Last week, AEC had to send off one of our fantastic summer interns, Chen Qu. 

Since coming on board with our landscape architecture department back in May, Chen worked her way across the landscape spectrum on several local projects. She helped develop tree protection and replacement plans, ventured into the field for tree assessments and punch lists, hand-sketched concept drawings, and even dabbled in grading for our civil side. She also beefed up her excel and AutoCAD skills by taking on several office standardization/streamlining efforts.

Chen will be returning to the University of Georgia to continue down the path of becoming a landscape architect.

We appreciate all her hard work and wish her the best with her studies!

For the third year running, AEC manned a booth at Miss Mary's Ice Cream Crankin'. The annual event was held in the scenic Roswell Town Square, just around the corner from the AEC office. Featuring live music, hundreds of homemade ice cream flavors, and sugar-hyped kids, the event raised roughly $50,000 for the Drake House--a local organization dedicated to helping families recover from financial crisis. 

This year, AEC cranked out a mix of time-tested and nontraditional flavors. President Chris Finke delivered the classic "Cookies-N-Cream", while Victoria Myrick's "Cake Batter" was a hit with all ages. In addition to AEC's unparalleled signage, Landscape Architect Bradley Riffel whipped up "Blueberry Cobbler": a creamy mix of hand-picked blueberries and crunchy pastry bits. Keeping the team cutting edge, Eric Turner and his wife churned up a matcha-packed "Green Tea" ice cream. Sadly, Mark Van de Water's chocolate chip concoctions did not make an appearance as they have the previous two years.

Unlike in 2014, where we took home the prize for Best Chocolate (with the aptly named "Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate"), AEC left empty-handed this year. Now, if we can get our ice cream crankin' on level with our engineering, we'll sweep the 2017 awards.

AEC Inc. is proud to be a part of the Myrtle Terraces project in Gainsville, Georgia, which received the 22nd annual Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award (Senior Housing catergory), honoring the most outstanding Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties nationwide. This project is one of the nearly 3 million Housing Credit properties across America which make up the majority of affordable rental houses. The award was presented at the Rayburn House Congressional Office Building in Washington, D.C. on June 8th, 2016, with members of Congress in attendance.  

Myrtle Terraces is a senior living facility with 84 apartments, a community garden, a fitness center, activity/game rooms, a landscaped courtyard with a water feature, a grilling area, and a picnic area, as well as many other amenities. AEC teamed up with Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Affordable Equity Partners Inc., the City of Gainesville,  Fairway Construction Co., and Beverly J. Searles Foundation to bring the project to life.  AEC was responsible for the civil engineering and landscape architecture of the project. 

Signaling an exciting expansion to the popular parks along Roswell’s piece of the Chattahoochee River, the groundbreaking ceremony for Phase IV of Willeo Trail on May 11, 2016 was a well-attended celebration of the three-quarter mile pedestrian project.

The AEC staff joined the Mayor of Roswell Jere Wood, Councilwoman Nancy Diamond, Councilman Jerry Orlans, and other City of Roswell staff, along with representatives from the Chattahoochee Nature Center and the National Park Service in celebration.  AEC was responsible for the planning, permitting, and design of the project.

The groundbreaking marked the beginning of construction on the three-quarter mile pedestrian trail.  The trail will wind along Willeo Road before passing over adjacent wetlands, connecting Willeo Road to Azalea Drive.  AEC is proud to be an integral part of this anticipated project and is looking forward to nearby leisurely strolls through the national park, located only two miles away from the AEC office.