Justin’s Place: The Nest
Fort Worth, Texas
Expertise
- Community
Services
- civil engineering
- land surveying
- structural engineering
- landscape architecture
BHB provided civil and structural engineering, landscape architecture, and topographic & boundary surveying for Justin’s Place new transformative project, designed to provide a safe haven and a path to self-sufficiency for single mothers and their children. Set on 12 acres, this nonprofit women’s shelter is more than just a place to stay; it’s where moms can turn their lives around. Collaborating closely with the developer and project architect, we developed a site plan to meet the needs of this unique development. The project, currently under construction, will include 24 duplex units, offering a mix of 1,100 square feet 2-bedroom/1-bath units and 1,200 square feet 3-bedroom/1-bath units. In addition, two administrative buildings are connected by a covered walkway, totaling approximately 5,000 square feet, and a third 5,000 square-foot building designated as a community center and daycare. These facilities ensure that residents have access to essential services and support right on-site.
BHB’s civil engineering services included:
- Securing zoning for the Planned Development (PD) project.
- Platting the property.
Civil engineering tasks also encompassed a flood study, obtaining a floodplain development permit, and developing private and public infrastructure plans, including water, sanitary sewer, grading, and drainage plans. The civil team navigated the City of Fort Worth’s Community Facility Agreement process for the public infrastructure supporting the project.
BHB’s structural engineering services for the community building are designed as a dogtrot cabin with two buildings connected by one roof and a breezeway. Our structural design featured:
- A stiffened slab foundation with a tree well in the breezeway.
- Heavy timber trusses, steel canopies, and conventional wood framing.
- Header beams to allow for an open space concept.
To address budget constraints, we explored value-engineered solutions, such as using multiple conventional wood trusses instead of heavy timber framing, to help reduce project costs.
Our landscape architecture team worked closely with the owner and architectural team. The site and landscape plans preserved natural areas along Sycamore School Road’s frontage and the floodplain within Sycamore Creek. Overall site design included enhanced landscaping, tree preservation, tree planting, and buffer landscaping.
The BHB landscape architecture team prepared plans to comply with the City of Fort Worth urban forestry and landscape ordinances, as well as full landscape construction documents. Drawings included landscape planting, plant and materials lists, landscape details, and landscape specifications.
We have also been very active in construction administration and have continued to support the cause behind Justin’s Place. BHB was the presenting sponsor of the Women Empowering Women luncheon and fundraiser to raise awareness and support the Justin’s Place mission, including funding for the completion of The Nest.
Key People
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Ronald Ishmael, PE, LEED AP
Ronald Ishmael, PE, LEED AP
Senior Associate | Structural Engineer
Growing up, Ronald’s family had strong ties to the construction industry and was often involved in some type of construction project – whether it be for a local nonprofit, family members, or the farm he lived on. In fact, his childhood home was a barn that his parents turned into a house. It comes as no surprise that Ronald knew he wanted a career in construction from a young age, and his success in mathematics pushed him toward engineering. He attended Texas A&M University to pursue a degree in construction management through the civil engineering department. During his last semester, however, the degree program was altered, and he decided to switch to the specialty of structural engineering. The unplanned change of course turned out to be exactly what Ronald had been looking for.
Now, he has garnered nearly 15 years of diverse industry experience and continues his journey at BHB as the firm’s first structural engineer. His background includes structural design services for new and existing buildings, structural assessments and evaluations, historic preservation, and forensic failure investigations. Ronald has experience with multiple construction materials such as steel, concrete, wood/timber, cold formed steel, ICF, foundations, and FRP, and has extensive experience in elevated concrete design. He is also heavily involved in the Fort Worth Structural Engineers Association of Texas (SEAoT) and is a past president of the International Concrete Repair Institute.
Outside of the office walls, Ronald spends his spare time with his wife, a high school anatomy and forensics teacher, and two children, Laykin and Cohen. He can often be found fishing, working on personal construction projects including his wife’s classroom, playing with his kids, and rooting for the Texas A&M football team. Ronald also enjoys traveling to unique places and finding activities that involve communicating and interacting with local residents. His recent expeditions include visiting off-the-path wineries in Napa and Sonoma, finding local hot spots in Alaska, and taking a road trip through the Philippines.
Education
Texas A&M University:
Bachelor’s Degree/2006/Civil Engineering
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Tom Kellogg, RLA
Tom Kellogg, RLA
Associate | Senior Landscape Architect
As a Landscape Architect, Tom Kellogg has experience working in a project management position for both multi-disciplinary firms and landscape architecture design firms. His project history includes a wide variety of types, including parks and recreation, commercial landscape design, streetscapes, multi-family developments, and multimodal recreation trails.
Living only a mile away from our Grapevine office, Tom discovered BHB while he was riding his bike and instantly wished he could work here. As it turned out, BHB was looking for a landscape architect at the time, and the rest is history.
Outside of work Tom enjoys bicycling, something he’s loved doing since he was a kid. Tom also enjoys camping, traveling, visiting museums, and playing video games with his teenage son, Colin.
Project Experience
Imperial Construction Office and Shop
Monterra Medical Campus
Park Hill Surgery Center
The Bowden: Event & Weddings
Education
University of Arkansas:
Bachelor’s Degree/1982/Landscape Architecture -
Joe LaCroix, PE
Joe LaCroix, PE
Principal | Civil Engineer
An explorer at heart, Joe once had dreams of following in the footsteps of Lewis & Clark. He loves to travel to any new place, exploring and discovering the many experiences that the world has to offer. His calling here at home, though, is the creative design process of civil engineering. He was drawn to this line of work for the opportunity to work with clients and take their vision for a project to design on paper, through construction, and into the built world. As a principal at BHB, he enjoys the ability to work on a wide variety of projects while also being involved in the Texas Society of Professional Engineers and the MATHCOUNTS program. Joe is also a graduate of the Professional Engineer Leadership Institute.
Outside of work, he enjoys traveling with his wife Meridith, and is a scoutmaster for a local Boy Scout Troop.
Education
University of Texas at Arlington:
Bachelors/2013/Civil Engineering
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John Margotta, RPLS
John Margotta, RPLS
Vice President of Land Surveying
John Margotta has been with BHB for over 20 years. Previously, John worked for a company that provided surveying services to BHB. Shortly after BHB added a surveying department, John joined the team and is now the head of the surveying department. He has provided field and office supervision on land surveying projects for public and privately funded projects, including the DFW Airport, City of Fort Worth, TXU Electric, Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., Trinity River Authority, Federal Aviation Administration, TxDOT, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Railtran, and Fort Worth Transportation Authority.
In high school, John held the rank of Master in the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (World Chess Federation). Outside of work, John loves cooking, football and karaoke. If he wasn’t a land surveyor, John would be a chef. “Cooking is very relaxing to me and I feel like I’m creating something good out of raw ingredients that may or may not taste good by themselves.” John’s favorite place to visit is New York City because he loves the different cultures, food, and architecture it has to offer.
John is an active member of the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors and the National Society of Professional Surveyors. He also volunteers for Skills USA, teaching high school-aged kids, who compete in local, state and national competitions, about land surveying.
John has two kids, a son who who graduated from The University of North Texas with a degree in graphic design, and a daughter who works for Mothers Milk Bank of North Texas, a nonprofit that collects breastmilk from healthy, nursing mothers who have a surplus and is dispensed to premature and fragile infants without access to their mother’s own milk. He also has one granddaughter. John’s favorite quote is from Winston Churchill, “Success is not final; failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts,” because he believes that one is never finished in life and even if you fail, at least you tried.
Project Experience
Catholic Charities of Fort Worth
Fort Worth Country Day Lou and Nick Martin Campus Center
Fort Worth Country Day Sid W. Richardson Visual Arts Center
Imperial Construction Office and Shop
Early Learning Center
Meadowview Estates Channel Improvements
Monterra Medical Campus
Park Hill Surgery Center
Presbyterian Night Shelter Morris Foundation Women & Children's Center
Rogers Road Pavilion
Saint Patrick Cathedral Parish Hall
Star-Telegram Building
Tarrant County Downtown Courthouse
Texas Wesleyan University Rosedale Renaissance
Education
ITT Technical Institute