Site Planning
Property layout, grading plans
Strategic Property Layout
Every Chicago lot has a story written in setback requirements, utility easements, drainage patterns, and zoning restrictions. Ignoring this story leads to denied permits, flooded basements, and neighbor disputes. Before designing structures, understanding how your property works—where water flows, what lines cross underground, how far from boundaries you can build—determines what's possible. For new construction, additions, and major outdoor improvements, site planning transforms constraints into design opportunities.
We analyze your property systematically: reviewing surveys and plat maps, identifying easements and right-of-ways, documenting existing drainage patterns, and locating underground utilities. This groundwork prevents the excavation surprise of hitting an unmarked gas line or the permit rejection from building over a utility easement. Grading plans ensure water flows away from structures while meeting stormwater management requirements that Chicago enforces strictly.
For rooftop projects, site planning extends vertically—understanding roof slopes, drainage directions, and access paths from ground level to roof height. Whether coordinating with surveyors on boundary verification or engineers on load paths, our site documentation creates the reliable foundation that makes subsequent design work efficient and permitting straightforward.
Your Project
Team
Mike Ryan
“Mike brings over two decades of expertise in designing and constructing luxury residential properties throughout Chicago. As a University of Colorado at Boulder graduate originally from Minnesota, he demonstrates meticulous attention to detail and thoughtful approach to the design process. His strengths include navigating the complexities of securing building permits and managing client expectations from project start through completion.”
Jared Correa
“Jared is a Chicago native who attended Walter Payton College Prep High School and earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His design approach prioritizes client needs while exploring creative details and solutions. He brings extensive plant knowledge and years of lead design and project management experience in landscape design/build work.”
Erik Pederson
“Erik graduated from Michigan State University with a Degree in Landscape Architecture. As a Registered Landscape Architect, he has a great eye for design and an impressive problem-solving mindset. He finds satisfaction in refining design specifics and collaborating with skilled craftspeople to bring projects to completion on-site.”