Josh Roughley, who currently works for the city of Springfield’s Building & Zoning department, is opening his own architecture firm. His last day with the city is Sept. 2.
St., a building owned by EMS Midwest LLC, which is operated by Springfield businessman and EMS investor Chris Stone. Stone, who is an investor in multiple cannabis-related businesses, also runs legislative lobbying and real-estate companies.
“Chris and I met organically through him doing work in the city; all of the permits would come through the department that I managed,” said Roughley. “Through discussions of how things were going, an opportunity came up – this is an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often, so I needed to take it.”
In addition to doing architectural work for Stone’s various business entities, Roughley said he will be a code consultant for various municipalities.
“That’s my specialty and the background I’m coming from,” Roughley said. “A big part of it is for those municipalities that are going to be trying to wrap their heads around the new state building code that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025.”
Roughley said that while municipalities typically wait before adopting the newest set of building codes, since there are often “addendums almost every month or clarifying language that comes out,” the new law will require municipalities to use the most current code. It will also prohibit commercial structures from being occupied until inspections are complete.
“There are going to be tons of municipalities that don’t have that capability, so they’re going to be looking to partner with somebody,” said Roughley, who noted that he is a certified commercial inspector for building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing.
Prior to working for the city of Springfield, Roughley worked with architectural firms Berners-Schober Associates and Shive-Hattery. He has a master’s degree in architecture from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
