VIKA Celebrates 30 Years

When we started 30 years ago, we began with just five people in a small office in Bethesda. Today we have a staff of over 100 professionals in three offices, Germantown, McLean and Washington, DC. Looking back, 1980 could not have been a worse time for two young engineers to start a new business, but we were undaunted.

Just to put our beginning into perspective, when we started, the average national sales price of a new home was $68,700 compared to $238,000 in 2009; the national average for a gallon of gas was $1.19 compared to today's $2.51; the Federal Reserve’s Interest Rate was 21.5% compared to today’s 1%; and, the average yearly inflation rate was 13.58% compared to -1% now.

We started with a small project, the Lethridge Residence, which was followed by the Heckler and Koch manufacturing building, the renovation of the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, and the first Planned Unit Development in the District of Columbia, Hillandale at Georgetown. Throughout the years, all of us here at VIKA have worked diligently to sustain the confidence and respect of our clients and colleagues.

While the complexity, type, and size of projects have changed over the years, in many ways they are still the same. Projects must be completed on time and under budget; there are always new challenges and barriers to overcome; jurisdictional authorities are still powers that must be contended with; regulations continue to change; and, the economy can humble us all at any given moment. But, through it all, VIKA’s values and commitments have remained unchanged: Integrity; Quality; Knowledge; Experience; Teamwork; Responsiveness; Service; Sustainability; and, the Enrichment of our clients are still the hallmarks of our work.

In celebration of our 30th Anniversary, VIKA has launched our new website. We will also be sending periodic informative e-mails on emerging trends, technology, services, and regulatory changes that we believe will be of value to you and useful in our future endeavors together. To that end, we have included a link to Arlington County’s recently updated Administrative Regulation 4.1, which sets forth standards for the plan submittal process and submittal requirements for all: phased development site plans; new site plans; major amendments to existing site plans; and, general land use plan amendments (click here to read the document).

We are proud to have served you. Thank you for all that you have done to help build and grow VIKA and its staff. We appreciate your confidence and support and look forward to working with you for the next 30 years.

John Amatetti, PE and Chuck Irish, PE, LS, LEED AP
Founding Principals

John Amatetti & Chuck Irish now,
and then...