CASE STUDY 5 — Kobs Rd. Office & Warehouse 8.1-Acre Office and Warehouse Complex | Full Civil Engineering Design

PROJECT OVERVIEW

JRH Engineering delivered complete civil engineering design for an 8.1-acre office and warehouse complex with a laydown yard in Tomball, Texas. The site presented two significant challenges: a substantial elevation change across the property, and no access to municipal water or sanitary sewer. JRH resolved both with targeted engineering decisions that protected leasable area, used the natural topography to advantage, and avoided any dependency on utility extension timelines.

AT A GLANCE

Site Civil Design

● Full site civil design including grading, paving, access, and laydown yard layout

● Detention pushed to the rear of the property — preserving high-value front acreage for office and warehouse buildings

● Natural topography used strategically: rear detention placement worked with the site's elevation change rather than fighting it

● Lift station replaced a larger traditional gravity pond — smaller footprint, more usable land

Utility Infrastructure

● No municipal water or sanitary available at the site — private water well and septic system designed and permitted

● Well and septic approach eliminated all dependency on utility extension timelines — no waiting on city or MUD infrastructure

● Private utility solution kept the project on schedule without a single external utility approval

Stormwater & Drainage

● Detention located at the rear of the property — using lower elevation areas for drainage while keeping higher ground available for buildings

● Lift station minimized required pond footprint compared to a traditional gravity system

● Storm sewer approved by Montgomery County

Permitting & Agency Coordination

● Single-agency permitting through Montgomery County — streamlined approval process

● Well and septic design eliminated utility permitting entirely from the critical path

● Detention and drainage design resolved site topography without requiring additional agency reviews

THE CHALLENGE

The Kobs Rd. site had no municipal utilities — no water, no sewer — and a significant elevation change that complicated both the site layout and drainage design. A developer without experienced civil engineering support would have faced two equally bad options: wait months for utility extensions, or absorb the cost of fighting the topography through brute-force earthwork.

JRH's Approach

JRH eliminated the utility problem entirely by designing a private well and septic system — removing that dependency from the schedule with one decision. For the elevation change, rather than regrading the full site, JRH used the natural topography as a design asset: detention was placed at the rear of the property where the lower elevation made it a natural fit, while the higher-value front acreage was kept clear for buildings. A lift station further reduced the pond footprint.

The Result

A fully permitted, construction-ready office and warehouse complex — delivered without waiting on utility extensions and without costly site-wide regrading.

RESULTS

● Utility dependency eliminated — private well and septic system designed and permitted, no municipal extension required

● High-value front acreage protected — detention pushed to rear, natural topography used as a design asset

● Pond footprint minimized through lift station — more usable land, less infrastructure cost