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1950s |
Dewberry was established in 1956 as a six-person surveying and engineering firm. Originally known as Greenhorne, O’Mara, Dewberry & Nealon, the first office was located in Arlington, VA. |
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1960s |
The firm’s work in residential land development grew considerably. Projects such as the landmark Montgomery Village in Montgomery County, MD, and Kings Park in Fairfax County, VA, were launched. Dewberry’s early work in the transportation field included runway and support system design for Washington National Airport (now Reagan National). Computers were first used by the firm in 1964. By 1965, the firm had grown to over 50 employees and had relocated to Fairfax, where the headquarters remains today. |
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1970s |
The firm pursued growth and an active diversification of services. By the early 1970s, Dewberry began to be recognized for its cartographic services, as well as expertise in architecture and urban planning and design. In 1974, the firm was awarded a technical assistance contract for FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Project. Dewberry continues this and other work for FEMA today. By the late 1970s, the firm had also become a leading regional consultant in municipal and environmental engineering services, program management, and landscape architecture. Dewberry now had more than 500 employees and several regional offices throughout Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Major projects included Pentagon City; the Lake Ridge planned community in Prince William County, VA; the Biological Sciences building at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus; and Fair Oaks Shopping Center in Fairfax County. |
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1980s |
In 1981, the firm celebrated its 25th anniversary with a name change, a new look, and a new home. The name was changed to Dewberry & Davis; a new logo introduced the “berry” symbol; and the 600+ employee firm moved into its current headquarters location at 8401 Arlington Boulevard in Fairfax, VA. The six-story building was designed by Dewberry architects and engineers. The firm acquires the mechanical/electrical engineering firm of TOLK, Inc. in 1981. The firm was among the first design consultants in the nation to embrace widespread use of computer-aided design and drafting. Beginning in 1981, consulting services to FEMA were expanded to include nationwide response to Presidentially-declared disasters. The Dewberry & Davis Institute, a broad-based professional development program for employees, was launched in 1984. Major projects included work for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; design of the Dulles Toll Road; military projects throughout the US and Europe; the Avenel golf course and community in Montgomery County, MD; the Fairfax County Parkway; Tysons II in Northern Virginia; and surveying and mapping for the White House and national monument grounds. Disaster response work took the firm throughout the US and its territories. In 1989, Goodkind & O’Dea joined the Dewberry family of companies. The firm was a major northeast engineering presence specializing in transportation and civil infrastructure and design, with offices in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. |
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1990s |
The firm continued to diversify and expand, with new regional offices and services. Projects included rehabilitation of New York City’s Riverside Drive Viaduct; the Lansdowne Executive Conference Resort in Loudoun County, VA; George Mason University’s Prince William Institute in Prince William County; VA; several industrial projects throughout the southeast; new educational facilities; pier restoration projects in New York Harbor; and expanded work in mapping, disaster response, and emergency management for FEMA. The firm’s leadership in environmental services broadened to encompass wide-ranging services in hazardous materials management, as well as cutting-edge expertise in water resources and coastal engineering. Pennsylvania-based Capitol Engineering Corporation was acquired in 1993; followed by Oklahoma-based HTB, Inc.; Connecticut-based Philip A. Genovese & Associates, Inc., in 1995; Baltimore's the Beavin Company in 1997; and Boston’s Anderson-Nichols & Company in 1999. The firm's employees numbered nearly 1,600. |
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2000s |
The firm continues to engineer many landmark infrastructure projects, including the SR 288 extension in Richmond; numerous projects for DOTs in the mid-Atlantic and the northeast; design-build projects at the Pentagon; major airport and transit improvements; as well as program management initiatives for FEMA and the US Department of Labor. John P. Fowler II, PE, who joined the firm in 1983, was named chief executive officer in 2001. Sidney O. Dewberry and Barry K. Dewberry continue as chairman and vice chairman of the board, respectively. Ronald L. Ewing, PE, RLS, joined the firm in 2002 as chief operating officer. In an enterprise-wide corporate unification, all Dewberry companies become known simply as Dewberry. The Ranson, WV firm of Appalachian Surveys is acquired by Dewberry. The 19-person practice, established in 1979, provides surveying, land planning, and civil engineering services to both private- and public-sector clients throughout the eastern panhandle region of West Virginia and in western Maryland. Dewberry opens an office in Culpeper, VA in 2004. Dewberry and Peoria, IL-based PSA (Phillips Swager Associates), agree to merge their architecture and building design operations in the fall of 2004. The new entity is named PSA-Dewberry. Ronald L. Ewing, PE, RLS becomes Dewberry's chief executive officer in April 2005. Dewberry assists FEMA and other clients in their response to Hurricane Katrina, the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. In 2006, the firm celebrates its 50th anniversary. The Tampa, FL, office opens on Aug. 1, 2006 and the New Orleans, LA, office opens October 23, 2006. The Frederick, MD, office opens in February 2007. In the Fall of 2007 Dewberry opens its IES Engineers-Dewberry office in Chapel Hill, NC, as well as two project offices in Sacramento and Los Angeles, CA. Also in 2007, Randy Gibson, SE, PE, is named president of PSA-Dewberry. Donald E. Stone, Jr., PE joined Dewberry as chief operating officer in December 2008. |
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