01Media, Pennsylvania · Est. 1945
Civil engineering, land surveying and municipal engineering for South Eastern Pennsylvania. Family owned and operated for four generations — from a two-lot boundary survey to a five-hundred-unit development.
02The survey
Deed research, field measurement, monuments set at the corners, bearings and distances recorded. A signed plan you can hand to a solicitor, a lender or a township board — and settle the question for good.
Land surveying03The plan
Sketch plan through preliminary and final. Lot layout, roadway design, earthwork, stormwater management. Subdivision plans from two lots to a hundred have been the staple of this firm for eight decades.
Land development & site engineering04The permits
Sanitary and storm sewer design, erosion and sedimentation control, sewage facilities planning, and the environmental and state permitting that has to clear before a single lot is sold.
Sewer design & state permitting05 The township
This firm has sat on the municipal side of the table in Delaware County since the 1940s. Today we are engineer of record for Bethel Township, Rose Valley Borough, Chester Heights Borough and Pennsbury Township, and alternate engineer for Chester Township.
Municipal engineering1945
Founded in Media
4
Generations, family owned
35,000
Projects completed
25,000+
Dwellings permitted
06 The record
Most engineering firms cannot show you what they built two generations ago. This one can — it is still carrying traffic.
The full history1945
Gustave D. Houtman — born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island in 1894, a graduate of Brown University — had been practising civil engineering in Delaware County since the 1930s. After the war he opened a civil engineering and land surveying firm with his son, John E. Houtman.
1950s–60s
Gus designed more than fourteen county bridges spanning the major streams of Delaware County, many still carrying traffic today, along with the design survey and construction layout for the Media By-pass and the structural design of the Media Parking Garage.
1970s
As Gus's professional activity slowed, the firm passed to his son Jack and his nephew Edouard N. Houtman. Gus had been municipal engineer for more than fifteen Delaware County municipalities and for the Media Municipal Authority.
Today
The four sons of Ed Houtman — Edward, Matthew, Gustave and John — provide the engineering, surveying and design expertise for the firm. Its managing staff carry a combined 115 years of experience in South Eastern Pennsylvania.
Everything we do
Boundary and topographic surveys for owners, buyers and builders.
Read moreSubdivision plans, grading and site design, from two lots to a hundred.
Read moreSanitary and storm sewer design, and the permits that go with it.
Read moreEngineer of record for townships and boroughs across Delaware County.
Read moreBridges, dams, treatment works and public structures.
Read moreNot sure which of these you need? Most people aren’t. Call the office and describe the situation — it takes two minutes to work out.
(610) 565-6363Selected work
2008
Aston, PA
Site engineering for a new athletic and student life centre on the college campus.
2008
Concord Township, PA
Site engineering for a retail centre in one of the county's fastest-growing townships.
2007
Chester, PA
Engineering on several redevelopment projects within the city.
2005
Coatesville, PA
A 500-unit residential mixed-use development in the City of Coatesville.
07 Start here
A settlement date, a fence in the wrong place, a parcel you want to subdivide, a township that has asked for a plan. Call the office or send the details and we will tell you what is actually involved.