Michael Baker International Awarded $2.2 Million Contract to Provide Civil Engineering Services to a 200-Acre Master Planned Community in Palm Desert, California

Palm Desert, Calif. – Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services, today announced that it has been awarded a $2.2 million contract to serve as a prime consultant to University Park Investors, LLC  to provide civil engineering and survey services associated with the development of a residential master plan featuring approximately 1,000 dwelling units as part of the University Park Specific Plan in the City of Palm Desert, California.  This award is an extension of the previous work completed by Michael Baker, consisting of the assessment district plans for major infrastructure—sewer, water, streets and mass grading—serving the project site.

The 200-acre University Park master planned community is contemplated to consist of several villages containing a variety of housing products, including attached townhouses, multi-family, alley loaded units, cluster motor court homes, conventional small lot single family detached residential.  Villages will feature a host of recreational and open space uses, and share a main recreational amenity that serves the entire University Park community.

The community will be designed to provide a variety of housing types, densities, designs and a mix of uses and services to support healthy and active lifestyles for existing and future residents. The University Park Specific Plan emphasizes the preservation of open spaces by providing connections to nature trails and parks.

The University Park Specific Plan provides the development framework for the master planned community that will cater equally to families, young professionals and older residents. In addition to a variety of housing options, the community will ultimately include the future home of the California State University, Palm Desert campus. As a featured attraction of the community, the “Grand Paseo”—a desert garden trail, art exhibits and displays of desert landscaping—will serve as the entrance to The Grove, a central community recreational and meeting area consisting of community gardens, event courts, an amenity center, recreational pool and covered playground.  The Grand Paseo and The Grove will form the center of a looping “Art Walk” which incorporates open space parks and art experiences.

“Michael Baker is proud to play a key role in assisting the developer and City of Palm Desert to continue a long tradition of creating high-quality desert neighborhoods while shifting toward more compact, sustainable and pedestrian-oriented designs,” said Mike Tylman, Michael Baker’s West Region Practice Lead for Land Development. “We Make a Difference by supporting the design of amenity-rich communities that balance high-quality open spaces with urban areas to foster interaction, activity and safety.”

As part of the contract, the Michael Baker team will support site planning efforts and provide core civil engineering design services, including grading, infrastructure design and mapping.

In-tract improvement construction is scheduled to begin early 2019, with project buildout anticipated by 2027.

About Michael Baker International

Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services, including design, planning, architectural, environmental, construction and program management.  The company provides its comprehensive range of services and solutions to support U.S. federal, state, and municipal governments, foreign allied governments, and a wide range of commercial clients.  Michael Baker’s more than 3,000 employees across nearly 100 locations are committed to a culture of innovation, collaboration and technological advancement to help solve challenges for clients and communities throughout the country. To learn more, visit www.mbakerintl.com.