Johnson Braund Design Group specializes in hospitality and housing projects. The firm has provided both landscape architecture and architecture services for numerous Marriott “brands” in Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington. As new-starts for these products have slowed, JBDG has continued to grow in the multi-family housing market. The firm is completing work at the retirement community of Providence Point, with build-out of the final phases.

The 23-year old landscape architecture group at JBDG grew to four in 1999 and maintains that size today, even though the architecture group, now 11, has scaled back in the same time. Anticipated gross fees in landscape architecture for 2002 are $300,000, down $50,000 from last year.

“Overall, business has shown some indications of picking up this year, although there are still indicators in the business and economic climate that cause some concern, especially for private development,” said principal Mel Easter.

“The Endangered Species Act is one of those pieces of federal legislation that is potentially significant to our industry,” said Easter. “Understanding its application to individual projects is difficult. Even the legal profession is struggling with the short and long-term impacts of this legislation…. Two warning signs in the economic and business side of our industry are the lenders' reluctance to jump back into the hospitality market and the impact of frivolous litigation on the insurance industry related to the design and construction of housing projects, particularly for-sale condominiums.”

Projects this year include Sunset Garden Apartments in Puyallup, a senior housing community featuring a large “resident’s garden.” Jefferson at Mill Creek is a 247-unit apartment community with resort-quality amenities.