Electric Car Dealership coming to Westport
Shocking News! Last night in an inspiring collaborative effort between the Westport P&Z Commission, their Staff, Land Use Attorney Eric Bernheim, Architect Richard Becker, Land Use consultant Mel Barr and LANDTECH, the Commission approved an amendment to the Planning & Zoning Regulation that will allow an Electric Car Dealership to come to the vacant site at 176 Post Road West. It was a perfect storm! A challenging site, a diligent property owner Dave Ross who sought to bring by all accounts an innovative tenant to the site, the Land Use attorney to craft the amendment , a P&Z staff to support it and the Commission who conscientiously reviewed, tweaked and then voted to approved it last night. A win, win, win for Westport.
LANDTECH principal Pete Romano accompanied members of Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission today on a guided walk-through of submitted plans for “Phase II” of the Westport Weston Family YMCA’s renovations… [tx for photos to Dave Matlow & WestportNow]
As a sponsor of the American Cancer Society’s “Comedy Against Cancer” tribute to the Gault Family’s heritage of service to our community, the LANDTECH crew turned out in force to support the evening’s festivities, a salute that included stand-up comedy, food, drink and much merriment in honor of our friends…
A great time was had by all Sunday for the Wakeman Town Farm’s Annual Fall Beer Garden event. We had games, hula hoops and arts and crafts for the kids, plenty of tasty BBQ and other treats, craft beers on hand for the grown-ups, live music, a scarecrow workshop and lots more… and all for a great cause! [photos courtesy Dave Matlow]…
Connecticut architect Bruce Beinfield’s creative designs for the redevelopment of 280 Main Street in Norwalk have cleared another recent hurdle. A recent Connecticut Appellate Court ruling removed final obstacles preventing developers from moving forward. The project will convert a large vacant lot (at one time an EPA superfund site) into a retail center with the potential to revitalize a large section of Norwalk’s Main Street. The project’s design calls for front-facing buildings to present as small, manageable individual structures in a town-house setting. LANDTECH is providing civil engineering, site planning and management of permits and the approvals process.
LANDTECH is sometimes accused of Approval-Seeking Behavior, and happily for us and our clients, it’s working… so far, for the second phase of construction of the Westport Weston Family YMCA, we have secured…
LANDTECH was delighted to be a Siver Sponsor for this year’s hugely successful Westport Rotary Club Lobster Fest at Compo Beach. Over 1,200 attendees and volunteers showed up for the sold-out event, and a great time was had by all! [tx for photos by Dave Matlow and WestportNow]…
The Westport Weston Family YMCA’s new location is one the of the projects LANDTECH is most proud to be a part of. The Y has announced a phase II expansion plan which will include gymnastics, spinning, yoga, kids club and lots more. LandTech is thrilled to be site design engineers of record and administering local land-use design and permitting for the project… [hat tip to Dan Woog’s 06880 blog]
Work is plowing ahead, so to speak, as our work on the Maplewood Senior Living facility in Southport CT continues. LANDTECH is doing a complete ecological restoration of the grounds, includes environmental cleanup, replanting with native species and creation of a permanent, protected biodiverse habitat for plants and wildlife…
Hard to believe school is coming fast! LANDTECH’s interns, who have been a fabulous bunch this summer, are getting ready to mosy back to school, starting with Tyler Smith, who is headed to Georgia Tech. He will be missed, but we had a nice picnic send-off in the Grill Section of our World Headquarters – on National Interns Day no less!
A hopping Saturday here in lovely Westport, Connecticut, with a fine arts festival downtown, the library’s huge outdoor book sale, and our favorite: Wakeman Town Farm’s Family Fun Day. “The Two Peters” are dishing out Saugatuck Sweets ice cream while the music plays, the kids do sports and face painting and everyone has a great time, for a great cause. [photos courtesy of Dave Matlow and WestportNow]
Saugatuck Sweets, the sweet shoppe owned by Al DiGuido (of Al’s Angels Fame) and our very own Pete Romano, garnered top honors – and is featured on the cover of July’s WESTPORT Magazine – for the Best of Gold Coast Award for the best Ice Cream and Candy Shop! The editors complimented the shop’s offerings in an ‘old-fashioned, slow-down shoppe’ atmosphere. We noted with delicious irony the same cover featuring an article on “220 Top Dentists”…
Samantha Cheruk is back for her third summer interning with us here at LANDTECH. The Villanova senior is majoring in environmental science and geography, and will be working in the field and helping with filing, writing reports and other office duties. One of her focuses will be assisting our transition into GIS (Geographical Information Systems) software for projects, a major part of her school studies. Very cool stuff.
LANDTECH is proud to have Skylar Capasso interning with us for the summer. In the fall she will be a returning sophomore at Cornell where she’ll continue her computer science studies in the College of Engineering. Sklyar was recently recognized as a John McMullen Dean’s Scholar. She also volunteered for 50+ hrs of community service focusing time on helping with the Special Olympics.
LANDTECH summer interns & aspiring engineers Samantha Cheruk and Skylar Capasso help out posting legal notice that paves the way to make room for an outstanding new project coming later in the year, a custom-designed luxury residence on Saugatuck Island.
LANDTECH intern James O’Brien just completed the Fairfield Faxon Law Half Marathon at Jennings Beach. His first half marathon, he scored 44th place in a field of 1,980 finishers, in just under 1.5 hrs! Congratulations to James, who says “I’m working to build up to a full marathon, and always enjoy exploring new areas!” We are proud of you!
LANDTECH’s work on the ecological restoration of Maplewood Senior Living’s extensive grounds in Southport CT is continuing. These aerial photos give a good overview of work in progress, including a complete environmental cleanup, replacement of invasive plants with native species, the creation of a permanent biodiverse and protected habitat for plants and wildlife. Plus, beautiful scenic views to come…
Each year The Society of Women Engineers presents awards for achievement to two high school students, one female and one male. One of this year’s recipients is our very own Tyler Smith, who is interning with LANDTECH this summer. Tyler is interested in engineering, is a hard worker and easy-going company, and we’re delighted he’s with us for the summer. He is headed to Georgia Tech in the fall, and they will be fortunate to have him…
The Interns are Coming! The Interns are Coming! LANDTECH is pleased to welcome our interns for the summer season of learning. From left to right are Samantha Cheruk, James O’Brien, both returning from last year, and newcomers Tyler Smith and Skylar Capasso. More about each of them will follow soon…
The Frog Whisperer: some folks spend their free time bowling, others like to read or binge-watch favorite shows. And some, like LANDTECH scientist Tom Ryder, spend their off hours inspecting vernal pools, doing deep diving to bond with tadpoles, spring peepers, wood frogs and more…
LANDTECH is part of the team awarded an AIA Connecticut Design Honor Award for the Lanphier Center at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford CT. Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, this math and science center was designed using sustainable architecture to promote a combination of science and art interests for students. LANDTECH provided civil engineering and environmental science, and guided the project through the multi-step approvals process. 
For our team members Andy Soumelidis, PE and Curt Lowenstein, EIT, months of hard work and relentless study into the wee hours paid off. They both passed the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering exam, which comes with great satisfaction and some letters after your name. LANDTECH is tremendously proud of both of them, and the champagne was served all around….
LandTech has been awarded a 2017 AIA Connecticut Design Award for contributions to the Trolley House in Norwalk, CT. The 3,400 square foot house sits on a narrow spit of land surrounded by a tidal estuary. Landtech provided site planning and environmental engineering, as well as coastal permitting and management of the approvals process in this environmentally sensitive location. 
Once again, Santa Claus arrived by police patrol boat on the Saugatuck River to join kids and their families in this year’s huge turnout for the Saugatuck Center Christmas tree lighting. Santa brought good cheer, presents and lots of smiles to little faces. Well, almost all the faces – not everyone likes Santa Claus, apparently! Also, astute onlookers commented that (not unlike Superman & Clark Kent) when Santa arrives, LANDTECH’s Pete Romano is nowhere to be found.
After how-many-years of vacancy and one pitched zoning battle after another, Westport’s Saugatuck denizens can finally look forward to a supermarket in their midst.. 
Westport’s Historic District Commission honored LANDTECH pals Peter Wormser and Liz Milwe and Wakeman Town Farm for the restoration and addition to the John S. Wakeman historic 1908 farmhouse. The Farm and the new Tim’s Kitchen addition have evolved into the hot new educational spot for kids and adults learning about organic farming, community supported agriculture and green living. Congratulations, Peter and Liz and the dozens of other volunteers at WTF (including our own Pete Romano) who worked so hard on this project! [photo courtesy of Dave Matlow and WestportNow]
Some people will do anything to get out of the office: LANDTECH biologists Tom Ryder and Chris Allan are just completing an “electrofishing” project in northeast Connecticut. They’ve been tasked with collecting population samples of small fish from different reaches of the French River in support of an ecotoxicological study underway.
One of our favorite places of all time! Paci’s of Southport is open again after additions and renovation are completed. They have added a spectacular bar that extends along train tracks, an outdoor dining area and restorations to the restaurant’s interior. LANDTECH assisted with the site plans, permitting and approvals through the local P&Z, the parking authority and the State of CT Department of transportation railways division. If you liked Paci’s before, you will love it now.
Hundreds turned out Saturday night for the Wakeman Town Farm Harvest Fest dinner and fundraiser. The event brought in the new season, celebrating the amazing growth and accomplishments of the Farm in recent years with produce straight from the farm’s gardens. Local chefs created specialty dishes and attendees expressed their gratitude! [photo courtesy of our friends at 
LANDTECH scientists Tom Ryder and Chris Allan have been busy designing and overseeing a complete ecological restoration of a conservation area that is part of the Maplewoods Senior Living facility in Southport, Connecticut. The multi-year project will include replacing non-native invasive plants with healthy new meadow and shrub species and restoring and enhancing habitats for native wildlife.