ABOUT US
Harris Civil Engineers (HCE) is a 100% employee owned company. We provide full service civil engineering design with a commitment to creative and innovative design solutions. HCE has a long history of leadership and financial strength.
HCE was established in 1986 in Orlando, Florida, The firm began with major office and retail projects in Orlando. Those projects led to many other Central Florida projects including theme parks and resort hotels. In 1993 the firm began its first project in the Bahamas, which led to work throughout the Caribbean. Today, the firm has extensive experience with complex multi-consultant projects located around the world. Our core business remains in hospitality and themed entertainment, however the firm has extensive experience in higher education, healthcare and retail projects.
KEY STAFF
Joseph Harris, PE, LEED AP
CEO
Richard Lis, PE, LEED AP
President
David Taylor
Vice President
Abdul Alkdadry, PE
Vice President
Debra Teply
Marketing Director
CIVIL ENGINEERING
We provide civil engineering design services for local and international projects. Our design plans bring expertise to the site layout and conform to governmental regulations and local permitting requirements. We bring the client’s vision to reality.
SITE DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING
HCE assists developers with both large and small scale development projects. We provide a wide range of design services including infrastructure planning and design. Our engineers understand the development process and work to advance a project form preliminary design to construction completion.
Feasibility Studies
HCE will conduct a feasibility study to objectively and rationally evaluate the project's potential for success. We will evaluate the historical data, legal requirements and tax information of a site. We provide this unbiased information to help determine the feasibility of the development.
DRAINAGE & STORMWATER DESIGN
We provide drainage solutions used in project development areas that meet regulatory requirement in a cost effective manner. Our stormwater design professionals have expertise with effective solutions for retention, treatment and reuse.
WATER/WASTEWATER FACILITY DESIGN
We provide our clients with expertise in a diverse range of specialized services within water and wastewater facilities planning and design. We address critical issues in water supply and wastewater removal. We can provide a quality design, study or model that meets governmental agency approvals.
ROADWAY DESIGN
Our expertise includes roadway planning and design. We help our client’s achieve the accessibility needed to complete a successful project. With each project being different, our engineers are experienced in providing the best practical and cost effective transportation solution for the site.
PERMITTING
We provides permitting services for land development and design, platting, and procedural requirements. HCE has a full-time permitting coordinator with extensive experiences with local, state and federal agencies. Her only role is to ensure all project permits are obtained and tracked to final certification.
UTILITY DESIGN
HCE will assess the property to determine whether the utility improvements are sized correctly for the project being developed. We will coordinate with the utility providers beginning early in the development process through to final construction..
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
During the construction phase HCE works to ensure that a project is constructed according to plan, on-time and within budget. We make periodic site visits, record observations and accurately report status, quality of work and verify compliance to specifications.
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CABANA BAY BEACH RESORT - FLORIDA
The vintage themed resort has 1,800 rooms on 37-acres adjacent to Universal’s Islands of Adventure Theme Park. The hotel is modelled after a motor court to evoke the road trips that many Americans grew up enjoying. Universal with Loews Hotels & Resorts built this new on-property hotel to accommodate the crowds created by the theme parks.
WESTIN ST JOHN RESORT - US VIRGIN ISLANDS
The $35 million renovation was to “refresh” the pool and the 96 poolside guest rooms. This also included the conversion of 79 existing hotel rooms into 54 villas, which is part of the resort’s vacation ownership program. The newest project, included 30 two-bedroom villas, six two-bedroom lofts and 18 studio villas. The resort currently has a total of 200 villas and 96 hotel rooms.
HILTON CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL - FLORIDA
The hotel is located on 26 acres and features 1,400 guest rooms with a cost of $380 million. The hotel connects to the North/South convention center annex by a pedestrian sky bridge. The 18-story structure has 130,000 square feet of meeting space, seven restaurants, a 15,000 square foot spa and a 9-hole executive putting and chipping course.
SUGAR BEACH RESORT - ST LUCIA
This resort is without question located in one of the most awe-inspiring locations in the world, the majestic valley of The Pitons, on the western coast of St. Lucia. The project is nestled on 100 acres of magnificent rainforest and sweeps down nearly 750 feet to the ocean. The $100 million renovation and expansion includes 80 new villas. The resort also includes two restaurants and a world class spa.
WYNDHAM GRAND RESORT BONNET CREEK - FLORIDA
The $81 million hotel at Bonnet Creek Resort is the centerpiece of a nine-tower vacation ownership resort developed and managed by Wyndham Vacation Ownership Company. The Wyndham Resort complex, which totals 70 acres, includes 1,594 vacation ownership units. This is the first mixed-use development undertaken by Wyndham Worldwide.
ATLANTIS RESORT & CASINO - BAHAMAS
The resort encompasses a hotel built over a 7-acre lagoon, a casino, a 34-acre waterscape, a 6-story Mayan Temple waterslide and 2 pool areas. Island improvements included a reverse osmosis potable water treatment plant and upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant. Also, major island utilities and roads/bridges were upgraded. This included full civil engineering design of seven miles of roadway, utilities and a drainage system.
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TURTLE TREK - SEAWORLD ORLANDO
TurtleTrek is a sea-turtle and manatee habitat that includes a three-dimensional and 360-degree movie experience. Project included a pair of massive aquariums, and gift shop.
HARRY POTTER EXPANSION - UNIVERSAL ORLANDO
The new area expansion was built in Universal Studios. This is the first time a major theme park will have an attraction connecting separate parks. A working Hogwarts Express train transports guests between the parks. The expansion also features shops, restaurant and an attraction based on Gringotts Bank.
HARAMBE THEATRE RELOCATION - DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM
The new Harambe Theatre relocation also included more buildings, new walkways leading directly to the Avatar themed area of the park, and a bridge that will lead directly from Discovery Island to the Theatre behind the Tusker House.
TRANSFORMERS THE RIDE 3D - UNIVERSAL ORLANDO
The Design/Build Transformers attraction is located in the middle of Universal Studios. Building the new ride was a challenge due to the location within in the park. Since the space is limited designers used a two-story footprint for the ride. The Attraction is a 3D ride that puts riders inside a 12-person vehicle designed to look like a nimble new Transformer.
DISCOVER COVE GRAND REEF - ORLANDO
A chain of pools and lagoons wind in and out of lush settings complete with beaches, palm trees and rock formations. The highlight of the attraction is to swim and play with bottlenose dolphins. Other project areas include snorkeling and scuba diving at the coral reef, wading along the tropical pools and river ways and the ray lagoon where you can feed, touch and swim with sea creatures.
SIMPSON'S SPRINGFIELD - UNIVERSAL ORLANDO
The expansive new area features some iconic locations from the television show including Krusty Burger, the Android’s Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, the Lard Lad Donuts, and Moe’s Tavern. Amazingly Moe’s serves up actual Duff Beer specially brewed for the park.
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MALL AT MILLENIA
The 83-acre Mall at Millenia is the centerpiece of the 405-acre Millenia DRI project. This 1.2 million square foot regional shopping mall features three major upscale department store anchors, as well as additional shops, services and restaurants. The mall is designed on two levels with upper and lower entrances for both the mall and each anchor.
ARTEGON MARKETPLACE - ORLANDO
Artegon Marketplace is a $70 million renovation of the Festival Bay Mall. The project was a redevelopment of the 1.1 million sf mall. The mall is an indoor farmers’ market, a collection of stores, stands and kiosks in which artisans sell their work.
HCE also provided complete civil design services for the former Festival Bay Mall which was located on the 140-acre site.
WATERFORD LAKES TOWN CENTER
Waterford Lakes Town Center is an outdoor shopping center located on 114-acres in eastern Orlando. The center has over 1 million square feet of leasable area, which incorporates a number of uses including traditional retail, theater, restaurants, health club, and other entertainment oriented services.
THE BOATHOUSE - DISNEY SPRINGS
The Boathouse is an 18,000 SF, 500 seat restaurant located in Disney Springs. The building construction was intended to look like a series of buildings that have been developed over several decades. The Boathouse features lakeside dining, a stage for live music and two bars.
CITYWALK - UNIVERASL ORLANDO
Universal’s CityWalk is an 18.5 acre entertainment and retail district located adjacent to the entrance to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure Orlando. The complex includes several world famous dining spots such as Hard Rock Café, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, Emeril's and NBC Sports Grill.
T-REX CAFE - DISNEY SPRINGS
T-Rex Cafe is a prehistoric themed restaurant and retail venue that features a 650 seat cafe and 6,000 SF retail center along with animatronic dinosaurs that move and roar.
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UCF HEALTH SCIENCES CAMPUS MASTER PLAN
The UCF Health Sciences Campus is located on 50 acres donated by Lake Nona. In addition, UCF developed a partnership with the Orlando Utilities Commission to construct and operate a Central Energy Plant. The utility master plan provided the location and configuration of the distribution system to support the campus and the initial buildings.
UF SOUTHWEST PARKING GARAGE COMPLEX
The design/build Southwest Parking Garage Complex includes a six level, 332,839 sf parking garage with 927 parking spaces and a 10,000 s.f. integrated transportation and parking services liner building. The design features a 2-story customer service atrium and outdoor queuing for students requiring parking permits.
ROLLINS COLLEGE BUSCH SCIENCE CENTER
The project is a $27.5 million renovation of an existing 85,000 s.f. science building and construction of a 19,000 s.f. addition. The original building was constructed in 1967, and the renovation included removing interior in addition to demolishing and reconstructing the exterior.
UF LAKE NONA RESEARCH CENTER
The new research and academic/conferencing facility for the University of Florida is located in Lake Nona, adjacent to the Burnham Institute site. The facility is a 4 story 115,000 GSF building, which includes research, academic, office, conference and support space to facilitate the UF mission at Lake Nona.
SSC-UCF UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP CENTER
The SSC-UCF University Partnership Center is a 100,000-sf facility that enhances the educational opportunities for residents of Seminole County and strengthens SSC’s partnership with UCF, by providing a base for UCF classes and student services. The Facility is located on 14.3 acres on SSC’s Sanford Lake Mary campus and will include a 564 space parking lot and a new 4.5 acre retention pond.
UCF BRIGHT NETWORKS HOUSE STADIUM
The 45,000-seat Bright House Networks football stadium includes 25 suites and 800 club seats. Included in the design is an entry plaza, concourse level and press box tower. The $47 million design/build stadium is part of a $60 million project that includes infrastructure, roads, parking and practice fields for football, soccer and baseball.
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Hospitality
Themed
Retail
Education
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JOIN OUR TEAM
CIVIL ENGINEER
Qualified candidates must be knowledgeable in land development design including civil master planning, site, roadway, drainage, utility design, permitting and construction. Minimum of 5 years experience; must possess PE; and have specific knowledge of site grading, utility and stormwater management design. In addition, candidate must have strong communications and technical skills.
SENIOR CAD DESIGNER
Senior Designer to assist on all phases of site development/civil engineering including grading design, storm water design, and utility design. The successful candidate must have strong capabilities in AutoCAD, Civil 3D and Excel. Our designers are involved in several projects at one time involving numerous team members, exceptional communications skills and the ability to work well with others is essential.
INTERNSHIPS
Our internship program provides students studying civil engineering an opportunity to work along side an experienced project manager on challenging real life projects. Our internships provide an exciting opportunity to strengthen skills and learn from senior staff.
Summer Term - (May - August. Application Deadline: March 30
Fall Term - September - December. Application Deadline: July 31
Contact our Human Resources Department at careers@harriscivilengineers.com
CONTACT INFORMATION
WHERE WE ARE
1200 Hillcrest Street, Suite 200
Orlando, FL 32803
MORE INFORMATION
If you have an inquiry, please complete the information below and we will respond to your request.
The HCE Team is made up of highly skilled, creative individuals in a variety of professional and administrative roles. We hire individuals who will enhance our team. HCE offers competitive salaries and an excellent benefits package. Our staff enjoy a friendly work environment and pride ourselves on our commitment to the community.