Our blog.
What we’ve been up to.
Drift Hotel: Adaptive Reuse Is Urban Renewal
Adaptive reuse projects breathe new life into old buildings. The Drift Hotel, a boutique hotel with its street-facing Dawn café and Dusk craft cocktail bar located on Santa Barbara's State Street, just two blocks from Ashley & Vance...
Desolation Hotel: A Stunning High Sierra Destination
Unique to the area and perfectly positioned a few blocks from Heavenly Mountain Resort and Lakeside Beach on Lake Tahoe’s southern shore, the Desolation Hotel is a high-end structure that is now open for business. Engineers Jordan Denio and Scott...
BASX Solutions Breaks Ground on a New Welding Facility
BASX Solutions, a high-efficiency HVAC manufacturing company based in Redmond, Oregon, has broken ground on what will become a new welding shop building at the north end of their campus. Since converting the old Redmond Walmart into manufacturing...
62 Donations and Counting!
An annual tradition since 2019, Bree Smead and Emily Orlando (two rock stars from our AV SLO Office) took time to give blood together in honor of the Memorial Day holiday. With close ties to friends and family who have needed blood donations, they...
Emilio Completes the Pacific Coast Bike Race Express 750!
Spanning from Capitol Square in Sacramento to the Unconditional Surrender Statue (a.k.a., the “Kissing Statue”) in San Diego, the Pacific Coast Bike Race Express 750 kicked off on May 7, 2023. One of only 16 riders (and 13 finishers), our own...
Water Reclamation Facilities Aren’t Glamorous, Unless You’re An Engineer…
Since 2018, a team from Ashley & Vance Engineering, including structural project engineers Mika Daniel and Chelsie Taylor and civil project engineer Kathleen Allwine have been working with city planners, design consultants, and construction...
Structural Considerations for Restoring the Historic Spheir Building
The Spheir building in downtown Bend, Oregon, was originally built in 1917. At 7,000 square feet, it is downtown Bend’s largest historical structure. Originally constructed as a two-story, mixed-use commercial building, the prominent downtown...
Midtown Place: How Smart Building Design Uplifts a Community
The Midtown Place in Redmond, Oregon, is an affordable multi-family housing complex that doesn’t look like your typical family housing. Thanks to a community-driven design team and motivated city planners, this 47-unit housing structure is bringing...
AutoCamp Yosemite: Glass Walls, Steel Beams & Luxury Camping Airstreams
The clubhouse at AutoCamp Yosemite is a modern, sleek yet natural-feeling design tucked away in Midpines, California, just 36 miles west of Yosemite National Park. Ashley & Vance Engineering project engineer Chris Huffman took the lead on...
Attainable Housing Creates Sustainable Cities
Take a peek at Kôrazón in Bend, Oregon, the first homeownership community built by Kôr Community Land Trust. This cottage model of home building is helping Bend grow toward a new era of affordable, attainable, and sustainable housing. We...
Multi-Family Housing in Santa Barbara ArchitecTours — Jardin de las Rosas
One of our projects, selected as a feature in the AIASB (American Institute of Architects, Santa Barbara Chapter) ArchitecTours last month, is this multi-family affordable housing development. All units here at Jardin de Las Rosas, are rented to...
Turkeys Trotting for a Cause
Thanksgiving is a time to gather with the family and have a little fun. This year, our Ashley & Vance Engineering (AVE) team in the San Luis Obispo office had a few trotters participating in the 7th annual South County Turkey Trot “At the...
Building Beautiful with Cost-Efficient Design
Working with organizations like People's Self-Help Housing, which have immeasurable impacts on our communities, is a privilege Ashley & Vance is proud of. Here’s some insight from AV Founder Truitt Vance and Project Engineer Jackson Kelly about...
Moving to Sacramento: Greg Shehtanian, PE
Ashley & Vance is excited to open a new office in Sacramento, California, and help guide smart building initiatives and urban renewal projects, including the Fort Sutter Hotel in midtown Sacramento, engineered by Greg Shehtanian, Matthew Tropp...
Making Community-Minded Change: Jenilee Daw, PE
When Jenilee Daw took the civil lead on the Stillwater Crossing Apartments project in Bend, Oregon, she worked mindfully with designers, developers, and the city to design affordable housing that aligns with the City of Bend’s goals. Here’s what...
Combining Passion with Profession: Eric Varley, SE
At Ashley & Vance, we love when professional work aligns with our personal interests. Avid climber and structural engineer, Eric Varley, combined his passion for rock climbing with engineering when a new gym opened in Santa Maria, California....
Bend Central District Moves Forward!
We were excited to watch as the Bend City Council voted in favor of creating the urban renewal district in the core of Bend, advancing the vision of the Bend Central District (BCD). Ashley & Vance's Bend office is located at a gentrifying...
4 Smart Renewal Concepts That Can Help Build Inclusive Communities
When a city has the chance to rebuild, it has the opportunity to create a healthy and diverse community through smart urban renewal. Design teams, developers, builders, and city planners are all in the position to provide infrastructure that meets...
How Ashley & Vance Engineering Came to Bend, Oregon
In the Summer of 2005, John and Stacey Fischer arrived in Bend, Oregon, agreeing it was one of their favorite stops on a 2-month-long road trip around the United States. John took a job on a framing crew but kept drawing calculations on plywood,...
Multi-Family Housing in Santa Barbara ArchitecTours—Jardin de las Rosas
One of our projects, selected as a feature in the AIASB (American Institute of Architects, Santa Barbara Chapter) ArchitecTours last month, is this multi-family affordable housing development. All units here at Jardin de Las Rosas, are rented to...
Mammoth Lakes Custom Home
After featuring this project on the blog just after our team’s visit to the site in fall, we got our hands on more photos which show off the stunning scenery and construction stages of this single family residence. This ski-in ski-out custom home...
Identity—Student Housing in Reno, NV
We were happy to see Identity, a new luxury student housing development, occupied by students this past school year. With its premier location, directly across the street from Lawlor Events Center at the heart of the University of Nevada, Reno’s...
The Oakland Office’s New Whereabouts
We outgrew our previous space but are staying local! Our new home is on Telegraph Avenue where multiple cranes are hard at work redefining and updating the downtown Oakland skyline. This popular area for professionals, students, tourists, and...
The Reno Office’s New Dwelling
Our office in the Tahoe area recently relocated to a new space in Reno, NV! Now, more centrally located to the places we work, live, and play, our expanding Ashley & Vance Engineering team is working out of South Reno. We built, designed, and...
Laurel Way Residence
Partnering once again with Studio William Hefner, A&V’s Structural and Civil teams came together to design this brand new Beverly Hills home. When complete, it’ll amount to 15,000 square feet, with two stories above grade and one below,...
SB Office Opens New Downtown Digs
Our Santa Barbara team is now up & running in their new office space, located at 210 E. Cota St. Lots of effort went into the extensive tenant improvement project that it took to get it ready, and they’re pumped with how it turned out!...
Planning to Build a Home
Planning to Build a Home The steps to building a house can be overwhelming and emotional. Where do you start? Who do you speak to? Who do you hire? Because there are many people involved in building a house, we’ve documented a simple outline to...
Mammoth Custom Home
Jordan recently completed a site visit to a new custom home at Mammoth Ski Area. The building is 18,000 square feet with under story parking. With a 300 pound per Sq. ft. snow load the structural engineering had to literally account for...
Progress Update: Tallest Building in the Garlic Capital of the World
The structural phase is wrapping up on Alexander Station Apartments in Gilroy, California! John Layous, S.E. headed up our team of engineers in collaborating with Hochhauser Blatter Architects and Pacific Companies to see this project through...
SB’s Marc Hits the Mark for Mixed-Use Magnificence
Our Santa Barbara & LA teams recently had the privilege of meeting up to tour The Marc--an impressive four-story, mixed-use project located on upper State Street. Our own Sean Galbreath joined forces with the talented folks at DesignARC...
House of Worship Takes Shape
September project update; The roof is on and trades are working away inside.Construction is well underway on a new 17,000 square feet Church in Bellingham.The structural engineering features heavy-duty glulam tudor arches that space 63 feet!...
Snowpocalypse!
It’s been a tough winter for everyone, and A&V has responded in force! Recent severe winter weather in Central Oregon brought excessive snowfall, causing the catastrophic collapse of several structures, including the gymnasium at Bend's...
Identity Reno, Luxury Student Apartments
Check out the new Identity, a 7-story, 100 unit housing project in Reno, Nevada!Our own Jordan Denio and Tung Ng in the Tahoe office are helping Sierra Nevada Builders and Caron Architecture complete this exciting...
New School in Cottage Grove, OR
Ashley & Vance is kicking off structural design of the new elementary school for South Lane School District in Cottage Grove, Oregon. The design of the 80,000 sq. ft., 2-story school is a metaphor for growth, combining local heritage and...
Engineers Without Borders: Axim, Ghana
Evan Dahl is a project engineer in our Belligham, WA office. He recently traveled to Axim, Ghana as a member of the Northwest Washington Chapter of Engineers Without Borders. The primary intent of the trip was to monitor a Urine Diversion...
The Ultimate Erector Set!
Welbrook Senior Living is an assisted living facility currently under construction in Van Nuys. Ashley & Vance provided the structural engineering of the building which consists of a subterranean parking, two levels of concrete two-way decks,...
Now this is Student Housing!
The LIV Seattle off-campus student housing and retail facility is a 7-story, 56-unit building, located in Seattle's U District. Ashley & Vance provided structural engineering consisting of post tension concrete slabs for the lower floors,...
Hotel Cerro in San Luis Obispo
Hotel Serra in San Luis Obispo is taking shape! These photos are from our site visit this morning. Serra Hotel and Resorts maintains a website to keep the community updated on construction activity. You can visit it here for more information.
AV Summer BBQ Extravaganza 2016!
Last weekend was the Ashley & Vance Summer Party Extravaganza and we had an amazing time! Employees and their families came to San Luis Obispo from all of our offices starting on Friday. We squeezed in a bike ride that morning before going...
Lake Whatcom remodel/addition
Nice remodel/addition underway on Lake Whatcom in Bellingham. Adding a second story master, revising the roof lines, and constructing a Simpson moment frame for a large first story opening. Thanks Arbour North, and Chuckanut Builders
Northshore Drive Residence under construction
Excited to see this custom home start construction in Bellingham Wa. 5100 square foot residence, 1500 sf of garage. Type 5 construction, shed roofs, nana walls for the south elevation, steel columns for covered porches, steel moment frame...
Central Oregon Builders Assoc. Tour of Homes
We are excited to see the Atrium Luxury Condominium project featured in the Central Oregon Builders Association Tour of Homes this year. AVE provided both civil and structural engineering for this 9 unit condo in the Old Mill District of Bend...
Bend Janis Medical Building
Check out this amazing new building in Bend, Oregon! R&H Construction installed the finishing touches on the Janis Medical Building recently. This is an 18,000 sq. ft. two-story medical office building with a beautiful modern design and...
Stormwater Design
Installation of the StormTech underground stormwater retention/infiltration chambers at 860 Humbert Avenue here in San Luis Obispo. This is a housing complex under construction and it will be the first project of its kind in the city to...
Structural retrofits in WSDOT tunnels on I-90
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is adding high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV) to the existing Mercer Island Tunnel (MIT) and Mount Baker Ridge Tunnel (MBRT) on Interstate 90 between Seattle and Bellevue...
AV Helps to Bring About More Harmony
Stoked to see this gorgeous hilltop home in Harmony getting some local press. Props to our own Kathleen Allwine and Ian Shoebridge for their respective efforts on the civil and structural designs. For more info and a full photo spread, check...
Encino Remodel
The Encino Remodel was a collaboration with Alan McLeod and Ashley & Vance's Santa Barbara office where the goal was to breathe new life into this aging structure. A large covered patio was added, curved lines of the house were squared...
Mixed use building on Monterey St.
Here are some recent site photos from Ian Shoebridge, SE at one of our mixed use projects currently under construction. This job is a 30,000 square foot two story addition to an existing 9,000 square foot two story unreinforced masonry...
Pacific Courtyards
Ashley & Vance Engineering provided engineering services for this mixed-use complex in San Luis Obispo. It consists of two buildings witha total 9 residential units with commerical units at the ground floor. AV provided structural engineering...
Bend Atrium Condos – Project Update
Located in the Old Mill District of Bend, Oregon is this new 9-unit condominium project. Photos below from a mid-November site visit show progress framing up to the third story with exterior sheathing being installed. Other progress on...
Digester Building Demo!
Check out this video of the Digester Building Demo at the Port of Bellingham former GP site. A lot of great progress is being made at the Port of Bellingham's former Georgia Pacific (GP) site. Crews have been busy demolishing buildings,...
Burgeoning Beach House
The Santa Barbara team is stoked to see construction underway on this residential remodel of a Carpinteria beach house. The bulk of the rough framing is completed and waterproofing's up next. We've really enjoyed teaming up again...
Arbor Builders Shout Out of The Month
Thank you Arbor Builders for the kind words. "Ashley Vance has proven that they are an exceptional partner for Arbor Builders. They have shown us a high level of professionalism and a deep experience in key areas of our business. We rely on...
Team AV rides for charity event!
On September 12, Truitt Vance and his wife Heidi participated in a century ride in support of Best Buddies. Best Buddies is a program that provides mentorship and inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With...
AV End-of-Summer Extravaganza
Fresh off of our annual end-of-summer extravaganza, we're reminded of just how blessed we are to have the team that we do. Spanning two days and replete with a wine tasting tour, a golf expedition, a softball game, a pool party, and a BBQ to...
Opening of The Mill
We're excited to celebrate the opening of The Mill in downtown Santa Barbara. Ashley & Vance teamed up with Becker Studios and AB Design to provide structural and civil engineering services for all aspects of...
Brooklyn St. Wraps Up!
We are proud to have been part of this great student housing project located at 4717 Brooklyn Street, Seattle WA. Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the project and residents will be moving in very soon. Ashley & Vance...
Construction Underway on Vaquero Residence
We're loving the progress we're seeing on this residential remodel in the Santa Barbara foothills. The bulk of the framing is completed, with waterproofing, window, and door installations soon to follow. Thanks to the work...
Welcome Bruce Jones!
Ashley & Vance is thrilled to welcome Bruce Jones, P.E., to the firm! Our Santa Barbara team was so thrilled, in fact, that they gathered together to cook up some ribs in his honor.In addition to the good shared meat, they...
Mirasol Makes Moves on Upper State
Scaffolding's been erected, dirt hauled, and walls shotcreted as construction crews work full-tilt on the 3800 block of Upper State Street in Santa Barbara, CA. This site is the future home of an 89-unit, 170,000 square foot mixed-use building...
SLO’s Chinatown Project in Full Swing
Construction is well under way on the retail portion of this impressive mixed-use project in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo. Once completed, it will boast approximately 50,000 square feet of retail space, plus additional offices and...
Student Housing – Seattle WA
The Compass General Construction crew has been hard at it and we are seeing the project coming close to completion. This 56 unit, 7 story building at 72,000 square feet will provide affordable off campus student housing adjacent to the...
AV Veteran Welcomed to Santa Barbara
Our Santa Barbara team rarely passes up a chance to celebrate with good food and great people. On this occasion, it was to welcome long-time AV veteran, Chad Pruett, P.E., into the fold. Having been in our San Luis Obispo office for the past 7...
Red Panda Exhibit
Ashley and Vance Engineering are assisting with a new project for the Paddock Zoo in Atascadero, California. The adorable red panda will soon have a new home by fall 2015. The exhibit was planned with AV for civil and structural engineering which...
Sherwin Williams Redevelopment – Emeryville, Ca.
Ashley & Vance Engineering's Oakland office was selected by Lennar Commercial to provide structural engineering services for the seismic upgrade, rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of the 80,000 square foot Sherwin Williams Paint...
SOMA Mission Street – San Francisco, Ca
Ashley & Vance Engineering's Oakland office recently completed design development for the adaptive re-use and seismic retrofit of this parking garage, situated in San Francisco's South of Market (SOMA) District. The concrete framed building,...
City of Santa Barbara; High-End Single Family Residence
Ashley & Vance Engineering’s Santa Barbara office has been making a great impact with their participation on a high-end single family residence project within the Upper Riviera section of the City of Santa Barbara. AV provided...
The Old Mill District; Luxury Condos
Ashley & Vance Engineering’s Bend office (with some assistance from the Bellingham office) provided structural and civil design for the Atrium at the Old Mill condo project featured in the Bend Bulletin on 4/3/15. The luxurious condominiums...
Port of Bellingham Redevelopment
Ashley & Vance Engineering supports the continued progress at the Port of Bellingham's former George Pacific (GP) site. Recently, the Port of Bellingham's Port Commission voted to move forward with develoment plans by selecting an Irish...
New Portland Brewery Opens – T.I. for Ex Novo
AV proudly donated our engineering services to help with the build-out of Portland's newest and only non-profit brewery: Ex Novo Brewing. John Fischer, of Ashley & Vance's Bend, Oregon office, collaborated with SUM Design Studio...
Summer BBQ
Thank you to the Ashley's for hosting a great summer BBQ for all of us and our families. It was a great turnout and the ribs were outstanding!
Revamped Newman Catholic Center
Construction is now complete on the revamped Newman Catholic Center! Partnering with architect Greg Wilhelm, our own Ian Shoebridge, P.E., was involved with the design from start to finish. Ian was instrumental in bringing...
SLO Railroad Museum Grand Opening
On October 12, San Luis Obispo will celebrate the grand opening of its very own Railroad Museum. After more than 20 years of planning, funding, and construction, the museum located in the old railroad freight house at 1940 Santa Barbara...
Mammoth Rock ‘n’ Bowl
A one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art bowling alley, restaurant, and entertainment facility located in beautiful Mammoth Lakes is nearing completion. With three upstairs bays to handle 15-foot-by-9-foot golf/video screens; a downstairs that...
Room of Rest Opens in Paso
A new room of rest, or more traditionally, "restroom," has recently been opened at the City of Paso Robles' downtown park. Teaming up with Ravatt Albrecht and the City of Paso Robles, Chad Pruett, P.E., worked to provide structural...
Music & Wine Meet…Efficiency
Construction of the Vina Robles Amphitheatre is complete and its inaugural concert season is upon us. Starting this Saturday, July 6th, exceptional wine and intimate live music will be paired to create an unforgettable wine country...
You want to cantilever HOW far?!
Construction is nearing completion on an impressive and unique pool house structure. Set against the backdrop of the rolling hills of Edna Valley, this modern pool house pushes the limits of design by challenging what's possible for a cantilevered...
Newman Catholic Center Nears Completion
Construction on the Newman Catholic Center has progressed well and is nearing completion. Partnering with architect Greg Wilhelm, our own Ian Shoebridge, P.E., has been involved on the design from start to finish. Ian has been...
Mammoth Lakes Monument Signs
It's done. Our own Jordan Denio, P.E., teamed up with Bruce Woodward of Woodward Architecture (and others!) in Mammoth Lakes, California to donate our structural expertise for a new monument sign. We think it looks great and we are proud to be a...
Habitat for Humanity Breaks Ground
On December 12th, 2012, the Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County broke ground on the Canon Perdido Affordable Homes project. It will consist of a 12-home development, providing safe, decent, and affordable...
ICON at UCSB
Fall is upon us, and along with the usual lineup of football, colder weather, shorter days, and bigger waves, we also welcome the opening of ICON--the newest student housing complex at the University of California, Santa Barbara. ICON is a...
AV Team Visits the Rosetta Jobsite
Yesterday we had the privilege of visiting one of our jobs under construction--the new home to Rosetta, and the newest addition to the East Airport Commerce Park. Knowing the collaborative effort that Jordan Denio, P.E. and Ian...
