Photo credit: Billy Penn/Danya Henninger

Urban is pleased to announce that local news outlet Billy Penn has named Mike Thomas, PE, to their “Who's Next: Real Estate and Housing" list. Mr. Thomas is a senior project manager in the firm’s site/land development group and proudly joins 18 young honorees who are fellow stars in shaping Philadelphia across disciplines.

As architects and developers dream up ideas that are transforming Philadelphia’s housing and development scene, civil engineers like Mr. Thomas find ways to turn those dreams into reality. Often the unsung heroes, civil engineers create, improve, and protect the environment in which we live by finding innovative solutions to complex engineering problems. Seasoned engineers like Mr. Thomas provide critical input and related design improvements around site layout, stormwater management, and infrastructure.

A licensed Professional Engineer in five states – including Pennsylvania and New Jersey – Mr. Thomas is a 2007 graduate of Villanova University. He specializes in stormwater management; erosion and sedimentation control; utility coordination and relocation; land development design and permitting; construction administration, and more. He has been involved with some of the more exciting development projects in Philadelphia, including SugarHouse Casino, the Rail Park, and the Views at Penn Treaty located at Pier 53 North.

For his work on SugarHouse, he provided site/land development engineering design services for the facility’s expansion that included a complete overhaul and redesign of the northern half of the 28-acre site, additional gaming space, back of floor space, and a multi-story parking garage. The recently opened Rail Park in Philadelphia’s Callowhill neighborhood – which transformed a defunct railroad into a unique public space – owes part of its successful completion to the contributions of Mr. Thomas and his colleagues at Urban.

As the engineering project manager for the Views at Penn Treaty, Mr. Thomas provided exceptional site/land development engineering services for a 19-unit townhome community located along the Delaware River. All three projects showcase how Mr. Thomas’s hard work and first-rate engineering design contribute to projects that are not only providing entertainment, public amenities, and housing, but that are spurring more development in their surrounding area.

Billy Penn’s “Who's Next” series highlights some of the most dynamic people under 40 who are making valuable contributions to this city’s continued growth. The outlet’s goal is to identify and track the next generation of leaders and influencers. This most recent list consists of CEOs, realtors, civil engineers, architects, artists, attorneys, and more. Through their work in the development industry, those who were named to this elite list are making an enduring impact on our city — and are expected to continue to lead the innovative advances of the real estate and housing industry into the future.

To view the full list, click here