WGI is Ready to Expand its Texas Footprint; Acquires Big Red Dog
National design firm WGI is pleased to announce it acquired Texas-based BIG RED DOG, INC. (BRD), a firm with a reputation in the industry for intelligent disruption, and a leading provider of civil, MEP, structural, traffic, and transportation engineering for public and private clients. It’s not just another merger or acquisition. The fastest-growing Florida-headquartered firm and the fastest-growing firm in Texas will now operate as a single entity, creating exhilarating future opportunities.
With nearly 600 professionals in 18 offices spread across Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, and Texas, WGI has its sights set on affirming its national trademark: Tomorrow’s Technology Today. WGI invests in the cutting-edge efficiencies and solutions that forward-thinking clients demand. The combination of industry veterans with decades of experience and an ambitious group of youthful visionaries will further grab the market’s attention. Together, their combined talents enhance both firms’ market leadership and progressive status – delivering revolutionary, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure in smart, connected communities.
The deal closed January 1, 2019, according to Michael L. Davis, senior vice president and chief strategy officer of WGI.
Founded in 2009, BIG RED DOG is a deliberately unconventional group, led by Will Schnier, CEO. Its leadership team – Schnier; Matt Stewart, chief operating officer; and Brad Lingvai, civil market leader – and all key principals, executives, and associates, will continue in their current roles. BRD made a name for itself with a strong set of values (passion, quality, service, accountability, fun) and a reputation for being innovative, aggressive, and driven by a unique level of energy and enthusiasm, resulting in 100 percent revenue growth over the past five years.
Will Schnier, CEO of BRD, noted: “We’ve been watching WGI from afar with great admiration for several years. For the past five years we’ve both been among the fastest-growing firms in the industry. By combining forces and creating a national footprint, we expect to create a lot of opportunities for our clients and our team members, and ultimately for our communities.”
New Parking Facility Opens at Midway International Airport
Fast Park has opened its first facility in Chicago, right down the road from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW). Officially open for business on December 6, Midway Fast Park is located at 5230 S. Cicero Ave., near S. Archer Ave. It’s the company’s first fully enclosed airport parking facility.
“We’ve been looking for an opportunity to introduce the Fast Park brand to this bustling Chicago market for quite some time,” said Melanie Chavez, executive vice president of construction and branding at Fast Park. “The demand for convenient parking options close to MDW, coupled with our proximity to Chicago, made this growing market very attractive. Finding indoor warehouse space that we could convert to a fully enclosed parking facility this close to the airport has allowed us to respond to the market’s demand for convenient, indoor parking.”
Construction to renovate the indoor parking facility began in early 2018. The new facility will offer Fast Park’s trademark services, as well as a few location-specific amenities:
• Indoor parking
• Complimentary FastCharge EV Charging Stations – 6 universal and 6 Tesla Superchargers (reservations required)
• No walking, no waiting, no worries® car-to-airport terminal shuttle service
• Complimentary luggage assistance
• Weekday newspaper upon entry (6–8 a.m. while supplies last) and bottled water upon exit
• Emergency car services including battery and tire inflation assistance
To celebrate the grand opening, Fast Park offered guests 30 percent off ($14 per day, which includes taxes and airport fees) through Jan. 31, 2019. Guests signing up for Fast Park’s Relax for Rewards loyalty program can make free reservations and earn points toward free parking with each visit.
With the anticipated demand for indoor parking accommodations – especially during the winter months and peak holiday travel season – reservations are highly recommended.
ParkWhiz to Rebrand as Arrive, Will Focus on Connectivity
ParkWhiz Inc. announced that it is rebranding as ArriveTM Inc., capping its transformation into a provider of solutions for the last mile of connected mobility. Arrive’s fully integrated platform helps companies and brands easily offer parking and other mobility-related services to drivers, fleets and connected vehicles.
Using app, voice and in-dash technology, Arrive’s branded and white-labeled solutions can surface convenient parking options and additional services to drivers at various touchpoints. Arrive powers hundreds of partner-branded experiences in addition to the highly-rated ParkWhiz and BestParking mobile apps, which have millions of active users across North America.
“When we parked our first car in 2007, route planning and in-car connectivity services were luxuries. Today, these are essential components of consumer journeys, and we are excited to play an integral role in powering them,” said Yona Shtern, CEO and Executive Chairman of Arrive. “While our consumer brands are strong and gaining in popularity, we believe the future of parking lies within vehicles, navigation systems, and other touchpoints.”
More than 40 million customers in 230 cities across the U.S. and Canada have access to the largest transactional parking network in North America through Arrive-powered parking reservations and drive-up, friction-free parking. Arrive provides transactional parking services for hundreds of partners within their own apps, websites and emails. Arrive’s partnerships include professional sports teams and venues, events, travel providers, airlines, hotels, automotive OEMs, and navigation systems.
“The Arrive brand represents the culmination of our evolution as a company into an enterprise business that powers the full range of mobility services in collaboration with and on behalf of our partners,” said Shtern.
In April 2018, the company acquired Tel Aviv-based Codi Park and launched the Arrive Network, its powerful friction-free parking solution. Any driver using an Arrive-powered app or registered vehicle can experience seamless payments and frictionless entry and exit at participating lots and garages. The company recently completed its latest financing, raising $25 million in new equity funding from investors such as NewSpring Capital, Alate and Amazon’s Alexa Fund.
Arrive powers the last-mile of connected and autonomous mobility. The company delivers scalable, friction-free parking experiences through apps, voice and in-dash. Its fully integrated platform makes it easy for companies and brands to offer parking as a solution for drivers, fleets and connected vehicles. Available across the U.S. and Canada, Arrive has developed innovative parking solutions for hundreds of distribution partners, including Amazon, Ford, Hyundai, XEVO, TomTom, Ticketmaster/Live Nation, Groupon, Madison Square Garden and many others. For more information, visit Arrive.com.
National Parking Association and
Women in Parking Announce Union
National Parking Association (NPA) and Women in Parking (WIP), long-time collaborators and peer organizations, announce their plans to unite, with unanimous support from both boards.
With NPAs reputation as the premier association for parking professionals and WIPs increased momentum, the combined organization will have the leadership, reach, and voice necessary to amplify the advancement and achievement of women in the
parking industry.
“The strategic union with WIP will solidify the parking industry’s commitment to diversity and workforce development,” said NPA Board Chair Nicolle Judge. “By combining WIP’s fervor with NPA’s expanding member base, we can align our efforts to develop even more parking professionals.”
NPA and WIP have collaborated over the history of both organizations, including hosting the WIP conference alongside NPA’s annual convention, sponsoring and volunteering with WIP. Nicolle Judge is a prior Women in Parking Board Director.
“Women in Parking and NPA have been long time partners. The reputation of NPA, coupled with the momentum of the women in parking movement, makes this the perfect time to officially unite.” said WIP Board Chair Marcy Sparrow.
Ruth Beaman, Executive Director of WIP said, “We’re confident that joining forces and focusing our efforts will mean that we can provide our parking leaders with the best practice tools, research and peer network the parking industry has to offer.”
The Boards of Directors of both organizations have approved the plan to unite. Over the course of the year, NPA and WIP will work to transition to a single operational structure.
The entire membership of WIP will become a part of NPA’s membership and will begin receiving NPA welcome materials and access to NPA benefits beginning March 1, 2019. NPA will host a welcome call in mid-February for all WIP members to learn more about the organization and transition.
NPA President Christine Banning, IOM, CAE said, “We are very proud to join forces with Women in Parking and take the transition process very seriously. NPA leadership will do everything in its power to ensure the transition is seamless, and all WIP members continue to play an active role in the organization.”
