The Ground Floor: HBK Engineering's office in Iowa City sprouted from business question

Brian Boelke and Robert Decker had plans to open their own business. Among the people they spoke with as a sounding board before starting was a fellow University of Iowa graduate, Ronald Kaminski, who now headed HBK Engineering in Chicago.

'After some long discussions, Ron said, 'How about you open an office for me in Iowa?'' Boelke recalled.

Though working for someone else wasn't what they had in mind, Boelke and Decker agreed to visit HBK Engineering's offices in downtown Chicago and suburban Philadelphia. After looking around, they agreed to open the company's third office, in Iowa City.

As with HBK's other offices, the Iowa City branch provides civil, structural, electrical and subsurface utility engineering, construction project management and inspection, and survey and permitting services. The addition of the Iowa City office in March also gives HBK a new focus on stormwater design and management services.

Before joining HBK, longtime friends Boelke and Decker worked together for the city of Iowa City, where Boelke managed the city's stormwater program.

'The traditional approach to stormwater is to put it in a pipe and take it somewhere else, like a stream or river,' Decker said. 'The better approach is to let it soak into the ground.'

Sustainable stormwater design involves incorporating features such as rain gardens, bioswales and pervious pavement into site design. By limiting stormwater runoff, waterway quality is improved and flooding potential is reduced.

As well as working with local developers, Boelke and Decker are partnering with HBK's other offices to incorporate sustainable stormwater management principles into the company's site development projects in Chicago and on the East Coast.

'It's a different niche to bring to the company as a whole,' Boelke said.

Decker said their municipal backgrounds give another perspective to their work.

'We've been out in the field constructing things, not just doing design work. We've gotten our hands dirty,' he said.

• Managers: Brain Boelke and Robert Decker

• Company: HBK Engineering LLC

• Address: 610 Eastbury Dr., Suite 1, Iowa City

• Phone: (319) 338-7557

• Website:

  hbkengineering.com

Know a company in business for less than a year that should be considered in 'The Ground Floor'? Contact business editor Michael Chevy Castranova at michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net.