Oates Associates St. Louis Office Celebrates Five Years of Growth Despite Recession

Jeffrey Rensing, PE, is the manager of the St. Louis office of Oates Associates. The Oates Associates staff includes registered professionals providing services for engineering, architecture, planning and landscape architecture.

The past five years may have been the most difficult in recent history to expand a construction-related business, but the St. Louis office of Oates Associates, an engineering and architectural firm, has thrived.

Oates Associates overall 2011 revenue is expected to total $5.5 million, up from $4.6 million last year. Oates CEO Joe Hagerty attributes much of that growth to strong performance by the St. Louis office, contracts with the Illinois Department of Transportation – up 35 percent from last year to $2.4 million – and the addition of building services. The firm also has an office in Collinsville, Illinois

“We’ve tackled a variety of interesting projects throughout the St. Louis region over the past five years, from the River Des Peres in Forest Park to Stablestone in Chesterfield and the Wildwood Community Park Master Plan,” said Jeffrey Rensing, P.E., manager of Oates Associates’ St. Louis office.

The Metropolitan Sewer District contracted Oates Associates in 2008 to inspect the massive 32-foot concrete pipes that carry the River Des Peres under Forest Park, to determine whether recent park renovations had affected the city’s historic storm water and sewage system.

In Chesterfield, Oates Associates engineered the reconstruction of Stablestone Drive, a project that received an honor award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Missouri. The federally-funded road reconstruction included unique traffic calming features, replacement of pavement, and handicap accessible sidewalk improvements.

Oates Associates currently is leading the planning team of Nelson Byrd Woltz and Vector Communications in developing a conceptual plan for a world-class park in Wildwood that will balance the site’s rolling hills, grasslands, native woodlands and creek with the social and recreational needs of residents.

The St. Louis office of Oates Associates also has been awarded projects with Great Rivers Greenway, the cities of St. Louis, Maplewood, Maryland Heights, St. Charles County, St. Charles and Arnold and other clients.

“We’re very pleased with the growth rate of our St. Louis office, particularly in these challenging economic times,” said Joe Hagerty. Since the first full year of operations, the office has average three new clients each year.