While wetlands are a trademark of Florida’s landscape, finding a way to successfully develop land and real estate in the region is often a difficult venture. Besides floodplains, one must consider stormwater management, drainage design, density, and soil constraints. When Taylor Morrison tapped Atwell to bring their vision of a 480-acre luxury-style community to life in Pasco County, the goal was simple: integrate the wetlands into the community design to preserve as many of them as possible.
Now, Esplanade Wiregrass Ranch is an 850-unit award-winning community that serves as the flagship of Taylor Morrison’s Esplanade portfolio. The Atwell team, led by Project Manager Griffin Furlong, Senior Director Bryan Jackson, and Associate Director Victor Barbosa, was able to apply meticulous, thoughtful engineering strategies that assured the project’s timely success and another triumphant project for their longtime client. An added layer of accomplishment was that Atwell was able to execute the project alongside RVi, part of the Atwell Family of Companies, which oversaw the landscape architecture for the site.
Taking the wetlands from project barrier to welcomed amenity
Atwell has been a part of this project since it began in 2018, serving as the lead civil engineers managing the due diligence, planning, engineering, and rezoning. The five-phase project is in its final stages as of 2024, with construction completed in Phases 2 – 4. Conquering the wetlands was critical in these phases, since the team’s ability to find solutions would affect the schedule and outcome of the community.
“At first, one could look at the wetlands as a negative because you’re not able to provide density in those areas,” commented Jackson. “But instead of looking at them as a negative, we saw them as a positive and incorporated them into the design elements of the project.”
This kind of work isn’t new to Atwell; the firm has completed other land development projects on wetlands before, including another Esplanade project nearby. Their experience with engineering in this kind of environment, paired with RVi’s innovative landscape architecture services, resulted in an impressive master planned community exhibiting a unique blend of nature and the built environment.
The stormwater management system was a difficult but rewarding element to design. The extensive floodplains on the project site, along with the number of wetlands, required the team to balance and minimize offsite stormwater discharges to ensure that other areas would not get flooded. The final product was a successful stormwater management system that promotes biodiversity and sustainability via rehydration of the wetlands while providing sufficient floodplain compensation within and adjacent to the community.
“This is a project that many other developers wouldn’t have been able to execute, due to the wetlands, floodplains, and stormwater management system,” attested Barbosa. “We took the challenge of the wetlands and turned them into amenities in the community, and worked with the wetlands to incorporate them into this design.”
Savvy engineering adds value and style
A feature that required a high level of engineering was the construction of multiple boardwalks. The site is located between two wetlands and had just enough space to build boardwalks without impacting the wetlands, which was a goal of the client. The team’s skills in drainage and stormwater management were heavily utilized in this aspect.
Besides navigating the wetlands, a standout engineering feature of this project is the entrance. Not only is it aesthetically striking, but it was also an engineering feat, requiring significant import soil fill to build the land about eight to 10 feet above its existing grade.
“We did our best to balance out this task in the early phases, making sure we had enough ponds to transport the fill to the right areas,” explained Furlong. The ponds can then become attractive features of the neighborhood itself, while serving another important function: They provide water treatment by getting all the oil, grease, and pollutants from cars and disposing of them before they go back into the environment.
For Barbosa, he is especially proud of the alternating side yard setbacks.
“Typically, in Pasco County, the side yard setbacks are seven-and-a-half feet on each side,” Barbosa stated. “Pasco County allows reduced side yard setbacks, but doing this would mean that the AC units would have to go in the rear of the house, and our client doesn’t typically go for that. Through zoning, we had alternating side yard setbacks approved.”
With one side measuring four feet inwards and the other side eight feet in, these alternating side yard setbacks meant the team was able to increase the density of the project while reducing the lot width. It also allowed the client to keep their original vision of having the AC units on the side of the houses as opposed to the rear.
“Atwell’s approach to master planned communities starts with collaboration and understanding the client’s vision,” said Furlong. “It takes a lot of due diligence to understand the existing site constraints to come up with a community design that is right for the client and for the land.”
Problem-solving plays a key role in project management
The community, which was named the 2023 Single-Family Community of the Year by Tampa Bay Builder’s Association, is in its fifth and final stage. The ability to keep the team on schedule, despite the environmental challenges, speaks to the Atwell’s expertise, diligent communication, and seamless collaboration with different entities.
The team’s problem-solving process included the facilitation of interpersonal relationships, including many months of meetings and coordination with Atwell’s environmental scientists and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Atwell was intentional about facilitating relationships with the local municipalities to ensure that the codes they obtained and followed would be accepted as a team.
“The benefit of clients working with Atwell is that they know they’re going to get quality work,” Jackson affirmed. “Our people have the experience, are assertive, and will find the solutions. We can do that thanks to our strong internal collaboration.”
Additional challenges the team overcame were locking in the drainage model, managing tough soil conditions, and minimizing the import fill required for the project.
“My favorite part of this project was the problem-solving,” said Furlong. “That’s what engineering is all about: fortifying skills, learning something new, confronting challenges, and overcoming them as a team. When problems arise, the client looks to us to solve them, whether that involves contacting the necessary people or holding necessary meetings. I think all of this is what Atwell does well. We know how to solve problems, collaborate, and figure out how to get to the finish line.”
Delivering consistently excellent engineering keeps clients and communities happy
The team’s hard work resulted in a resort-style community that embraces the natural landscape.
“It was satisfying to see how Esplanade Wiregrass Ranch benefited from Atwell’s engineering acumen,” Furlong stated. “Our work enabled the wetlands to coexist with other features of the development.”
“We were able to build a great community in conjunction with our RVi team and it turned out to be a success,” said Barbosa. “The project is a great representation of Taylor Morrison’s Esplanade brand and their resort-style communities. They’ve been a wonderful long-time client of ours, and we’re glad to continue strengthening our relationship with them.”
Atwell’s culture of collaboration—with clients, internally with its teams, and with its Family of Companies such as RVi—paves a pathway for creative problem-solving, successful projects, and satisfied clients.
