Crested Butte’s Sprout Studio has joined SCJ Alliance (SCJ), a 100% employee-owned professional services firm. SCJ specializes in civil engineering, transportation planning and design, environmental and urban planning, public outreach, and landscape architecture.
Sprout Studio was founded by Margaret Loperfido in 2011 and has been providing landscape architecture and construction services to the Gunnison Valley and surrounding areas.
“With this merger, SCJ will now have an expanded landscape architecture studio in Crested Butte,” said Margaret. “Our intimate team of landscape architects and designers is still located in our Crested Butte studio. Now we have the benefit of added talent, resources, and bandwidth of a larger company.” The installation services portion of Margaret’s business is continuing as Sprout Studio Landscape Construction and will continue to collaborate with the SCJ design team.
The Benefits of Joining Forces
Margaret shares, “I am really excited to be able to focus more time on clients and design and less time on running the business. I am looking forward to having the support, creativity, diversity of skills, and expanded resources for us all to thrive together!” She added, “Our firms share many values including building community, treasuring employees, valuing collaboration, willingness to listen, and taking pride in exceptional work, which makes this a really good match.”
“Margaret and her team bring talent, solid client relationships, and expanded markets to SCJ,” said SCJ Vice President Eric Johnston. “She understands the environmental and social factors that influence design in mountain and resort communities. We are looking forward with our blended talents in serving both private and public clients.”
Margaret and her team are anticipating growth opportunities through collaboration with SCJ’s engineers, planners, and existing landscape architecture designers. They also value the added depth to tackle public projects, something that resonates with their passion for serving community. SCJ has approximately 150 employees across three states who regularly work across offices on multi-disciplinary teams.
SCJ’s growing Colorado footprint
The addition of Sprout Studio grows SCJ’s presence in Colorado. Currently SCJ has a team in Boulder primarily working on cable-propelled transit, and a team of civil engineers in Gunnison. SCJ’s office in Crested Butte has doubled in size, and the team is already enhanced with an additional landscape architecture project manager. Firm-wide there are ten SCJ offices across Colorado, Montana, and Washington states.
Cable-propelled transit includes things like ski-lifts, gondolas, and other aerial transportation systems. SCJ’s team members have worked on projects at Steamboat Ski Resort for over three decades, including the most recent modernization of its gondola. Additionally, SCJ participated in the design for the Vegas High Roller Observation Wheel and is currently working on the gondola system to bring people from downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium.
SCJ was founded by a handful of people in 2006 with the vision to anticipate emerging needs and priorities, envision projects that enhance communities, and create designs that bring visions to life.
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For additional information:
Margaret Loperfido, PLA, ASLA
Principal: Crested Butte Office
Mobile: 303.912.1404
Office: 970.641.2499
523 Riverland Dr, Suite 3C, Crested Butte, CO 81224
margaret.loperfido@scjalliance.com
Aug 15, 2023 | Jay Cordovado | Media Release
