RICK, the largest privately held planning, design and engineering firm in San Diego, has announced its 70th anniversary and is celebrating seven decades of projects that have transformed San Diego County and the Southwest.
Glenn A. Rick and Sons was established in 1955 by Glenn Rick, the first Planning Director for the city of San Diego, who served in that position from 1928 to 1955 and became known as the “father of Mission Bay.” His legacy was formally recognized in 1979 when the city renamed the Ventura Bridge the Glenn A. Rick Bridge in his honor.
Rick was encouraged to start an independent engineering practice by his friend William “Bill” Black, La Jolla rancher and namesake of Black’s Beach. Rick’s initial office, which he shared with his sons, William (Bill) and Wallace (Wally), was in a converted horse stable at Blackhorse Farms on the coastal bluffs of La Jolla.
“Reaching this historic milestone is quite an anomaly,” said Kai Ramer, the fourth president and CEO of RICK. “Our 70-year success as a family-owned and then employee-owned business is rare. Statistics show there is a stark decline with each generational transition. Seventy or 80 percent fail or are forced to sell within four or five generations,” he said.
Instead, RICK has grown to include 11 offices across the Southwestern United States with more than 400 employees, and specialties that range from community planning to watershed science, landscape architecture, municipal services and reality capture. Since 2022, RICK has acquired engineering firms in Tucson, Las Vegas and Riverside, and opened a new office in Santa Clarita to meet client needs.
“We have prospered through strategic growth across California, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada, diversifying our services and clientele, and attracting and nurturing top-tier talent, while maintaining a close-knit, people-oriented culture, with one of the highest retention rates in the industry,” said Ramer, noting that the company has a portfolio of 20,000 projects.
RICK’s local influence is evident in projects that demonstrate the company’s technical expertise and dedication to environmental stewardship. An early example is Rancho Peñasquitos, a 14,000-acre master plan that includes Peñasquitos Creek, which drains nearly 67 square miles and required detailed hydrology and floodplain planning. Today, Rancho Peñasquitos hosts more than 15,000 households intermingled with shopping, schools, and extensive recreation. About 34 percent of the area was preserved for conservation, including what is now Black Mountain Open Space Park and Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.
“Rancho Peñasquitos gave us the opportunity to bring our principles and values to development on a grand scale,” said Roger Ball, chairman and past president of RICK, who joined the firm in 1974 as a draftsman. “That led to larger and more complex high-profile master plans such as Eastlake, Scripps Ranch, Fairbanks Ranch, North City West, Black Mountain Ranch, Santa Luz, Otay Mesa, Millenia, and the master plan of Liberty Station,” he said.
At the same time, RICK was growing geographically and diversifying to meet client needs. “Public works became a much larger percentage of our portfolio,” said Ball.
Prominent current regional projects include:
- Freedom Park at Navy Pier
RICK is the lead consulting designer for the nearly 10-acre Freedom Park at Navy Pier, responsible for bringing the concept developed by Wimmer, Yamada & Caughey to life. RICK’s in-house teams deliver civil, traffic, water resources, surveying/mapping, and landscape architecture services for the project, and manage a lineup of subconsultants. When finished in early 2028, Freedom Park will feature a variety of amenities, including nature gardens, memorials and monuments, play areas, concession stands, a restroom, interpretive signage, and gathering spaces. Developed by the USS Midway Museum and the Port of San Diego, the park will serve as a tribute to the region’s military history and the bravery of our everyday heroes.
- Landscape Architecture for San Diego International Airport (SDIA) Terminal 1
RICK provided landscape architecture services for the airport expansion, including the 71-acre landscape surrounding Terminal 1, the general transit plaza, the parking structure, and the facilities management campus. Art by renowned artists is integrated throughout the site, and LEED elements help support the airport’s sustainability goals. The RICK team led the shift toward low-water-use planting and worked to integrate public access features like pedestrian connections, view corridors, and bike facilities into the design process.
- Civita, Mission Valley
RICK is the lead civil engineering consultant for the development of Civita, a 230-acre urban village in Mission Valley. The former quarry has been transformed into a living model for how walkability, open space, and green infrastructure can optimize the quality of life. RICK has provided multi-service and multi-phase civil engineering work, including preparation of improvement and grading plans, infrastructure master planning, and design for a recycled water/sewer/storm drain system, traffic engineering, final design of various neighborhoods, extensive transportation improvements to nearby city streets, and a Caltrans interchange upgrade. Four parks, including the 14-acre Civita Park, offer a multitude of recreational, community, and civic activities.
Lithium Valley, Imperial County
RICK authored the Lithium Valley Specific Plan for Imperial County, helping develop the region’s vision for extracting lithium from geothermal brine and creating significant economic opportunities centered around the Salton Sea. It is projected that over 30 million tons of lithium can be extracted from the Salton Sea via geothermal mining techniques in Imperial County.
Technology has advanced meteorically since RICK’s founding.
“During my career, I’ve seen us transition from slide rules to calculators to CAD (computer-assisted design) to LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to AI,” noted Ball. “When I joined the firm, the number of draftsmen far outnumbered any other specialty. CAD changed all that.”
RICK and the entire engineering profession have transformed from a hands-on, drafting-intensive discipline to a computation-driven field emphasizing analytical skills, software, and data analysis. Key changes include the widespread adoption of computers and CAD for design, a greater focus on specialization, and increased emphasis on project management and sustainability.
Ramer noted that AI is already having a positive effect. “In due diligence research, AI gets you 75 percent there. On the design side, AI is not sophisticated enough yet, but that will undoubtedly change,” he said.
“The demographic makeup of the engineering profession has also dramatically changed, and we are proud of our diversity,” said Ramer. “The early days of our company were in the post-World War II and Cold War era, when colleges saw a surge of veteran enrollment through the GI Bill. The graduates were predominantly white and male.
“Now, colleges represent our broader community,” he said. “Last year, the SDSU School of Engineering was awarded Silver Status by the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)’s Diversity Recognition Program for developing an inclusive environment for faculty, staff and students.
“Today, as our talent pool has increased, we benefit from the unique perspectives, work ethic, and dedication that women and people of many ethnic backgrounds bring to the workplace. In fact, 52 percent of our employees are minority and/or female,” he said.
“As we come together to celebrate our 70-year history and the people and partnerships who have defined our legacy, we’re looking toward our 75th anniversary and beyond,” said RICK president Ramer. “The future is bright and we are excited to continue pushing boundaries, cultivating talent, and designing solutions that serve our communities and the good of our planet.”
