EPS Group President, Bryan Kitchen, celebrating our journey to being an ESOP
People. Places. Projects.
August 14, 2026
WHAT MAKES A PLACE WORK?
The places we remember are usually the ones that feel effortless. A concert venue where getting in and out works. A roadway that keeps up with the people who depend on it. A neighborhood where people can actually find a home. Water infrastructure most people never think about—because it works. Of course, none of that is effortless. This July, we saw the people, planning and infrastructure behind those every day experiences in Arizona and Colorado. In July, we also marked a significant change of our own: EPS Group, Inc. became a 100% employee-owned company. Let’s take a look at what makes places work—and a few projects and ideas we think are worth a closer look.
What makes a place work well for you?
PEOPLE.
In July, EPS Group officially became a 100% employee-owned company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP. Our leadership, operations and commitment to clients remain the same. What changes is that the people doing the work now have an even more direct stake in the company’s success and projects that we are building together. For a firm whose work and relationships are measured in decades—not days—that long-term perspective feels especially fitting. Employee ownership gives us another reason to invest in our people, develop future leaders and make decisions with the future of EPS, our clients and our communities in mind. And our new employee-owners spent much of July engaged with stakeholders in the communities we serve.
Arizona | You can lead at any level.
Austin Brooks, Director of Transportation, and Brandon Squire, Director of Water Resources, joined public works professionals from around Arizona at the 2026 APWA Arizona Statewide Conference. One speaker, Shane Silsby, shared a message we brought home was refreshingly simple: You can lead at any level.
Austin also joined Greg Froehlich at the 2026 WASHTO Annual Conference, where transportation leaders explored everything from infrastructure to autonomous trucking and ride sharing—including perspectives from Aurora , Waymo , Tesla and Zoox.
PLACES.
Sometimes a place tells you where growth is headed.
The Crest at Marbella Ranch | El Mirage, Arizona
Now under construction, The Crest at Marbella Ranch is a new 144-unit affordable housing community in El Mirage and the first of three planned phases. Developed by Real Estate Equities, the 176,927-square-foot garden-style community will also include a clubhouse. EPS Group is providing civil engineering and landscape architecture services, helping shape the site and support the development from the ground up.
Colorado | What makes Northern Colorado feel like Northern Colorado?
Not every important place is an infrastructure project.
July’s PBR Bulls & Beats at Canvas Stadium brought professional bull riding, collegiate rodeo and live music together in Fort Collins. It was also a reminder that community identity is built through shared experiences—the traditions, gathering places and events that make one region feel different from another. Good communities need roads, water and housing. They also need reasons for people to come together.
What gives your community its sense of place?
PROJECTS.
The interesting part is often everything you don’t see.
Arizona | The Nox, Mesa: Engineering the experience before the first note
The Nox is being planned near Ray and Sossaman roads as a new purpose-built entertainment destination for Southeast Mesa. The roughly 70,000-square-foot concept combines a flexible performance venue with recording and production capabilities—a different kind of gathering place for a part of the Valley that continues to grow rapidly. EPS Group is providing civil engineering and landscape architecture services. That means our work starts well before someone buys a ticket. Access and circulation have to function when a crowd arrives. Grading, drainage and utilities need to work behind the scenes. Landscape and outdoor areas help establish the arrival experience and identity of the site. The performance may happen inside. The experience starts at the property line. Construction is expected to begin this fall, with the venue anticipated to open in early 2028.
TAKE A LOOK → Explore The Nox
Colorado | A bridge rebuilt in less than 11 hours
This one isn’t an EPS project. It is simply good engineering under pressure. After the Aspen Acres Fire destroyed a bridge on CO 165 south of Beulah, CDOT crews completed a temporary one-lane replacement in less than 11 hours, restoring an important route for emergency services and evacuation access while a permanent repair is planned. Sometimes project success is measured over years. Sometimes the problem in front of you needs to be solved before morning.
SEE HOW THEY DID IT → Read CDOT’s bridge-rebuild story
What project have you seen lately that made you stop and look twice?
ONE THING WE’RE WATCHING.
Water is becoming an earlier project question.
July’s EPS content kept coming back to water—and there is a reason. Water supply, wastewater capacity, drainage, flood risk and system improvements can influence whether a project works long before detailed design begins. That is true in rapidly growing Arizona communities and in Colorado communities balancing growth with existing infrastructure and long-term resource needs. For clients, the useful question increasingly isn’t simply: “Can we build here?” It’s: “What has to happen first?” Understanding infrastructure capacity early can change a land decision, a phasing strategy, a schedule—or sometimes the project itself.
See how EPS approaches water and wastewater infrastructure
What infrastructure question should your team be asking earlier?
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?
A place people want to visit? A community people want to call home? Infrastructure that has to be ready before either can happen? EPS Group works across Arizona and Colorado in civil engineering, survey, planning, landscape architecture, transportation, water resources, construction management and project delivery.
Tell us what’s next. Connect with EPS Group to start the conversation.
Start the conversation.
We’d love to chat!