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PBS Engineering and Environmental is acquiring HDJ Design Group, a frequent collaborator over the past 15 years.

Mark Leece, a PBS principal engineer, said the two firms collaborated even more closely during the past year while working on the Waterfront-Vancouver USA development.That $1.5 billion effort on a 32-acre tract is being led by Gramor Development.

鈥淲orking together on the waterfront project certainly got our firms in a much closer relationship,鈥� Leece said.

Matt Grady, vice president of project development at Gramor, said in a statement that HDJ civil engineering and survey services and PBS geotechnical and environmental services together have provided 鈥渁 seamless approach to infrastructure and soil investigations.鈥�

HDJ worked on the waterfront project’s master plan and infrastructure design while PBS provided geotechnical engineering and environmental services, said Greg Jellison, an HDJ principal engineer.

Build-out for Waterfront-Vancouver USA will probably take about 10 years, Jellison said. Street designs and layouts are being finalized first, he added.

鈥淭hen 鈥� block by block 鈥� as developers buy property, development will continue over time,鈥� he said.

PBS’ acquisition of HDJ will be official April 1, PBS President Guy Neal said. PBS has one office in Portland and an engineering office in Vancouver, Wash., just down the street from the HDJ office. The two Vancouver offices will probably be combined at some point, he said.

Neal said his company’s purchase of HDJ is 鈥渁 big deal鈥� and expands overall services. PBS now has approximately 200 employees.

鈥淲e are pretty much 99.99 percent complementary,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s one of those situations where two pretty comparably-sized companies come together. It just made sense from our long-term plan perspective.鈥�

The acquisition also will help PBS expand its engineering education programs in Oregon and Washington, Jellison said. The company is planning to start a shadow program for young engineers within the year.

Bringing the two companies together opens a new chapter for PBS, Neal said.

鈥淲e’re really looking forward to beginning this journey together and looking forward to strengthening our ability to help our clients,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause it’s all about the clients.鈥�