brian wells

Following graduation from the University of Alabama, Brian was commissioned as an Army Officer and served four years, leaving at the rank of Captain. After his time in the Army, Brian worked in residential construction in the Charleston area before ultimately taking a job at the Naval Facilities Engineer Command (NAVFAC) as a project manager. While at NAVFAC, Brian was responsible for executing facility projects at Navy bases throughout the Southeast.

In 2008, Brian joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District as an engineer in the navigation branch. In 2010, Brian was selected as chief of the district’s operations division. At the time, he was the country’s youngest Corps of Engineers division chief. As head of the operations division, Brian was responsible for overseeing and executing a wide variety of operations and maintenance (O&M) activities for the Charleston District, totaling over $30 million annually. He was one of a small group of senior leaders for the local district.

In 2014, Brian left Federal Service to start an engineering firm in Mount Pleasant, Wells Engineering Group. Since its founding, the firm has grown to be one of the most successful small engineering companies in the area. Wells Engineering specializes in residential structural design for renovations, additions and new construction.

In 2018, Brian and his team started producing Architectural plans for local Developers and Builders, but not for the general public.  Over time, he started hiring more architectural designers, and formally started Coastal Creek Design in 2020.  At that time Coastal Creek Design started to serve the general public, providing architectural and structural engineering permit plans as a package design.  Joel Adrian and Linda Balzac formally joined the Coastal Creek Design team in 2022.   The Coastal Creek Design website was launched in 2023, and full scale marketing/serving the public began for Coastal Creek Design.

Brian is also involved in several development projects in the local area and holds an active residential builders license.

Awards and Honors

• U.S. Army Commendation Medal
• Several Army Achievement Medals
• Leadership Charleston Graduate (2006)
• Charleston Corps of Engineers District Engineer of the Year (2009)
• Organized and led the Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) ( 2010 to 2014)
•  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Atlantic Division Leadership Program Graduated (2010)
•  Charleston Regional Business Journal “Forty under 40” Award (2011)
•  Riley Diversity Institute Fellow – Riley CLI Training Graduate (2011)
•  U of Alabama – Jasons  – Highest Level U of Alabama Honorary

Additional Information about Brian:

•  Structural Engineers Association of South Carolina (SEASC)
•  American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 

In the Community

• Board Member – Seacoast Church (2019-Present)
• Board Member – Retreat at Church Creek (2020-Present)
• Lead Structural Engineer – East Cooper Habitat for Humanity (Pro-Bono)