Morris-Depew Associates, Inc.

With the holidays upon us and a new year ahead, the Morris-Depew Team is reflecting on 2020 and the significance of all that has transpired this year. We appreciate the opportunities 2020 has brought and are thankful for the trust our clients have placed in us to bring their visions to life.

While some projects are underway, others are getting started and some are coming to completion, we at Morris-Depew Associates are also evolving, adapting and expanding in an exciting way.

In this end-of-year newsletter, you’ll learn more about our important corporate restructuring and strategic growth, hear more about an important transition of one of our founders, and celebrate with us a number of community-impact projects.

It’s truly been a year for the record books, but as Benjamin Franklin once said, “Out of adversity, comes opportunity.” We are discovering new ways to connect, innovate and create – all in an effort to better serve our clients, our community and our industry.

A friendly reminder: Our offices will be closed December 25th and will reopen Jan. 4, 2021. Our COVID operations also remain in effect until further notice, including limited in-person meetings, virtual appointments and social distancing.

We wish you and your family a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!

In a year of transformation, it’s also appropriate that we share an important operational change. We are excited to announce the formal transition of our new executive leadership:

Tina M. Ekblad, AICP

President & Director of Planning

Bill Morris, PE

Chairman & Director of Engineering

Ryan Shute, PE

Director of Operations

The last several years have allowed for an optimal transition for our leadership to observe, learn and step into their new roles. This means, our clients won’t experience any change in operational excellence.

What has transpired during this time is a focus on expanded operational processes, more efficient methods, enhanced budget forecasting and robust service reporting.

We’ve also welcomed new clients and expanded services for others including the Destin and Delray Beach areas. We’ve expanded the team in Fort Myers in response to growing engineering and planning department needs. Welcomed Michael Rooks as the Director of Survey and incorporated Michael Ekblad, the Director of Landscape Architecture, into the firm’s Leadership Team.

During such an unprecedented and transformational year, we are seeing a resurgence in development, continued investments in commercial and industrial, and a greater emphasis on environmental stewardship. We have enjoyed rising to the challenge of designing and permitting the communities of tomorrow and look forward to the continued growth in the year ahead.

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church on Boca Grande island will be adding a new 3,642-Square-foot Parish Hall and covered walkway connecting to the existing church building on site. This project presented some unique challenges related to its location in the Boca Grande historic district as well as the conversion of a single-family parcel into the supporting new Parish hall.

Located at the SW quadrant of the “Five Points” intersection with McGregor Blvd and Cleveland Avenue, this redevelopment project is scheduled to break ground soon. After several failed attempts for development, HOS Management/ Development out of Atlanta brought the project team of BASE 4 Architects and Morris-Depew Associates to design and permit the proposed five story, 111-room Hampton Inn hotel.

The Morris-Depew project team led by Bill Morris, PE, LEED ® AP on Civil Engineering and Michael Ekblad, PLA on Landscape Architecture also included Design Engineer Paul Torocco, EI, and Landscape Architecture Staff Matt Lincolnhol, PLA and Taylor Maggiorani with Permit Coordination support from MarySue Groth.

Due to the unique triangular shape of the site, the project required creative design to provide supporting water management and parking infrastructure while maintaining the existing established heritage trees on-site. The project’s three street frontages also necessitated extensive collaboration with the City of Fort Myers to address the design requirements of the Downtown Overlay as well as FDOT for Access and Drainage approvals.

A new community is coming soon in the desirable Corkscrew Corridor. Corkscrew Estates (previously referred to as Corkscrew Ranch) by Pulte Homes will offer 59 exclusive new estate homesites of nearly an acre, most with views of the community’s nature preserves, lakes, or both. The lushly landscaped neighborhood will feature long, elegant paver-covered driveways complementing a selection of newly designed and Pulte home designs.

Morris-Depew Associates’ land planning, survey, engineering and landscape architecture team has had a longstanding history with this location. From its earlier days as an agricultural site, to its current use for residential, the firm’s experienced and knowledgeable professionals have helped guide the transition of uses and density to realize the possibilities for this new community.