News Coverage

Orlando -  GAI Consultants, Inc. has named Lawrence S. Gendzier as corporate legal counsel.

In his thirty-year career, Mr. Gendzier spent more than 20 years with the Florida Department of Transportation. He will work in GAI's Orlando office.

“Larry is a well-known figure in the industry, with more than two decades of experience specific to eminent domain and transportation issues,” President and CEO Gary M. DeJidas said. “We are pleased to have him join our team and bring his rich transportation industry experience as GAI grows in 2010.”

Most recently, Mr. Gendzier served as FDOT’s statewide eminent domain attorney and chief eminent domain attorney in District Five. His project teams were responsible for critical decision-making early in the roadway design process, litigating large dollar parcels, and generating strategies to empower FDOT’s right-of-way department. Mr. Gendzier has also represented private owners in condemnation cases and since 2003, has been a certified circuit court mediator with a solid record of getting cases resolved.

Active in industry associations, including the Florida Bar Eminent Domain Committee, Mr. Gendzier is also a highly regarded speaker for FDOT, the International Right of Way Association, the Association of Eminent Domain Professionals, and CLE International.

Mr. Gendzier earned an undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Florida and graduated from the Florida State University College of Law.

Orlando - Ustler Development has begun construction on the GAI Building, a premier downtown Orlando “green” office building that will house the Orlando Office of GAI Consultants, Inc.’s Southeast regional operations.

The $30 million project is a seven-story, 105,000 rentable-square-foot office building with an integrated parking garage for 300 spaces. Located at 618 East South Street in downtown Orlando’s South Eola District, the building is designed by Baker Barrios Architects. Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor.

The GAI Building is downtown Orlando’s first privately developed green office building. Upon completion, Ustler Development will apply for the U.S. Green Building Council’s silver LEED certification.

“This is one of the few bright spots of private development in a challenging market,” Ustler Development President Craig Ustler said. “It’s a great accomplishment to keep GAI downtown and add their signature building to our skyline.”

“After 25 years in downtown Orlando, GAI is proud to have its name on this significant development,” noted GAI President Gary DeJidas. GAI, which established operations in the city in 1982, will initially move 100 professionals to occupy about 62,000 rentable square feet on the building’s top two floors, and plans to grow to 200 employees there.

“Combining the hundreds of people who will work on this building’s construction with GAI’s plans to expand their workforce, this puts Central Floridians to work at a time when it is most needed,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said.

Orlando - Jeffrey M. “Rusty” Sievers, P.E., has been elected to the Association of Eminent Domain Professionals’ 2010 board of directors.

Mr. Sievers is Southeast Regional Manager and Executive Vice President at GAI Consultants, Inc. and has over 40 years of civil engineering experience. Since 1990, he has managed and participated in eminent domain projects for GAI’s Florida offices, and frequently provides expert witness testimony for civil court cases.

The Association of Eminent Domain Professionals (AEDP), based in West Palm Beach, Fla., is a state-wide professional organization for Florida experts in the eminent domain field. Members include real estate appraisers, traffic engineers, accountants, planners, and attorneys. The 300-member group provides a source for property owners and government clients seeking the highest quality experts for condemnation proceedings.

Mr. Sievers holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Valparaiso University in Indiana. He is affiliated with the American Society of Highway Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

Orlando - Doug Kelly, AICP, has been elected president of the Orlando Metro Section of the American Planning Association’s Florida Chapter.

Mr. Kelly is Planning Department Manager at GAI Consultants, Inc. in Orlando and has over 27 years of specialized planning and project manager experience. His professional experience includes due diligence, land use entitlement, site planning, preparation of land development codes and comprehensive plans, redevelopment planning and eminent domain planning analysis, and appraisal support services.

An APA member since 1992, Mr. Kelly has previously served as the Orlando Metro Section’s secretary and director. He also recently served as state president of the Florida Planning & Zoning Association.

Mr. Kelly holds a Masters of Arts in urban and regional planning from the University of Florida. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Florida APA Award of Excellence for the Gainesville Illustrated Land Development Code and an FPZA State Board of Directors Resolution for 15 years of continuing contribution to the state. Mr. Kelly has also served as an AICP training course instructor for the past ten years.

APA Florida’s Orlando Metro Section covers Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Sumter counties and includes planners, architects, and government officials involved in the planning process. The 500-member section provides networking opportunities and monitors legislation impacting growth management.

During his two-year term as section president, Mr. Kelly will also sit on APA Florida’s executive committee.

Pittsburgh, PA - GAI Consultants, Inc. is pleased to sponsor Design Pittsburgh 2009. On Oct. 22, the coveted Design Awards and the prestigious Gold Medal Award will be presented at the August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.

A signature program of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Design Pittsburgh highlights excellence in architecture and design in the Pittsburgh region. AIA Pittsburgh’s film, “Pittsburgh Placemakers: Architecture and the Urban Fabric” underscores the value of good design and the role architects serve in shaping and designing Pittsburgh.

As a sponsor and supporter of AIA Pittsburgh, we recognize the value and impact of good design in our community. We are proud to partner with AIA Pittsburgh to celebrate and recognize the best architectural and design achievements of the past year.

Export, PA – GAI Consultants, Inc., a multi-discipline engineering firm, announces the opening of its Westmoreland County, Pa., office. A ribbon-cutting event Thursday, Sept. 24, at 4101 Triangle Lane in Murrysville formally marks GAI’s expanded operations, which will serve municipal and energy clients in the county 15 miles east of Pittsburgh. 

Working as an extension of GAI-Pittsburgh, the civil, geotechnical, and environmental engineering staff will specialize in power plant and power distribution engineering in one of western Pennsylvania’s fastest growing counties. The 10,000 square-foot space will house 30 engineers and technicians, with plans to eventually staff 45, and will complement the diversified services offered by GAI’s Pittsburgh office.

“GAI’s commitment to providing the best service possible to our clients drove the decision to open a second location in the region,” said COO and Senior Vice President Anthony Morrocco, P.E., P.L.S. “With an increasing amount of work in the area, we seized the opportunity to establish a larger presence. We are looking forward to growing in Westmoreland County and adding to the dynamic local business environment.”

The new location, known as GAI-Murrysville, is GAI’s thirteenth branch office and fourth new opening in 2009 alone, following openings in Charlotte, N.C., Tampa, Fla., and Boca Raton, Fla., earlier this year.

“Our plan for navigating the difficult economy has been to position ourselves in future growth areas,” said President and CEO Gary DeJidas, P.E. “Establishing GAI in one of western Pennsylvania’s fastest-growing counties goes hand-in-hand with that strategy.”

More than a dozen of GAI Consultants Inc.’s top officers and senior managers will earn MBA degrees through Point Park University’s newly launched innovative program that delivers on-site MBA coursework to GAI’s offices via Web conferencing. Fourteen employees, including President and CEO Gary DeJidas, P.E., will participate in the program’s inaugural class, which began Sept. 1 and is slated for Fall 2011 completion. Point Park faculty will lead live classes using WebEx conferencing technology to reach six office locations, a new initiative for the downtown Pittsburgh-based university.

“In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s not enough for our engineers and other professionals to have just technical expertise,” DeJidas said. “This MBA program will really make a difference in providing GAI’s current and future leaders with the broad business tools needed to succeed in today’s ever-changing global environment.”

The new initiative also fits with the president’s staff development goal of all senior executive employees holding advanced degrees. With company-subsidized tuition, GAI’s senior leaders will obtain an MBA degree for less than $8,000.

“The MBA program is the final accomplishment in GAI’s formal leadership development program and it sets us apart from many firms in the United States,” Chief Human Resources Officer David Mollish said. “Our contacts at Point Park were extremely accommodating, and understood GAI’s business demands, our on-site needs and our multi-state learning environment.”

In addition to DeJidas, the following employees have enrolled in the MBA program: COO Tony Morrocco; CFO Karl Palvisak; CHRO David Mollish; GAI-Charleston Managing Officer Elwood Penn; GAI-Cincinnati Managing Officer Tom Chaney; GAI-Philadelphia Branch Manager Harry Trout; GAI-Orlando Managing Officer Rick Cima; Engineering Manager Kevin Leadbetter; Senior Engineering Director Ray Sutherland; Environmental Manager Jennifer Broush; Senior Director of Environmental and Energy Services Steve Gould; and Director of Transmission Line and Structural Engineering Steve Miller. GAI prides itself on its comprehensive continuing education program, which works to engage employees at all levels in enhancing technical, business, leadership and management skills.