DETROIT, October 13, 2022 – Giffels Webster, a Detroit-headquartered consulting firm specializing in planning, land development and infrastructure solutions, today announced the retirement of shareholders and full-time employees Rod Arroyo, AICP and Michael Polmear, LEED AP. Arroyo and Polmear will continue to work at Giffels Webster on a part-time basis, each with a title of Partner Emeritus.
Together, the two have more than 90 years of experience in civil planning, community development, zoning, transportation design, construction and more. They have won numerous state and national awards for sustainability solutions, master plan directives and other innovations.
“Rod and Mike’s passion, enthusiasm and leadership have greatly strengthened our team, as well as improved communities across multiple cities and states,” said Scott Clein, PE, LEED AP, president and partner at Giffels Webster. “We thoroughly valued, enjoyed working with and learning from Rod and Mike over the years. We thank them both for their dedication and many years of innovation.”
Rod Arroyo, AICP, Partner, Notable Career Highlights:
- Created a new concept for zoning code organization and presentation on municipal websites, Clearzoning®, which is now used in over 30 municipalities and four states; led and co-created the Next Steps for Downtown® program, which provides communities with an expert assessment of downtown strengths and opportunities
- Supported work on the Palace of Auburn Hills (NBA arena), Birchwood Mall (near Port Huron, Mich.), Grand Traverse Mall (Traverse City, Mich.), RiverTown Crossings Mall (Grandville, Mich.), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Dolphins Stadiumin Miami Gardens, Fla.), The City of Brighton and many more
- Served as an adjunct professor of urban planning at Wayne State University and prepared Best Practice 2 (Zoning) and 3 (Development Regulation) for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Redevelopment Ready Communities Program, which he has taught throughout the state of Michigan
Michael Polmear, LEED AP, Partner, Notable Career Highlights:
- Responsible for many of the firm’s major mixed-use development projects, notably Martin Parkway (Commerce Township, Mich.), Wixom Village Center Area (Wixom, Mich.), Northfield Hills Golf Course (Northville, Mich.), Pine Creek Ridge (Genoa Township and Hamburg Township, Mich.) and numerous municipal water and sewer projects for Brighton, Mich., as well as hundreds of residential, mixed-use, hospitality, office, retail commercial/industrial, institutional and public works projects
- Oversaw management of projects, including budgeting, scheduling selected project team members and coordinating internal staff functions required to bring a project to a successful conclusion
Arroyo and Polmear enjoyed mentoring team members and sharing their collective wisdom and experience. They will continue to focus on these aspects in their new roles as Partner Emeritus, while their management roles will be filled by the next generation of leaders within Giffels Webster.
About Giffels Webster
Giffels Webster is a collection of people – civil engineers, landscape architects, planners, surveyors and GIS specialists – who choose every day to make communities better. The Michigan-based firm helps public, private and institutional clients throughout the United States with planning, land development and infrastructure needs. For the past 70 years, Giffels Webster has evolved to offer a broad scope of services centered on helping clients achieve their project or programming goals, including civil engineering, municipal consulting, planning, land development consulting, landscape architecture, traffic engineering, surveying and GIS consulting. For more information, visit giffelswebster.com.