Arizona-based civil engineering firm EPS Group, Inc. continues to build on momentum gained over the past two years. Among the many notable events the company experienced were being named ENR’s Southwest Design Firm of the Year in 2022, and successfully launching their new market office in Colorado in 2021. This year is sharing up to be even more momentous with high-profile projects nearing completion and new marquee projects getting underway.
At the top of the list of milestones EPS will achieve in 2023 is celebrating 20 years in business. Since its inception in June 2003, the company has grown from a small group of five people operating in Arizona, to a multi-state firm with 285 associates and nearly $55 million in gross revenue. This consistent growth has placed EPS on the Phoenix Business Journal’s list of the largest engineering firms in Phoenix for the past several years. As the largest locally owned multi-disciplinary firm in the state, EPS Group will always call Arizona home. Plans for further diversification, including expanding their geographic footprint will provide additional avenues for growth and stability and support the company’s goal to become the #1 Design Firm in the Southwest. With operations in Arizona and Colorado, EPS Group also has a presence in Fort Worth and plans to expand further in Texas within the next year.
“One of the founding principles of EPS Group that remain true today, is a company is only as good as the people they call their team,” said EPS Group CEO Kathey Wagner. “As professional consultants, our desire is to serve as a trusted advisor to our clients, which requires a unique blend of talents and expertise.”
EPS Group provides civil engineering, planning, land development, surveying, water resource, landscape architecture and construction management services, with associates who are certified in 14 states across the country. EPS Group expertise ranges from major public works infrastructure to large-scale private developments.
“Our culture guides our decision-making and creates the framework for our success,” added Wagner. “As our company has grown to multiple locations and many of our team members are disbursed across the United States, we’ve become more intentional in how we work to best serve the needs of our clients.”
Wagner, who began working for EPS Group in 2018 and became the firm’s first-ever CEO in 2019, was recently named an Outstanding Woman in Business by the Phoenix Business Journal, read about it here, adding to the list of numerous accolades she has received during her career. Wagner recently announced her retirement and will remain CEO until the board of directors names her successor.
“Over the course of the last five years, we’ve evolved the structure of our company to optimize the talents of our team, streamline our processes, and positioned us for regional growth,” Wagner said. “It’s now time to fully test what we’ve built and turn the keys over to the new generation of leaders to accelerate our growth and expansion into the Southwest.”
During her tenure as CEO, Wagner successfully implemented a formal leadership development program to help position the company for current and future success. Her leadership philosophy, “our team is the secret sauce,” helped her define the company’s culture, “I am EPS,” and informed the co-creation of the Career Paths and Profiles program with her leadership team. In addition, she led the design of an early identification and development program for key associates interested in ownership, and successfully launched the Path to Ownership Program in 2022 in collaboration with her board.
In 2023, EPS Group is expected to see the completion of a significant project it designed in Mesa, Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach is a 37-acre mixed-use development anchored by Revel Surf, the first surf park development in the world to feature a large traveling wave together with a stationary rapid surf wave in one park. The project also includes a hotel, office buildings, restaurants, a gym, experiential dining, retail shops, and various community spaces such as fire pits, water features, cabanas, splash pads, and outdoor games.
The company will begin engineering work on a massive development by Shopoff Realty Investments called The Block. This industrial park is planned to be up to 4.1 million square feet at full build-out and will represent a $500 million investment. The site is on 270 acres at Elliot and Sossaman Roads near the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
EPS Group saw completion of construction on Phase One of their design for the East-West Corridor in 2022. Known as the Sonoran Desert Parkway (SDP) in the City of Maricopa, the road is a high-capacity Arizona Parkway linking the City of Maricopa to Casa Grande and I-10. This corridor has been evaluated for many years, beginning with the White and Parker Major Investment Study completed by EPS Group for the City of Maricopa, followed by the more extensive East-West Corridor Study Final Design Concept Report completed for Pinal County in 2015.
Phase Two of the SDP/EWC from Porter Road to Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway begins in 2023, and the firm is well positioned to help Maricopa with the bridge crossings included in the project. After working with numerous developers in the area the company is familiar with their development plans and able to facilitate any needed coordination.
Also in 2022, the firm was awarded the Construction Management contract for Teravalis Phase One. Teravalis will be an affordable, renewable energy community focused on water conservation connecting people to everything that matters in a 37,000-acre legacy project in the far West Valley.
“As Buckeye is only 14 percent built out, EPS Group is excited to be involved in a project that will span the next 50 years supporting future generations, and we cannot wait to help bring these neighborhoods to life,” said Wagner.
EPS Group continues work on numerous projects with Bela Flor in 2023, including completion of the master water and sewer studies for AZ Water and SMCFD for a major downtown Apache Junction apartment development. The project is currently in the final stages of entitlement and rolling into permitting.
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