, and reducing traffic congestion across the state’s rural and emerging urban areas, including the greater Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Austin-San Antonio areas.
“Efficient transportation networks are a pillar of Texas’ economic engine,” Zheng said. “This contract will help to ensure the structural integrity of vital infrastructure and support roadway capacity improvements to accommodate Texas’ growing urban areas, traffic demands, and business development needs.”
The contract is underway.