Rochester Business Journal

Project backlogs and client diversification have helped local engineering firms cope with the recession. For some, the slowdown began a year ago but conditions have rebounded somewhat, while others now are handling fewer projects overall.

Factors contributing to the drop-off include dysfunction in Albany. The Legislature's delay in adopting a final budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, which began April 1, has held up state office building, infrastructure and other projects.

A year ago, LaBella Associates P.C. had a significant amount of work from the state Office of General Services.

"The picture has changed now," says Sergio Esteban, CEO of LaBella Associates.

Not only have those projects faded, but the state has not paid firms for completed work since April 1.

Roughly seven engineering and architecture staffers in LaBella's 140-person work force were laid off in the last year because of the recession, but Esteban says he is cautiously optimistic about growth potential in 2011 and will consider taking on new staffers then.

"Outside the state, we are seeing a slight improvement in the economic outlook," says Esteban, whose firm works mostly in Upstate New York but also on Long Island and in northern Pennsylvania.

Typically, New York State has been a strong source of business for Bergmann Associates P.C. But the firm has seen fewer requests for proposals and procurements this year, says Thomas Mitchell, president and CEO. A diversified client base and jobs from commercial clients across the East Coast have helped the firm manage positive year-to-date growth.

Some market segments simply have held up better than others, Mitchell says. Higher education and commercial and retail design have fared well for the firm, which hired seven engineers in the last 12 months and may add staff again in the next six months. Bergmann employs 212 people in Rochester.

David Meyer, partner at Pathfinder Engineers & Architects LLP, says business is up roughly 10 percent over 2009 at the firm, but "we've had to scramble." Like its competitors, the firm has coped with delayed payments from the state.

At T.Y. Lin International, formerly FRA Engineering P.C., project volume was "not great" last year, says Patrick Waterman, director of business development. But the last two months have picked up substantially, leading the firm to advertise openings for five engineers and one administrative staffer at its offices here.

"The state agencies are still slow," says Waterman, whose company employs 65 staffers.

Recent county projects have been important for local firms. T.Y. Lin, for example, handled the design of the renovation project for the Civic Center plaza and parking garage, slated to finish construction in the fall of 2011.

Known for its austere appearance, the 45-year-old structure now is undergoing an extreme makeover, including the addition of a lengthened stairway at Court Street and Exchange Boulevard and a green roof with vegetation maintained by captured rainwater.

The $8.7 million project, which covers 470,000 square feet, has received $4.7 million in funding through the Green Innovation Grant Program in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

LaBella Associates is working as project manager and engineer on Monroe County's new, 45,000-square-foot Public Safety Laboratory. The firm encountered unusual design requirements at the high-tech crime lab, such as the need to muffle the noise from firearms testing and lessen the structure's mechanical system vibrations so that they would not interfere with microscopic analysis. Construction on the $30 million structure at Plymouth Avenue and Broad Street is under way and projected to wrap up in 2011.

Other activity on Broad Street has gen-erated work for T.Y. Lin. The firm was the lead designer on the Broad Street tunnel and now is handling services in the construction phase of the $18 million endeavor.

The project, under construction since February and administered by the city with federal and state aid, involves rehabbing the tunnel from West Main Street to Exchange Boulevard, filling the underground subway tunnel from Brown Street to West Main Street, rebuilding various intersections along Broad Street and milling and paving work.

Given recent activity at T.Y. Lin, the firm expects to meet its midyear and year-to-date goals, Waterman says. Private-sector clients have come forward to express interest in ramping up for 2011, he adds.

In other activity involving the city, LaBella Associates is assisting in the redevelopment of Midtown. The firm's work at the 8.5-acre site ranges from utility infrastructure demolition to designing new streets and a central square with gathering places.

Esteban declines to disclose the firm's revenue but says he expects LaBella to close its fiscal year this fall with slightly higher billings than in the prior year. The firm has seen growth in the environmental side of the business, which handles brownfield cleanups and asbestos abatement, he adds.

Health care organizations continue to be a bright spot for local engineering firms. One example is the Hope Lodge and Hospitality House, a $7.4 million project that involved Bergmann Associates and was completed in April.

Located at the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and run by the American Cancer Society, the hotel-like operation offers 30 free or low-cost guest rooms for out-of-town cancer, transplant and trauma patients undergoing treatment at the University of Rochester Medical Center or other area hospitals. The 28,000-square-foot space welcomes patients' caregivers as guests and includes a communal kitchen and a salon for patients coping with treatment side effects.

Higher education projects with energy-efficiency features have proved to be a boon for Pathfinder. The $15 million renovation of the 50,000-square-foot Allied Health Building at the SUNY College of Technology at Alfred is among the firm's projects, as is the $11 million renovation of MacVicar Hall dormitory, a 30,000-square-foot project now under construction at SUNY College at Brockport.

Both buildings will apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.

The city of Rochester recently hired Pathfinder to work on the Chapel of Peace, a $5 million nondenominational mausoleum at Riverside Cemetery on Lake Avenue. The structure, for which ground was broken in June, will be highly energy-efficient with a ground-source heat pump and radiant slab technology.

Project redesigns have occurred at Pathfinder as a result of the recession, Meyer says. A few churches, for instance, needed to scale back their plans to reduce costs, he says.

In the last year or so, Pathfinder has hired and laid off a few staffers. Still, the firm may add to the work force of 32 employees once the state settles the budget, Meyer says.

To balance out its client base, Pathfinder is pursuing more work out of state. The firm also has landed some private work this year-an accomplishment, given the rarity of that type of client in 2009.

"So we're encouraged that that's coming," he says.

Sheila Livadas is a Rochester-area freelance writer.