About Advance Planning Associates LC
We are as interested in what we discover
as what we produce.
Since 1981
Experience - What we have learned since starting on our voyage is how to use what we have learned from each project to the benefit of all our clients. Operating part-time since 1981 then later as the wind filled our sails we gained speed to a full-time capacity. Along the way, we have learned the importance of sharing our real project discoveries and experiences.
Our clients seem to like that we have taken note of our discoveries. We have always been careful with confidentiality, but by sharing our years of experience we save clients time. Saving time saves money. We discovered that our clients liked to save time and money, even during profitable times.
Background
Advance Planning Associates, LC is a privately held consulting firm providing services in the area of municipal planning and community / economic development, custom site selection and business geography. We have been providing services to individuals, corporations, non-profits and local government since 1981.
The Limited Liability Corporation of Advance Planning Associates, LC was formed in Winchester, Virginia in 1998. Prior to operating as a limited liability corporation, Advance Planning Associates operated as a sole proprietorship entity doing business as “Plans and Projects” which began operations in Winchester, Virginia in 1981 serving primarily the Quad-State Region of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Later in 1986 Pentathlon Corporation, Inc. and Pentathlon Land Trust formed in Stephens City, Virginia as a planning and development firm. Advance Planning Associates, LC is the direct result of the combination of the two organizations: Plans & Projects and Pentathlon Corporation.
Our Location along I-81
We are located along I-81 in Historic Winchester, Virginia, USA in the Quad-State Region where the States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia converge just west of Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. We are located along the fringe of megalopolis in the Shenandoah Valley, framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Direction & Management
Stephen M. Gyurisin is a highly experienced, successful, public and private sector planner and geographer, with over 25 years of experience.
Starting part-time in 1981 and incorporating in 1998, Advance Planning Associates, LC is now his full-time passion. Over the years Mr. Gyurisin has concentrated his professional efforts in the area of town community and economic development, planning, business geography, custom site selection analysis and due diligence for developments and expanding and ever-changing business and industry sectors. He has focused his effort detailing planning and location strategies for implementing development projects.
Mr. Gyurisin has worked with communities in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York and has worked as project manager for industrial, commercial and residential projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He has worked in leadership positions in the private engineering, development and commercial construction sectors. He has located, started and opened a number of business operations. Mr. Gyurisin has served as a town manager, grant administrator, zoning administrator, subdivision administrator, and staff to a Board of Zoning Appeals. He has years of local and regional government experience as well as extensive private sector development, acquisition, site selection and due diligence experience. Mr. Gyurisin has studied regional planning and public administration methods and has extensive experience. He is degreed in geography / urban studies.
An active member in a number of local, regional and statewide organizations, he has created and is the content curator for a number of Blogs that are community and civic related. He is married and has three children.
Stephen M. Gyurisin has held the position of Director of the I-81 Corridor “Outer” Market with the Acquisition, Planning and Development Division with one of Virginia’s largest privately held real estate development companies; as the Eastern Division Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning for a top 500 engineering firm; as a business development and pre-construction representative of a major 100 year old regional construction firm; as Deputy Director of Planning and Development for a Virginia County; and, as the Regional Manager for PA, NJ & NY with a Virginia-based computer mapping consulting firm that specialized in utility and community maps.
While with his most recent positions, he was involved with strategic site selection planning and development decisions of clients seeking to locate or develop their business. His early career planning achievements include identification of the need for an Urban Development Area (UDA) as a comprehensive planning tool to manage growth and the adoption of performance based zoning to enhance design standards. Equally, he is pleased to have been part of the team to identify sites for companies that located along I-81 and continue operations today. He has worked for various municipal governments and regional agencies in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia as well as private sector companies. He is the creator of Advance Planning Associates, LC.
Professional Affiliations
Stephen M. Gyurisin is an active member of these organizations:
Association of American Geographers
Southeast Division of Association of American Geographers
Virginia Municipal League
Virginia Economic Development Association
Associations
As a firm, we purposely try to avoid being experts or specialists in any one area of planning style or type. Instead, we strive to be experts at creating imaginative solutions for each individual client, each with their own particular planning, site and programmatic needs. We have been successful at working on a wide variety of projects because we work very closely with our clients, and we approach each project on its own terms. We consider many to be experts in their respective field and have teaming agreements in place for such services when needed. We enjoy working with clients, committees and boards, and learning from them. We have found that this team approach helps keep projects on budget, maximizes the potential of the projects, and allows our client to become involved in the aspects of the project by choice not by chance.
