Chris Frysinger, Senior Vice President for Houston Market, Kimley-Horn
In an interview with Invest:, Chris Frysinger, senior vice president at Kimley-Horn in Houston, emphasized strong client alignment and growth in aviation, infrastructure, and multifamily services. “The closer we stay to our clients, the better we can support them,” he noted.
What significant changes have impacted Kimley-Horn’s operations in Houston and the South Texas region over the past year?
Over the last year, we’ve seen some short-term turbulence, particularly around government and regulatory changes or potential changes. We’ve used that period to become more intentional about staying close to our clients and understanding how these changes are affecting them.
We’re on a solid foundation and positioned for growth in the year ahead, thanks to the work we’ve done over the past 12 months. I’m optimistic about where things are headed.
What makes Houston an ideal location for Kimley-Horn compared to other cities in Texas?
Houston is a large city geographically, more so than many other metropolitan areas. When you consider the size of the city and Harris County, there’s tremendous opportunity, especially with continued population growth and housing starts. Statistically, Houston is typically in the top three metropolitan areas in the nation for housing starts.
That growth drives demand for real estate and construction, and in turn, opportunities for professional consulting services. It allows us to diversify the types of services we offer and expand our presence.
What services are seeing the most demand, and where has there been a slowdown?
Generally, we’re seeing an upward trend across all our services. Aviation consulting continues to be strong across Texas, and we expect that to remain a multi-year opportunity, both on the airside and the landside.
Mission Critical and industrial opportunities continue to be strong in Houston and beyond. The need for multidisciplinary services, such as treatment and power delivery to solve development challenges for mission-critical infrastructure, is especially suited to our firm’s strengths.
TxDOT experienced a pause in projects this year, but it is still one of our strong long-term clients. We see decades of opportunity to support both public and private infrastructure growth in Texas.
How are you leveraging Kimley-Horn’s expertise in multifamily projects in the Houston market?
We have diverse teams with experience in multifamily, retail, and other sectors. Because Houston is such an attractive market, we often work with developers and owners from outside the region. We’re a key resource for them, guiding them from their first point of contact in the city through permitting and construction.
How are you helping clients navigate regulatory changes, high interest rates, and inflation?
Locally, we’ve had significant changes in the permitting process, especially related to drainage in Houston. We’ve focused on educating our clients and helping them understand how these changes can benefit their projects and how they affect permitting timelines.
On a national level, we avoid reacting to the 24-hour news cycle. Instead, we stay connected to our clients and focus on long-term impacts. We help them think through what services they need, where they need them, and how we can support their goals.
What strategies are you using to manage changes or challenges during the project implementation phase?
Our firm’s structure allows us to share resources across Houston and even nationwide. We can meet client needs more effectively, whether that means responding to overloads or seizing sudden opportunities. We’re not limited to a single local team.
As for trends, the cost and availability of building materials remain a challenge. But that again points to the value of staying closely connected with clients. We’re providing updated budgets more frequently to help them assess project viability and timelines. The closer we stay to our clients, the better we can support them.
How are you approaching talent recruitment and retention in Houston?
We focus on helping employees align their passions with opportunities. We support them with our firm’s structure, so they can grow their careers and even become owners in the firm. As a privately held, employee-owned company, we offer near-term rewards and long-term career fulfillment.
In terms of hiring, we’ve worked to diversify our candidate pool beyond the traditional degrees and backgrounds. We’ve found great people who are thriving here, even if they didn’t follow the typical career path.
If you’re passionate about client service, want to be part of a team with a long-term vision, and want ownership in your work, we’ve built a place where you can thrive. We’ve become a unique destination for professionals in the consulting market.
How is Kimley-Horn using technology and AI to improve operations and outcomes?
Over the past five years, we’ve built a strong technology solutions component into our consulting services. Beyond traditional consulting, we’ve developed tools to help clients assess their businesses and deliver projects more effectively.
We’ve expanded what a consulting team looks like. It’s not just engineers anymore—we now integrate a wider range of people, services, and tools, including AI and internally developed technologies, to create a more modern project delivery model.
What are your top priorities over the next two to three years?
We’re focused on growing in the public and private sectors, including TxDOT, single-family housing, aviation, retail, and multifamily.
We’re also expanding the range of services we provide. Beyond traditional civil and traffic engineering, landscape architecture, and planning, we’re adding external services in IT, marketing, and project management. It’s not just about expanding in the market; it’s about expanding how we serve our clients.
