Our workload has been growing steadily over the past four years thanks to the generous patronage of our great clients, and their success in taking advantage of an improving economy. We are seeing strong growth in our core residential and hospitality work, but we are also finding new opportunities in industrial, office, medical, and design/build projects in all sectors. Below are just a few of our current and interesting project highlights:

• Seattle’s Bullitt Center continues to pile up awards, recently receiving ENR’s Editor’s Choice for the overall best project of 2013.
• We’ve begun preliminary design on a 55-story tower in San Francisco, twin 45-story towers in Bellevue, and twin 35-story towers in downtown Los Angeles.
• We are working on industrial projects for GE Water around North America.
• Design will start soon on Ballpark Village, a development across the street from Petco Park, which will have a 37-story tower with podium buildings around its base.
• A new 200-room hotel on Maui is in design by our Irvine office.
• DCI is part of the team for a major renovation of Lloyd Center in Portland, as well as a 600 room, 21-story hotel project near the Portland Convention Center.
• We have a full plate of residential and hospitality projects in San Francisco, as well as some large tech campus projects in Silicon Valley.
• After several years of work on multiple phases of the Grand Solmar Resort, we’ve submitted a proposal for another large resort in Cabo San Lucas.
• One of our Austin managers just returned from Bolivia, where we are starting preliminary design on a 21-story hotel project.
• We are busy on the three major projects underway in Spokane: the new 17-story Convention Center hotel, Gonzaga’s new University Center, and the expansion of the Spokane Convention Center.
• We will be starting work soon on the Hanford Hot Cell ‘B’ Remediation project on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
• Our Anchorage office is involved in a number of light industrial and commercial dock projects.

After my visit to the San Francisco office last week, I have now visited each of our nine offices in the first quarter of 2014. I am gratified to be associated with such a talented and hard-working group of people, but I’m even more delighted that we have as much fun as we do in a very challenging profession.

Some people know that I like to run a little bit, and I always pack my running gear in order to sneak in a run whenever possible. Because I’m a maker of lists, I have come up with a list of my favorite running routes at our DCI office locations. I’m truly blessed to be able to travel to these wonderful places:

• San Francisco. The six mile loop from Ft. Mason to the Golden Gate and back along the water is just without peer. Great scenery, and the Golden Gate draws you like the running version of a goal post. Lots of people, but not too many. The track is level (which my old-guy knees like), with pretty good surfaces throughout. There are a lot of off-leash dogs, but they are all generally well-behaved and add to the fun.
• Seattle. The run along the waterfront, north past the sculpture park, and up toward Smith Cove and Elliott Bay marina is a good trail, very scenic, and generally not too crowded. On a sunny day, the views of the Olympics and Cascades make this an amazing experience!
• Anchorage. The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs south from downtown along the water, and down through Earthquake Park (look up the history on that!). It goes a total of 11 miles down to Kincaid Park so you can bite off as much as you want. With views of Cook Inlet and all the surrounding mountains, it can’t be beat. Not to mention the possibility of dodging moose!
• San Diego. Running along the waterfront is great fun, with a unique combination of tourists, pirate ships, and aircraft carriers to keep you visually occupied. Bonus credits for the weather always being awesome!
• Irvine. Newport Beach has some really great runs along the ocean or the Balboa peninsula and the harbor. Great weather year around doesn’t hurt either.
• Spokane. Any number of sections of the Centennial Trail along the Spokane River can be spectacular, as can running around and through the parks on the South Hill, at least for those who crave hills. It’s my home, so I put up with it, but I am not a fan of having to wear crampons during the winter for outdoor runs in the snow and ice.
• Austin. Great running weather for nine months of the year, an active population, and great trails around Town Lake and other parks. The after work loop around Town Lake with seemingly everyone in Austin is good fun.
• Portland. Lots of good runs along the river and through the parks, and a dedicated running community who manages to stay active even in the rainy months.
• Eugene. Many nice trails in the parks, and obviously a tremendous running community. What could be more inspiring than running on Pre’s Trail? It is Track Town USA for a reason.

I’m excited for 2014, DCI’s 26th year in business, and look forward to meeting as many of our great clients as I can. Thanks to all of our staff who keep Service, Value, and Innovation at the forefront of our work. The best part of our industry is our ability to make a lasting difference in our communities, and DCI is proud to be a part of these great cities.