M2L Associates is pleased to announce we are taking our 25 years of parks and recreation and urban design experience on the road and expanding to Austin! The new office gives the company additional scale and resources to serve customers in greater Austin and throughout the Hill Country but also in less populated areas between Houston and Austin, such as Brenham and Bastrop.
M2L Principal Michael Mauer said now is the perfect time for M2L to launch this new office. “As we continue to celebrate our 25th anniversary filled with so many notable projects and long-running relationships, we couldn’t be more excited to begin our next new chapter with this expansion,” he said. “Austin is a great fit for M2L’s team and we can’t wait to grow in lockstep with this exciting city.”
Austin’s explosive growth is well documented, anchored by moves by big tech and other large companies. Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Tesla, SpaceX, Oracle, Samsung and Charles Schwab lead a long list of companies taking advantage of big incentives from local governments to relocate. Housing, construction, infrastructure, utility, energy and other industries and markets are booming across the area as Austin attempts to balance growth and protect the area’s unique appeal. With recent accolades such as best U.S. city to start a business, hottest U.S. Labor market, fastest-growing metro area and best place to live, Austin is a diverse and vibrant place to work and live.
In addition to the burgeoning growth, Mauer said Austin enjoys a unique commitment to sustainability that promotes investment in green infrastructure, urban forestry, as well as parks and recreation spaces, a focus area where M2L particularly shines. “In addition to project successes across markets, we’ve applied our unique experience with parks departments to plan and build more than 120 parks across greater Houston and beyond,” Mauer said. “We know our skills will transfer well to the progressive Austin market, and we can’t wait to make our mark across greater Austin with innovative and sustainable green spaces.”
Leading the Austin office is Kenny Jones, who recently returned to the Lone Star State and M2L Associates after a stint in Washington, D.C. working on U.S. Embassies and other institutional and civic projects across our nation’s capital. As director of the Austin office, Jones brings a wealth of project management experience as well as a keen interest and expertise in sustainability and tree preservation.
Jones pointed to Austin’s challenging topography, ecosystem, park system deficiencies and vulnerable tree canopy coverage as opportunities for M2L to bring its strengths to the table. “Tree preservation and increasing the urban forest is so important for this area, especially with the tremendous development and fast-paced growth in metropolitan Austin,” Jones said. “With Austin’s strict guidelines in place to protect existing trees and expand the urban forest, M2L’s expertise as landscape architects and arborist could play a huge role in Austin’s bid to carefully manage growth without compromising the natural environment that so many Austinites enjoy and value.”
Jones incorporated these new technologies on several recent projects. Jones used drone imagery to explore site tree canopy health and coverage and mapped out overall site drainage topography for a new park design for the City of Brenham, Texas. He has also been assisting civil engineers in creating real-time 3D visual simulations for transit corridor projects to study the visual impact of roadway improvements, such as those planned for the City of Richmond, Texas.
For more information or to connect with our Austin office, click here. Email inquiries: KSJones@m2lassociates.net.