HATTON GODAT PANTIER

Steven Hatton, PE, Principal Engineer and President

Chris Aldrich, LA, Landscape Architect and Planning Manager

Steven Hatton, PE
President

After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Washington State University in 1982, Steve began his civil engineering career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In that role, he served as lead engineer on numerous projects, ranging from a tank repair facility to fish hatcheries.

“I went from the largest engineering firm in the world to the smallest,” he jokes, “when I joined Howard Godat & Associates over 15 years ago.”

Although Steve had wide ranging expertise in structural design and construction, as well as contract administration and project management, he had a much bigger project in mind: building a full service firm that could help developers get more value from the land and from their projects. That dream became reality with the development of Hatton Godat Pantier, now widely recognized as the South Sound’s premier engineering, surveying and landscape architecture group.

“I wanted our firm to be more than just a group of technicians – no matter how good we might be,” Steve says. “My vision was to combine engineering and design services with an understanding of the business goals of developers. We like to think we can offer development solutions that are faster, simpler and more creative – but that ultimately help our clients create added value on every project they complete.”

To deliver that vision, Steve identified three ongoing priorities for the firm:

Capability. From day one, the emphasis has been on hiring only the very top talent.
Quality. By delivering total project integration combined with creative, cost-effective solutions, developers get more, earn more, and deliver more to their end users.
Objectivity. Although Hatton Godat Pantier specializes in development work, both public and private, the firm does not seek municipal work from agencies with which we must act as advocates for our clients.

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Jeff Pantier, PLS
Principal Surveyor

Jeff’s professional career began very early on when he would tag along with his father, an independent land surveyor, as he worked various projects and development sites in the 1970s. Those early experiences sparked an interest in surveying and land use issues and pointed him toward a professional career that began in 1978 with boundary and construction surveying, topographic mapping, as well as site and subdivision planning. In his role Jeff encompasses high level creative project guidance with some of the most well respected developers and high profile builders in the Puget Sound region.

“Most of what I do professionally goes far beyond surveying,” Jeff explains. “As we build partnerships with developers, we focus on understanding their vision for each project. Once we have a sense of their goals, we can find ways to bring them to life, while still complying with regulatory and site constraints.”

As an example, Jeff points to the well received Horizon Pointe development, a 1,500-lot residential community in Lacey, where he provided planning, design and project management. To deliver that kind of guidance, Jeff combines a thorough understanding of surveying, topography and land use constraints with first hand knowledge of how projects actually get built.

“As a surveyor, I understand how the land itself shapes a development project,” he says. “But I also bring in my own and Hatton Godat Pantier’s business expertise to create a project that delivers optimum value for the owner and quality development for the community.”

A small sample of the projects on which Jeff has been involved include:

Towncenter Pointe Plaza (Olympia, WA)
Lacey Market Square (Lacey, WA)
Simmons Mill Condominiums (Tumwater, WA)
Summerwood Apartments (Redmond, WA)
The Villages at Avonlea (Lacey, WA)

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Chris Aldrich, LA
Landscape Architect and Planning Manager

Chris Aldrich wasn’t born a Landscape Architect, but he certainly grew up in an environment that fostered his love for the unique natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. After spending much of his younger years helping establish his family’s South Sound area nursery, which specializes in producing native plants, Chris found his way to Washington State University, where he completed a degree in Landscape Architecture.

“I couldn’t help but notice that many of my fellow graduates grew up in urban environments,” he says. “I’ve always felt that growing up in a rural area with a horticultural background gave me an advantage in designing environments that ‘work’ aesthetically and from a project development standpoint.”

Throughout his professional career, Chris has developed a strong, pragmatic, client friendly design method. He uses his sensitivity to the environment to provide clients with options that balance development and regulatory requirements, ensuring compliance with strictures such as open space, storm drainage and green belt preservation.

As head of Hatton Godat Pantier’s Landscape Architecture Services and Planning Division, Chris provides clients with broad project experience and technical expertise in site planning and project management, residential and commercial development, land use permitting processes, master planning, commercial and residential site design and landscape design for recreation facilities, irrigation systems and public spaces.

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