About Us

Land Surveyors & Civil Engineers

A Truly Rare Find, The Best of All Worlds

GTA has not only earned the trust of Central Coast’s local agencies, recognized for our expertise in producing public infrastructure studies and designs, BUT IS ALSO strongly positioned as a preferred partner of private developers seeking to maximize returns on their land development ventures.

Increasing Private Development Portfolio

In 2006, when Jeff Emrick acquired/purchased the company, GTA was primarily known for its involvement in Public Works projects. While there were ongoing residential subdivision and commercial development projects, the company’s shift toward private development projects, reflecting Mr. Emrick’s expertise, became increasingly apparent during the challenging years of the Great Recession from 2008 to 2012, ultimately becoming the company’s core focus for survival and subsequent success.

In 2015, Ron Reilly joined the firm as Vice President and it employed approximately seven individuals, predominantly engaged in private residential development. Tasked with assembling a proficient team capable of ensuring profitability and guiding the company into a new era of leadership, Mr. Reilly’s efforts bore fruit by 2017.

In 2017, the company had grown to employ approximately eighteen full-time professionals. Mr. Reilly’s strategic pursuit of Public Works projects, leveraging the expertise of longstanding team members who were with the company prior to the recession, successfully secured significant public works contracts. This initiative marked the onset of diversification within the firm’s recent project portfolio.

Timeline

  • Inception 1954
  • Incorporation 1962
  • Building 141 S Elm Street in 1974
  • Jim Garing named President 1992
  • Jeff Emrick buys in 2006
  • Ron Reilly named VP 2015
  • Ron Reilly buys in 2019

Public Works

Below is a representative list of the agencies our firm has led since its inception. While not exhaustive, it underscores GTA’s enduring involvement in shaping and constructing the communities we call home.

The Central Coast’s Public Works Department

  • City Engineer | Grover Beach | 1960-2012

  • Utilities Engineer | Grover Beach | 2012-2018

  • District Engineer | San Miguelito MWC | 1992-Present

  • City Engineer | Lompoc | 1962-1965

  • City Engineer | Arroyo Grande | 1962-1977

  • Interim City Engineer | Arroyo Grande | 2014, 2015, 2017

  • On Call Consulting Engineers and Surveyors | Arroyo Grande | 2022-Present

  • City Engineer | Morro Bay | 1963-1975

  • District Engineer | Oceano CSD | 1962-1971

  • City Engineer | Guadalupe | 1964-1985

  • District Engineer | Avila Beach CSD | 1976-1994

  • City Engineer | Pismo Beach | 1985-1987

  • District Engineer | Nipomo CSD | 1992-2006

  • On Call Consulting Engineers and Surveyors | Santa Maria | 2021-Present

Mission

GTA’s mission is to remain a trusted partner, by both private and public interests, in the development of the communities in which we operate and are deeply involved. While we seek and have a great appetite for meaningful, landmark projects which have great potential to have a positive impact in the community. there will seldom be a project too small for our interests. We at GTA shall always remain humble and grateful, while remembering that the communities we serve have evolved and grown by stitching thousands of small projects together over time – and that our growth and evolution has been, and will be, much the same.Your Content Goes Here

We are compelled to be active, caring, generous leaders in our communities by our integrity and the weight of the trust these same communities have in us as individuals, and as a team. This team will continue to succeed, quite simply, because of our consultant-first attitude, which means we genuinely value helping clients and providing the very best customer care more so than any drawing or calculation we may produce in the course of our duties.

Finally, the GTA way is to treat each other with compassion, to care for and help one-another, and to elevate each other towards the goals and milestones we identify in our lives and careers. While our roots are unmistakably simple and conservative in nature, we will always nurture and reward innovation and be unrelenting in our quest to inject our own brand of remarkable into all that we do.

Core Values

  • Be Trustworthy: People entrust us with their dreams and money. Everything we do is a trust transaction, so our trust bank account must always be full.
  • Be Helpful: We consult clients to help them save time, money, head or heartache. We surprise them with creative solutions to their most challenging problems.
  • Be Involved: We care about the communities we help to grow and flourish, generously donating our time and money to help local causes.
  • Be Remarkable: We are engineers who provide a first-class customer experience. We underpromise and over deliver; injecting our own brand of remarkable into every project.