Project relationships bring satisfaction to Reno architect

Peter Grove is not from around here.

He has the same relaxed, outdoor-loving, friendly look as most northern Nevadans, but suddenly, in the middle of a story about his daughter's going to school in San Diego, you hear the "o" in "college" start to drop back in his throat, and it hits you: This guy is not from Reno.

Grove was raised in Buffalo, N.Y., and went to school in Boston. Hence, the occasional accent. But for the past 14 years, Grove, his wife Cindy, and their kids Lisa, Brian and Kyle have called Reno home. Grove is the principal and managing partner of Collaborative Design Studio, and he's been instrumental in creating some of the area's most noteworthy buildings, including his first project, the Arrowcreek development, the new Joe Crowley Student Union at UNR, renovation of the Hyatt at Lake Tahoe, and the coming UNR Living and Learning Center.

All of these buildings, he says are projects he owes to his adopted home.

"I'm pretty convinced there'd be no way I'd have this opportunity if I was back East," Grove says. "I've been doing this 28 years, and I'm most proud of the student union. It's just a great building."

Creating great buildings has come with a byproduct Grove didn't expect, but now claims is one thing he loves most about his chosen profession.

"Knowing I created something, was part of a team that created something," he explains. "I love getting something designed. I love the process. And I get as much satisfaction from the relationship that gets built as I do the buildings. When you pour your heart and soul into something; it takes so long from beginning through to construction. You get emotionally involved in the building. You better like who you are working with."

It was the people he worked with early in his career that set him upon the path he now follows. After taking a drafting class in high school, he completed a two-year technical degree, and found himself working in a firm, doing odd drafting jobs. He began to notice that "all these really cool people" he worked with had "all these really cool degrees" and he realized this was the way to go.

"If I wanted to accomplish something I had to go back to school," he says, simply. Then he adds, "The fear of failure drove me."

He went to school in Boston, getting his degree in architecture. He met Cindy while in Boston, and the two married and bought a house. When Cindy became pregnant with daughter Lisa, they decided one of them should stay home to raise her. In order to do that, they headed back to Buffalo where there was family support and they could more easily afford to live on just one income.

After the addition of sons Brian and Kyle, the family decided to make a change. They had traveled to the area a number of times to visit friends they'd made in Boston, and almost on a whim, they headed to Reno to live.

"We literally had the 'once in a lifetime' thought," Grove explains. "We figured what the heck, we have to try. The opportunities professionally were better here than back East ... more growth, and not as much competition.

"We didn't come here for the weather, but it's such a bonus. I love the dryness, and the snow doesn't bother me at all," he says with a laugh, as he recalls the winters of Upstate New York.

Settling in Reno's Northwest, the family has become fixtures at McQueen High School, where all three of the kids attended school. Lisa, a star basketball player, now attends the University of San Diego. Brian graduates this year, and heads East to Syracuse University. Kyle will be a junior next year, and while he hasn't made a mark in sports, Grove's pride when talking about his youngest is palpable. Kyle has Asperger syndrome, an autism disorder that affects social interactions.

"He's totally mainstreamed, and has tons of successes," Grove says. "He's very talented. When he graduates it will be very emotional. We're very fortunate. He's kept our feet on the ground, for sure. We take nothing for granted. It's all about the kids."

Grove's commitment to his kids is echoed in the phrase "my kids drive me to work as hard as I do," which he says more than once during his interview. His older children both played on competitive sports teams, along with school teams, which equates to a lot of driving and weekends spent at away games. But it's possibly one of Grove's best investments.

"It's put them into situations that are only going to help them later in life. It's served them well. I've spent lots of travel with the kids' sports teams," he says. "Our lives are dominated by the kids ... but I have no regrets."

When his kids are all out of school, he'll step back a bit from work and slow down his busy pace. But for now, his motto comes from Captain Keith Colburn, one of the stars of a favorite show, "Deadliest Catch."

A friend got the reality show star's autograph scribbled on a napkin, along with these few words:

"Hard work charts the course."

A pretty cool job

Who: Peter Grove, principal and managing partner, Collaborative Design Studios

Family: Wife, Cindy, Daughter Lisa, sons Brian and Kyle.

He says: "We're responsible for the built environment. I take this very seriously. It's the building's look, its fit into the environment... It's not about the architect. It's the client. These buildings will be here for a long time."