WATERTOWN — Salina–based engineering firm Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. (B&L) has added a senior managing engineer to its office in Watertown.
The addition of Matthew Cooper brings the employee count in that office to eight, says Eric Pond, VP in the firm’s water division who oversees the Watertown office.
The eight employees in Watertown, which includes Pond, are part of B&L’s overall employee count of about 255 in offices in New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Pond spoke with CNYBJ at B&L’s headquarters at 443 Electronics Parkway in Salina on June 15.
Barton & Loguidice is an engineering, planning, environmental, and landscape-architecture firm.
Cooper, who previously worked for Watertown–based Bernier Carr & Associates, will lead the firm’s work on public and private-sector projects in the Watertown office, says Pond.
He will be responsible for all aspects of project management including initial feasibility evaluations, project scoping, funding and grant assistance, permitting, design, regulatory compliance, bidding assistance, and construction administration, the company says.
B&L launched its Watertown office in January 2013 because it has employees who live in the area and projects it works on in the region.
“It really just got to the point where it made sense … that with the volume of work we had in the North Country, the staff that we had in the North Country … out of a commitment to our staff and our clients, it made perfect sense to establish that office,” says Pond.
The firm is looking to generate “organic” growth in its Watertown office, says Pond. “That’s how B&L operates,” he says.
B&L doesn’t have a “set target” for an employee count in Watertown, but is “always looking to expand,” according to John Brusa, Jr., president and CEO of Barton & Loguidice, who joined Pond for the interview with CNYBJ.
“It really comes down to talent,” says Brusa. “Having the additional office [in Watertown] is a great way to recruit additional talent from that area.”
With its “increased presence” in Watertown, Pond says B&L has “more interaction” with the community and “more exposure” to clients.
“By default, you get more North Country work … It’s just the way it works,” he adds.
Project work
B&L is working on water and wastewater projects with the towns of Pamelia and Hounsfield in Jefferson County and a water project in the town of Denmark in Lewis County, according to Pond.
The firm is also working on a new sewage-treatment plant for Boldt Castle in Alexandria Bay.
Its work on private-sector projects includes three paper mills in the area, along with “a lot of smaller projects,” such as pump replacements, assistance with drainage, and facility expansions.
Cooper is overseeing B&L’s work in designing a water-treatment plant for a paper mill in St. Lawrence County, says Pond. He didn’t name the client, saying he hadn’t sought its permission ahead of time.
B&L’s transportation group oversaw the reconstruction of Watertown’s Factory Street, which was finished during the spring, according to Pond. That effort is “segueing” into the Western Boulevard project, which he described as a “a long-awaited improvement in the city.”
“It really connects Arsenal Street to Coffeen Street through the Stateway Plaza,” says Pond.
“It’s been a very high-profile project,” adds Brusa.
About B&L
Founded in 1961, Barton & Loguidice is headquartered in a 38,000-square-foot building at 443 Electronics Parkway in the town of Salina.
It moved there from the Thruway Office Building at 290 Elwood Davis Road in Salina in November 2015.
Its lease at the Thruway Office Building was set to expire, according to Brusa, so the firm considered some options for new space before deciding to make the short move to the Electronics Parkway building.
“This option gave us the opportunity to reprogram the space from scratch and be more efficient and more modern with our technology as well as energy efficiency,” says Brusa.
The firm leases its building in Salina from First Republic Corporation of America, which owns the Holiday Inn Syracuse–Liverpool, next door.
Barton & Loguidice’s Watertown office operates in a 2,000-square-foot space at 120 Washington St.
The firm has 22 owners, four of whom are principal owners who sit on the company’s board of directors. Brusa is among the four principal owners, he says. Each of the 22 owners control different percentages of the company.
Barton & Loguidice generated revenue of $37.8 million during 2016 and is seeking to produce $41 million in revenue this year, says Brusa.
As of June 15, the firm has 1,250 active projects it is working on, according to Brusa.
Besides its Salina headquarters and Watertown office, Barton & Loguidice has New York offices in Rochester, Newburgh, Ellenville, New Paltz, and Albany, with additional locations in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania and Lanham, Maryland.