JSG DESIGN LLC

Szczepan designed our balcony deck and applied for a building permit from the City of Chicago. Szczepan was highly knowledgeable and was always there to answer our questions and address our needs. Everything happened promptly and on schedule. Szczepan made the process of applying for a building permit a breeze. We highly recommend him and want to work with him again on future projects.

I had a great experience with this company. The porch runs over the area where the basement stairs lead. There was an issue with the height of the original porch and current city code. Szczepan was able to figure out how to address the issue. Everything was done in a very timely manner from drawings to permit. It was a pleasure to work with them.

My project was a 3-Flat Gray Stone building back porches needed to be torn down and re-built to the current City of Chicago building codes. Stephen was very responsive and he had collaborated with my builder, J. Sitko Construction, on previous projects. Stephen clearly understood the building issues and he provided me an overall understanding of the process and procedures necessary for this project. Need New Land Survey Architectural Drawings suitable for bid, permit acquisition and Construction Specific timeline to complete each step Stephen is a good communicator and the process and approvals went extremely well. The work was very professional. Definitely I would recommend JSG Design LLC !

All went well. Stephen was timely and professional. Designs are complete and permit process was completed in expected time frame. I appreciated having him to deal with the City of CHicago so I didn't have to. Thanks.

Stephen Grzenda of JSG said our property had an outstanding Building Code violation and they our not be able to pull the permit without a zoning variance which would be expensive and take months. After months of calls back and forth to JSG, I went to City Hall, got the violation waived and the the permit issued in days! When JSG called us to say the permit was ready for pickup, they said it would cost over a thousand dollars! Again, I personally went to City Hall, to pick up the permit, found out the $1,000 charge was a "clerical error" and got it for the original couple hundred dollars we expected. JSG was totally clueless and incompetent. They should not be in this business.

JSG Design was an excellent company to work with. Their rep, Stephen Grzenda, was friendly and professional. He met with me and the property owners to review our drawings for a new deck. Stephen listened to our thoughts and then carefully measured the area where the deck would be. He then took the time to explain the steps involved in this portion of the project and the timeline. He arranged for a survey of the property and generated an updated plat of survey. Stephen then translated our design into architectural plans for our final approval. After we signed off he took care of everything. He submitted the design to the City of Chicago and secured the permit. Stephen did a great job. I would definitely use JSG Design and Stephen again.

Stephen came back to my house several times to review the details of my project. I was quite particular about some of the design technicalities, and he was very responsive and attentive to all of my concerns. Stephen revised the drawings several times for me and offered a few different choices for how to proceed with the design. I am very happy with the final drawings and I would definitely use JSG Design again.

I had a very hard time finding an architect willing to take on my relatively small project. Since I was serving as my own GC, all I needed was the drawings and my Village required an architect to sign them. Stephen came out on time and did a very efficient job measuring the entire first and second floor of my home. About a week later the drawings were sent to me and we were able to request edits which were promptly made. Once we agreed on the layout, he completed the necessary forms for the Village and submitted the paperwork. He met my time frame expectations and I ran into no problems with the Village who I understand from everyone I speak with, is not easy to deal with.

Stephan (the architect) came out and measured both porches, a contract was written to provide drawings on certain dates; from the get go, he was late on the second drawing approximately 1 month. Revisions to the first porch took a long time to address. It seems as he has no clue on how to address matters that are out-of-ordinary. Communication on his behalf on the whole process was poor and NEVER received any responses to ANY of my emails with an explanation for the tardiness of the processing of the drawings. Also, when speaking to him over the phone, he seemed always bothered and acted unprofessionally. I find it hard to believe that the reviews here are excellent as my experience with him has been HORRIBLE to say the least. I hired Stephan back in September 2012 and up to this point we recently completed the first porch and the second porch drawings are wrong according to a recent review of city inspectors. I would not recommend any of his services and would question the integrity of his reviews.

The experience with him was perfect. I would recommend him. He understood what I wanted. He had great plans which were just perfect and what I wanted. He did a great job.

Stefan Grzenda of GSJ Design gets the highest rating from us. His design was attractive and effective. He worked closely with the construction company and provided permitting services promptly. He was knowledgeable and responsive throughout the process. We would recommend him without reservation.

They had reasonable pricing. He was easy to work with, did a better job than I hoped for, and provided more detail than I expected. I would highly recommend him to others.

Stephan was very responsive when I asked for a bid. He came out with Jack Sitko, from Sitko Construction, and they each gave me a price for the new porch. They were reasonable and I chose them for the job. Stephan made an initial set of drawing and submitted them to me for review. I had a number of changes, which he made with no problem. He submitted them to the city, who brought up a zoning issue on the porch that I was unaware of. Stephan agreed to work on this issue, for an extra fee, and sent in all of the additional paperwork. We had to wait a month for the city, but Stephan kept on it. As soon as the zoning was approved, the building permit followed and the construction started. I was very pleased with GSJ for going the extra mile and dealing with a difficult situation.

Working with GSJ was terrific from beginning to end. Stephan Grzenda was knowledgeable and experienced regarding the City's requirements and process. Meetings were punctual and straightforward, and he kept us informed as the process went along. A permit was secured in what seemed to me to be record time, and Stephan went beyond what was required to deal with an unexpected zoning issue related to the adjacent parking lot. Do not be put off by the relatively simple proposal and contract documents. These guys know what they are doing.

We used GSJ through another contractor for a porch rebuild. We received final City DOB approval approximately one month later, needing only one minor alteration to his original designs. The cost of the city permits was an extra expense beyond the price listed.

As for the the drawings and plans, the process went great. Results we exactly as expected and promised. As for the permiting process, it went as well as could be expected knowing the history of barriers with Dept of Buildings. The plans were good and we were informed to have certain information up front for the permit process (i.e. contractors chosen, materials). All would have been done in a reasonable time frame had not one of the Chicago Dept of Buildings Project Managers gone on vacation during the process. With that, we got shuffled around and the permiting process took 1 month. This is a perfect example of how the system is broken. Anyone in Chicago, however, knows this. And there is not much you can do to avoid it. Your main tool against this is to hire people like Sczepan that can help. And he does. The architectural drawings were excellent and he tracked the permit as much as possible.

The drawings were prepared in a timely manner and were approved by the Chicago Dept of Buildings without issues or delays. My only complaint is that the architect did not arrive on time for a couple meetings.

Stepen's fee was part of the overall quote from the general contractor who I contracted with to rebuild an enclosed porch so his fee is estimated based on the architechural drawings and expediting a building permit from Chicago. However, I think this is a fair fee for Stepen's site inspection, professional architecural drawings, and two visits to the city permit office. Stepen was professional, knowledgeable, and responsive. I would definately use him again or recommend him.

Everything went well overall. GSJ was able to get my permits in about 2 months total from the time I first signed the contract with him. He worked quickly to put my architectural ideas (along with his own) on paper. We had to go through an administration adjustment, in which he quickly proceeded with the necissary steps. My friends (who also have done gut rehabs) were amazed that I was able to obtain the permits as quickly as I was, since it took them nearly 6 months (or more) from start to finish, whereas it took me 2 months. I had a good idea of what I wanted the plans to look like though, but Stephen was able to utilize his knowledge of current Chicago city code, structural engineering, and architectural design in order to expedite the entire design and permit process. He still continues to support me when I have questions during the actual construction of our house.

I found Stephen by doing a google search for "chicago porch violations" after contacting about 3 or 4 other firms they were the best choice for me. The other companies I contacted either had no time or were very uneasy to trust. Stephen is extremely easy to work with and has a great concept of design. He was able to make the plans I had described to him without any excuses. Moreover, he was very responsive in making revisions to the plans and explaining how far we can push those parameters. All in all my decision to choose GSJ has given me peace of mind and good feeling that I truly received exceptional services. I would recommend them to anyone and everyone I know looking to do this kind of work. Thanks Stephen!

Very quick response, professional and timely.

Great experience, professional, effective, no hassles and timely. The plans passed through the department of zoning and buildings with no corrections. That is impressive. It was so nice to get quality drawings and without feeling like I had to bleed money.

Excellent

He's a very good structural architect. Their pricing was very reasonable. I was very happy with him. If needed, I would use him again.