The West End Subdivision is located west of the McGregor Airport and northeast of the intersection of Highway 84 and Val Verde Road lying both in the City of McGregor and the ETJ of the City of Waco. The existing 397-acre tract has been utilized for agriculture purposes with adjacent properties being utilized for residential, agricultural, commercial, and air traffic purposes. Due to substantial growth in the area for both residential and commercial use, our client wanted a master-planned community with commercial spaces available for a childcare facility, assisted living facility, etc.

We began this project by conducting a Boundary survey of the entire proposed development, which consisted of approximately 400 acres adjoining the McGregor Airport and having river frontage along the Middle Bosque River. In order to ensure this property was suitable for our client’s intended use, we utilized Lidar to produce a preliminary topographic survey of the entire property. This Lidar topographic survey was then used to construct a preliminary site and grading plan that allowed the client to determine the feasibility of the project. Once our client decided to proceed with the project, we conducted an on-the-ground topographic survey to collect all necessary data (above and below ground utilities, more topographic data, all other improvements) for full Civil construction plans.

This Master-Planned community consists of 610 single-family / garden home lots along with a few commercial lots along the main entry street. In addition to the typical on-site utilities that had to be designed, this site also required substantial off-site improvements to water and sewer in order to service this planned community. Off-site sewer improvements required the design of 6,463 linear feet of 8”-12” sewer lines run along Highway 84 and then bored underneath the highway to a lift station on the opposite side. Also, over 3 miles of off-site water lines had to be designed to connect in to a line large enough to supply this community and to loop the system back into an existing neighborhood. 1519 utilized drone technology to collect aerial imagery and topographic data. A full set of Civil Construction Plans was produced for Phase 1 along with the master plat for all future phases.

1519 provided work for the Coca-Cola bottling plant located on the corner of Imperial and Hewitt Drive. Our Surveyors and Engineers provided services for a parking lot, building expansion, detention ponds, and future development at the plant. One of the key unique challenges to this project was the fact that this was an operating plant with a high amount of truck traffic in our project area. As such, it was next to impossible to conduct the needed survey work with traditional methods and maintain a safe working environment. We used one of our UAVs to collect the required topographic data and other site features needed for Civil Design.

Civil Design/Surveying Services Included:
• General Construction Notes
• Dimension Control Plan
• Site Utility Design
• Planning & Zoning ordinances
• Pre/Post Drainage Calculations
• Modified Rational Method Detention Design
• TxDOT had to approve since we were along a TxDOT ROW
• Paving Design
• Grading Plan
• Water, Sanitary & Sewer
• Closed Conduit Storm Drain System Design
• Had to avoid an 8” water main that supplied the entire plant
• Erosion Control Plan
• Landscape & Irrigation Plans
• Construction Specifications
• Permitting Services

This project consisted of a 160-acre Boundary and Topographic survey along the Brazos River that was used for the Civil Engineering design for the new football stadium. Timing and confidentiality on this project were extremely important as the plan for a new stadium was not yet known to the general public. As such, 1519 placed multiple crews on this project and took all logos off of trucks and equipment so they could not be identified.

As part of the survey, Second Order Horizontal and Vertical Control was set throughout the project site to ensure the highest accuracy standards for the planned Civil Engineering design that included not only the stadium but a marina and multiple platforms along the Brazos River. There were also multiple major utility lines affecting the property that could have made construction of the stadium impossible. As such, all above ground and below ground utilities were located and surveyed, which resulted in a major electrical transmission line needing to be relocated.

In addition to these services, the Gradient Boundary of the Brazos River had to be determined in order to establish the boundary between the proposed site and the state-owned Brazos riverbed. It was determined that there was a deed overlap between the Baylor property and the Lake rights that the City of Waco had to hold water within the riverbed. This required a meeting with the General Land Office of Texas to resolve the encroachment of Lake Brazos (City of Waco property) on this Baylor property.

Obviously, one of the main objectives was for Baylor to acquire the property and to fully understand the legal boundaries of what they were planning on purchasing. The metes and bounds survey with all easements (which included I-35 and multiple franchise utilities), rights of way, utility locations, and all topographic data were provided to the client in AutoCad and Shape files along with the ASCII, TIN and DTM files.

The Tanglewood Estates Subdivision is located in the City of Woodway, at the corner of Old McGregor Road and Ritchie Road. The existing 169-acre tract had been utilized for agricultural purposes. Due to substantial growth in the area, our client hired us to create a master-planned community for custom homes with shared amenities such as parks and walking trails.

1519 Surveying, LLC (1519) conducted a boundary survey of 169-acres for the previous owner prior to the development of the subdivision. The data for the boundary survey was taken with high-tech aerial survey equipment flown by 1519’s FAA-certified drone pilot. Once the property was sold, the new owner contacted 1519 to do additional work for the purpose of residential development. For Phase 1, land surveyors conducted an in-depth on-the-ground topographic survey of 67-acres to collect data for a preliminary site and grading plan. In addition, 1519 conducted the platting process to create boundaries, right-of-way, and parcels that were unique to the project.

1519 engineers conducted a feasibility study of the property that included analysis of zoning, available utilities, preliminary dentition requirements, submittal procedures, and permitting fees. 1519 also communicated with TxDOT, The City of Woodway, and utility companies to determine development requirements for the property. After completion of the study, the client received a summary report and conceptual master site plan of the entire development showing the lot layout.

A full set of Civil Construction Plans were produced for Phase 1, along with a concept plan for all future phases. The subdivision contains 487 lots used for single-family lots and the associated utility work, street construction, detention ponds, walking trails, and shared parks.  Onsite improvements consisted of 32,000 linear feet of 8-inch water main and 28,000 linear feet of gravity sewer pipe. All offsite utilities were tied to City of Waco mains located on the property frontage. Additionally, plans for a series of detention ponds for the subdivision’s parks were produced. Amenities on the property include a 3-acre park, several 1-acre pocket parks, walking trails, and green space.

1519 Surveying, LLC (1519) was hired by Northgate Waco, LLC through a competitive bid process to provide Land Surveying and Civil Engineering to support the development of the site, the CLOMR/LOMR study, and submittals. The proposed 217-acre project is located on the banks of the Bosque River with large portions of the subject property lying in FEMA flood zone AE and some portions lying within the floodway of the Bosque River.

The client’s master plan included a 109-acre campground and RV park along the river with the remaining acreage to be developed into commercial and/or multi-family properties at some time in the future. The client desired to maximize developable land by removing as much of the property from the FEMA designated floodplain as possible through an extensive flood study and CLOMR/LOMR submittal.  As part of the CLOMR submittal, a Floodplain Reclamation Study of the entire site was conducted along with a Waters of the US determination.

1519 also conducted a boundary survey and topographic survey of the site, along 9,500 linear feet of the Bosque River. Due to the majority of the acreage being farmland, we utilized an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to capture topographic data over most of the property. The remaining topographic data along the river’s edge was gathered using a traditional surveying field crew and equipment. The challenging issue on this project was gathering the topographic cross-sections of the river.  The constant high-water levels of this river (it is dammed downstream and fluctuates very little) required a remote-control boat with hydrographic surveying equipment attached to collect the topography of the river bottom along this two-mile stretch of river. Additionally, since this area had never been developed, there were very mature trees throughout the site that the City of Waco requested be saved if possible. Thus, we conducted a tree survey establishing the tree type, tree diameter at chest height, and the dripline of each tree’s canopy, along with a database detailing this information. There were 492 trees surveyed and catalogued for this requirement.

The new Hyatt Place Hotel is to be built in historic downtown Waco, Texas behind Ninfa’s Restaurant, and across the street from the Phoenix Ballroom. This project is surrounded by Waco landmarks, iconic buildings and very near to the Magnolia Market, which often attracts tens of thousands of visitors per month. Throughout the design phase, 1519 Surveying and Engineering (1519) coordinated with the client and The City of Waco to ensure both party’s requirements were met. One unique aspect of this project is that it falls under the City of Waco’s Mary Avenue Improvement Initiative, which aims to beautify the street and streetscape by paying homage to the rich history of Waco while also setting functional standards and meeting the needs of the city and local business owners.

1519 kicked off this project by conducting a boundary and topographic survey of the downtown parcel. The data for this survey was captured by 1519 field-crew members and high-tech aerial vehicles flown by FAA certified pilots. By combining traditional survey knowledge and the latest LiDAR technology, 1519 was able to deliver all the necessary data in a time-efficient manner to be processed for a full set of civil construction plans.

The civil engineering portion consisted of a 27,000 square foot building footprint that extended vertically 7 floors. Since the building took up the entire property,1519 engineers designed an underground detention system to manage excess stormwater runoff on the developed site. The client was able to pay into The City of Waco’s Downtown Stormwater Improvement Fund rather than pay for construction of on-site detention. 1519 engineers also constructed a 400-foot sanitary sewer main extension along with on-site utilities. Another integral part of the hotel development was incorporating aspects of the Mary Avenue Improvement Initiative within the project’s blueprint. 1519 engineers worked with architects to integrate abandoned railroad tracks, located on the edge of the property, into the design in-order-to preserve this piece of Waco history.