After two decades of working on countless projects in Omaha and the surrounding communities, Kyle Vohl, PE, a civil engineer/project manager for E & A Consulting Group, Inc. is working on projects in his childhood hometown of Ralston. Ralston had been fully developed to its jurisdictional boundary for 20 years until recent redevelopment projects associated with the Hinge Master Plan changed that.
Kyle got his first ‘real world’ engineering experience at Ralston High School while participating in the Society of American Military Engineers Student Mentoring Program. His team project was a renovation to Ralston High. The team ended up presenting at the National Competition held in Omaha and to the Ralston High School Board. Many of the team’s concepts were incorporated into the final design that was bonded and constructed in the following years.
Fast forward over 20 years, and Kyle is actively involved in the Hinge Flats apartments (formerly Zhev’s Place) that are currently under construction on what was once a parking lot. The City of Ralston selected the proposal from Jerry Reimer of Urban Waters/Village, teamed with Opticos Design, trb Architecture, Dicon Construction and E&A for the $5 million project. The 36-unit apartment project with garage under parking is taking shape downtown. E&A performed the topographic and construction surveys, platting and civil engineering.
A few blocks to the east, the first key component of the Ralston Hinge Master Plan has broken ground, beginning the renovation of the historic Ralston Granary. This $14 million project repurposes much of the Granary building into a mix of uses. The adjacent ground to the east will include three-story townhomes with office and retail space on the first floor.
A public walkway called the Muse will separate the Granary building from the new buildings and lead to an impressive Granary Green. This plaza space includes a stage and gigantic video board to host a variety of events. Gordon Whitten of I See It Ventures is the developer for the project. The team includes E&A, Studio 951 Architects, RA Construction, Structural Design Group and Branch Pattern. E&A has provided survey, planning, entitlements, civil design, utility coordination and construction services for the project.
While Kyle takes pride in every project he has worked on, he is especially fond of these. “It’s different when you drive past the baseball fields you grew up on and the hill you watch the fourth of July parade from to get to your project sites.”
