ABMB Engineers Celebrates Opening of New Historic Downtown Offices

Firm Brings Together the Old and the New at Refurbished Main Street Headquarters, Strengthens its Commitment to Clients and the Community

Baton Rouge, LA—The first time ABMB Engineers principal Steve Boudreaux set foot inside the Jackson Building, once a mercantile on Main Street, all he could see was broken glass, dust, pigeon droppings and darkness.

“The South wall looked like it was ready to collapse,” says Boudreaux, a structural engineer.

Yet he and his staff at ABMB Engineers saw what could be. Now, the 1888 building is a state-of-the-art office complex. ABMB will hold a ribbon cutting and crawfish boil to celebrate the grand opening of its new headquarters on April 30 at 6:00 pm.

Working closely with Architect Robert Coleman and Partners, the Louisiana Historic Preservation Society, the Downtown Development District and Plan Baton Rouge, ABMB took painstaking efforts to maintain the building’s historic elements.

ABMB shielded the handmade, exposed bricks, original wood floors, and wrought iron columns as it reinforced the structural integrity of the building, installed computer networks, brand new electrical wiring and plumbing. Result: A workspace that inspires visitors and staff alike by bringing together the old and the new.

“ABMB wants our projects to have that same enduring quality that we have in this building,” says principal Mike McGaugh, looking out at bustling Main Street Market from tall windows that border ABMB’s new light-filled headquarters.

ABMB’s new location also makes sense from a business standpoint. Now that the company is housed just steps away from clients such as the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, ABMB’s engineers are on hand to meet client needs more readily.

ABMB Engineers has long been an avid supporter of Baton Rouge’s downtown revitalization efforts. Its move to Main Street makes is proof that ABMB Engineers stands by the communities where it does business.

“We believe in making an investment in Baton Rouge,” Boudreaux says.

ABMB Engineers provides civil/site design, traffic engineering, structural design, sewage and water, bridge design and inspection, drainage, highway/roadway design, and surveying to a variety of municipal, state, federal and commercial clients. They include the Federal Highway Administration and the departments of transportation in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Virginia; the cities of Baton Rouge, Jackson and Shreveport; and such companies as Exxon Refinery, Walgreens and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The firm is based in Baton Rouge and has offices in Jackson and Vicksburg, Mississippi.

WHAT: ABMB Engineers’ New Headquarters Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening Celebration

WHEN: Friday, April 30, 2004 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: 500 Main Street, Baton Rouge, LA.

WHO: Principals from ABMB Engineers will be available for interviews following the ribbon cutting. Mayor Bobby Simpson will also be present for the ribbon cutting.