Coastal Capabilities will Provide Great Resources for Communities GRAEF Renames its Miami office

Consulting Engineering & Science Inc. (CES) was renamed as the Miami office of GRAEF. The name change recently was announced and celebrated with an open house at The Wharf Miami. View more photos from the event here.

“We want to build on the regional brand of CES by officially making it part of the GRAEF corporate family, which includes a broader spectrum of excellent client services,” said John Kissinger, president and chief executive officer of GRAEF. “This is all part of our company’s plan to establish a regional Southeast hub in Florida.”

GRAEF’s Florida operations were bolstered earlier this year with the promotion of former CES Vice President Nelson Ortiz, P.E. as leader of its Miami office, which is located at 9400 S. Dadeland Blvd., Suite 601.

Ortiz has more than 23 years of experience in the areas of land development, utility systems design and coastal engineering. He has been responsible for the design, preparation of construction documents and construction administration for a variety of residential and commercial site development, roadway, stormwater management and drainage, water and sewer, and coastal projects.

The company also is retaining CES co-founders John Guttman, P.E., as a coastal market leader and Richard Bochnovich, P.E. as an Infrastructure Practice Area Leader.

Guttman and Bochnovich each have more than four decades of experience in all areas of civil, coastal, environmental, sanitary and utility engineering. They have been extensively involved in the planning, permitting, design and construction of a wide variety of both private and public civil and coastal projects throughout South Florida and the Caribbean.

GRAEF recently expanded its Florida capabilities by adding Ed Freer and Abbie Wilson, P.E. with expertise in Coastal/Waterfront design and Sea Level Rise.

Freer has more than 45 years of experience nationally and has worked on many coastal projects throughout the nation, creating go-to destinations. Many of those projects have helped communities embrace and maximize the water’s edge.

Wilson has more than 13 years of experience locally and nationally, and her background is in engineering shoreline protection and marsh mitigation/restoration that promote environmental sustainability. Wilson also brings extensive knowledge of stormwater infrastructure and resilient design.

“Our company is expanding our footprint in Florida with the addition of leaders in the industry,” Ortiz said. “We believe the Florida market provides tremendous opportunities for our services in planning, designing and engineering coastal, fresh water and transportation projects throughout the state.”

In addition to the Miami office, GRAEF operates another Sunshine State office in Orlando.

“The services our company provides can be of great use for private developments and communities throughout Florida,” Kissinger said.