LKMA welcomes next generation of leadership, adds
services, expands throughout the northeast

Brookhaven, NY Among Long Island’s prominent design and engineering firms, L.K. McLean Associates (LKMA) stands out as a success story of longevity, innovation, stability and loyal clients. The venerable engineering firm enters its 74^th year in business with new leadership, extending the company’s ownership to senior employees and energetically expanding its services and markets to include mechanical engineering and new geographic areas of New York City, Connecticut and the Lower Hudson Valley.

Valuing its in-house expertise and culture, the firm’s retiring CEO, Raymond DiBiase, PE passed the leadership baton on to new CEO and president Robert Steele, PE. Steele joined LKMA in 1999 and has served as executive vice president since 2018. A civil engineer, he has over 25 years of experience in the design of highways, drainage systems, waterfront facilities and coastal resiliency projects. Under Steele’s leadership, LKMA is reinforcing existing relationships with municipal, state and private clients, while embarking on offering new services and a regional expansion.

A team of senior executives has joined Steele in managing the firm’s specific service units and overall growth. They include principals Tamara Stillman, PLS (survey services), Matthew Jedlicka, LEED AP (design and construction of civil, marine and building projects, Long Island’s East End), and Christine Belson, MBA, SHRM–SCP (human resources, finance and operations) as well as vice presidents James DeKoning, PE (airport site design, highway design and construction inspection), Christopher Dwyer (solid waste services, public works design and construction), and Keith Masseria, PE (marine and coastal engineering, drainage and highway design).

While municipal work remains the firm’s mainstay, LKMA’s 14 professional disciplines encompass all specialties necessary for public approvals, launching development projects and long-term operation of existing facilities.

“Through its work with municipal and state clients, our firm has developed a thorough understanding of each public agency’s design standards and regulations. This experience makes obtaining approvals from local and state entities significantly easier for LKMA’s private clients,” said Steele. “Many leading national and regional property developers and corporations recognize the benefits of working with our team, repeatedly retaining LKMA for their projects. These include Conifer Realty, Zenith Group, Elecnor Hawkeye and Sheltair Aviation, to name a few,” he said. LKMA’s services include:

• Building design

• Coastal and marine engineering

• Construction administration and inspection

• Drainage design, hydraulic and hydrologic studies

• Environmental services

• Fish passage design

• Highway design and complete streets

• Historic building preservation

• Mechanical engineering

• Parks and recreation design

• Permitting services

• Site and civil engineering

• Solid waste compliance

• Survey and geospatial services

• Traffic, transportation and airport design and inspections.

LKMA has won numerous awards for its projects, including several recognitions from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). Its work for Conifer Realty on the award-winning Peconic Crossing Apartment Complex in Riverhead, NY transformed a blighted commercial site on Main St. into 45 energy-efficient apartments for art-related professionals. Providing site, civil, marine, coastal and land development design and permitting services, LKMA obtained approvals from the NYSDOT, Suffolk County DPW, Town of Riverhead Planning Board and the Riverhead water and sewer authorities.

The firm’s work for public clients is just as efficient and innovative. When Hurricane Sandy’s floodwaters destroyed the Ocean Beach, NY Ferry Terminal, LKMA stepped in to complete a two-phase reconstruction of the beloved structure that is a gateway to this island community. The redesign, which won a coveted ACEC Diamond Award, turned the terminal into a new multi-use building that meets functional needs of both the residents and summer visitors, including a local police headquarters. In an effort to protect the building against future storms, the design incorporated wet floodproofing, elevated mechanical systems and a pile foundation resistant to loads from hurricane-force winds.

In the transportation infrastructure market, the company’s work also continuously makes a positive impact on the community. The improvements LKMA made to the CR19 intersection in Patchogue, NY significantly improved pedestrian and vehicular safety. Prior to the upgrades, there was a number of accidents caused by the crossing’s confusing geometry and speeding drivers. LKMA redesigned the intersection as a traffic-calming single-lane roundabout, installed a traffic signal and implemented other pedestrian safety improvements. LKMA’s engineers also solved the issue of the roadway discharging untreated stormwater directly into the nearby river and lake by designing green infrastructure solutions, including bioretention basins and grass swales.

While mapping its growth strategy, LKMA still values the continuity of its relationships the most. “Our public and private clients recognize the responsiveness of our team and the quality of engineering we provide. These relationships are the foundation of the firm, which we instill in each new generation of employees,” said Steele. “Looking towards the future, we see opportunities in bringing the same qualities and expertise to new clients. Those new markets include site development and coastal and marine engineering projects in communities outside of Long Island. New York City, coastal Connecticut and riverfront areas along the Hudson River are among our new targets. Our relationships with architects and builders active in those regions are already opening new doors for us.”

Photos courtesy of LKMA.