Scott Whitham, RLA, ASLA | Principal

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Scott Whitham, Principal of Whitham Planning and Design, has over 20 years of experience in leading complex projects and project teams. His work has ranged across diverse built-environment disciplines, and has included planning new regional park systems and revitalized urban waterfronts, leading in the preservation and rehabilitation of significant historic structures and landscapes, and managing the planning, design and construction of educational facilities and campuses. Actively engaged in his community, Scott’s volunteer work has been equally diverse, from Chair of the City of Ithaca Planning Board to Chair of the Architecture, Planning and Design Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts, among many others.

Scott plays a leading role for design development, planning, coordination, and municipal review and documentation of many proposals and collaborative projects. As a Senior Project Manager at Tetra Tech, he acted as principal-in-charge for team leadership and client relationship in professional design and planning services for a variety of academic projects such as the $54M Chester Redshaw School in New Brunswick, NJ and the $83M Bordentown Central School in Bordentown, NJ.

Prior to his role at TetraTech, Scott was a landscape architect and project manager for Planning, Design, and Construction at Cornell University. In this role, he managed the development, design, review, and construction of site work across the 800+ acres of the campus. His responsibilities included consultation with the Cornell community in the creation of campus construction and planning projects, advising on issues of program, budget, feasibility and design, coordination of both in-house and municipal review, and responsibility for the schedule, budget, and quality control of each project. These projects include Martha van Rensselaer Corridor Study for the College of Human Ecology, “Cornell Cycles,” University-wide bicycle transportation study and plan, and Alumni Fields Reorganization Master Plan.

As Principal of WPD, Scott continues to lead the management and coordination of WPD’s projects at a variety of scales, including the following currently in progress:

  • East Hill Village
  • canopy Hotel
  • City Centre, Ithaca
  • Chain Works District
  • Maplewood Redevelopment

Community Service

  • Chairman, City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board; 1996-2002
  • Chair, Inlet Island Urban Design Plan Committee; 1997-1998
  • Member, Cornell Plantations Advisory Board for University Arboretum; 1997-2002
  • President, Ithaca Downtown Partnership, Inc. (currently The Downtown Alliance); 2001-2006
  • Member, City of Ithaca Design Review Board; 2001-2008
  • Member, Tompkins County Planning Advisory Committee (TCPAC); 2002-2014
  • Chair, Architecture and Planning Grants Panel, New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA); 2005-2008
  • Chairman, City of Ithaca SW Area Consultant Selection Committee; 2006-2007
  • Chair, Grants Panel, Preservation League of New York State; 2006-2008
  • Visiting lecturer and critic, Cornell University, Department and Programs of Real Estate, Hotel Management, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, City and Regional Planning, Historic Preservation, and Design and Environmental Analysis; 1990-2017