Multidisciplinary Consulting Firm Supports Quality of Life in a Changing World
DETROIT, Aug. 3, 2022—Giffels Webster, a Detroit-headquartered consulting firm specializing in planning, land development and infrastructure solutions for public, private and institutional clients, is celebrating 70 years of service in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties.
The firm’s dedication to improving the quality of life for the communities it serves is evidenced in the balance it creates between the built environment and natural resources. Giffels Webster provides a wide array of services, including civil engineering, surveying, community planning, landscape architecture, traffic engineering and geographic information systems.
With a future-focused vision that puts people and the environment at the center of every project, Giffels Webster has long helped communities and property owners in southeast Michigan achieve their goals in a manner that elevates overall quality of life. Giffels Webster is extending its reach to do the same for communities in Genesee and Livingston counties, as well as in northern Michigan.
“Our roots are in public works,” said Scott Clein, PE, LEED AP, president and CEO, Giffels Webster. ”We have evolved over the past 70 years and developed a diverse group of clients, half of whom are municipalities and counties and half of whom are private developers. This public/private mix has become a key part of who we are and affords us a unique perspective that informs our designs and benefits all our clients.”
Throughout its history, Giffels Webster has been foundational in many well-known projects in Detroit and the surrounding metro region. Two in particular show Giffels Webster’s unique expertise with alternative transportation systems while highlighting opportunities for land development and infrastructure improvements that work in harmony with the environment.
The City of Detroit chose Giffels Webster to serve as the lead consultant to create Detroit’s Urban Non-Motorized Master Plan, which initiated the concept of a robust non-motorized transportation network within the City. The City of Detroit took the recommendations of the plan and jumpstarted a revolution inside the City to improve mobility and access for all residents.
For Commerce Township’s Downtown Development Authority, Giffels Webster provided planning, surveying, civil engineering and landscape architectural services to design a new connector road, Martin Parkway, that aimed to support the Township’s municipal campus and spur economic development. The project focused on enhancing stormwater management and water quality through the design of a complex, interconnected wetland system.
“Our job as consultants is to present best practices to our clients to help them accomplish their goals in a changing world,” Clein said. “With climate change, for instance, we are experiencing storms and temperatures that test the validity of past paradigms. We’re planning and designing projects using newer ideas and technologies to allow our clients to be successful in the long run while improving quality of life for their community.”
Prominent and award-winning Detroit and Metro Detroit projects benefitting from Giffels Webster’s expertise include, but are not limited to:
- Campus Martius
- Little Caesar’s Arena | District Detroit
- Michigan Central Station
- Detroit Riverwalk (survey)
- Henry Ford Health Systems South Campus
- Hudson’s Site
- Detroit Police Athletic League (at old Tiger Stadium)
- Beacon Park
- Detroit East Riverfront Framework Plan
- Comerica Park and Ford Field (survey)
- City Modern at Brush Park
- Siren Hotel
- David Whitney Building
- Great Lakes Crossing
- Chrysler Headquarters
- Commerce Township Water Storage
- Nine Mile Streetscape (Ferndale)
- City of Clawson Downtown Master Plan
- Rochester Hills Master Plan
- City of Brighton Comprehensive Plan & Streetscape Design Project
- Lathrup Village Comprehensive Plan & Clearzoning® Ordinance
- Washington Township Wastewater Treatment Plant
About Giffels Webster
Giffels Webster is a collection of people — civil engineers, landscape architects, planners and surveyors — who choose every day to make communities better. The Michigan-based firm serves public, private, and institutional clients throughout the United States with their infrastructure needs.