Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, the Montgomery, Ala.-based architecture and engineering outfit, strengthened its position in Georgia by completing its acquisition of Smyrna, Ga.-based Stevenson & Palmer Engineering, which has been in business in the Peach State for more than 50 years.
The two firms have been collaborators for at least the past two years, and currently have several projects underway. Teams from both companies have been working on an integration strategy to ensure a smooth transition.
Stevenson & Palmer’s 22 employees will continue to provide engineering support services from their company’s four Georgia offices, albeit under the name Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, which already had an office in Atlanta. “The SPE team is still in place—we’ve just added a few names and a new list of services to our resume,” said Corkey Welch, Stevenson & Palmer’s former President, who is staying on as a Senior Client Manager for the combined firm. That team now reports to Jim Teel, Goodwyn, Mills’ Vice President of Georgia.
Founded in 1947, Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood employs more than 300 people who work out of its dozen offices in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and South Carolina. The company assembled its Georgia team in 2011. Steve Cawood, President of the firm’s Eastern Region, which encompasses its operations in Georgia and South Carolina, spearheaded the negotiations between the two companies, which began two years ago, says Abby Basinger, a GMC spokesperson.
Its services include environmental, geotechnical, interior design, landscape, planning, surveying, and transportation. This month, GMC started construction on a 140,000-sf, $55 million football complex at Clemson University that is scheduled to open in early 2017. The firm is also in the planning stages of a $29 million expansion and upgrade of Franklin High School in Williamson County, Tenn., which if greenlighted would include more classrooms, a new athletic facility, and multipurpose field and track.
Basinger says GMC, which does work nationally, has no immediate plans to open new offices. But she also points out that GMC has customers in Mississippi and North Carolina, “so you never know.”
Related Stories
| Jan 21, 2011
GSA Recognizes the Best in Public Architecture
The U.S. General Services Administration recognized the best in public architecture and civilian federal workplaces at the 2010 GSA Design Awards in Washington, D.C. This year's 11 award winners showcase the federal government's commitment to cutting-edge architectural design and its focus on sustainability.
| Jan 20, 2011
Houston Dynamo soccer team plans new venue
Construction is scheduled to begin this month on a new 22,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium for the Houston Dynamo. The $60 million project is expected to be ready for the 2012 MLS season.
| Jan 20, 2011
Worship center design offers warm and welcoming atmosphere
The Worship Place Studio of local firm Ziegler Cooper Architects designed a new 46,000-sf church complex for the Pare de Sufrir parish in Houston.
| Jan 20, 2011
Construction begins on second St. Louis community center
O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex in St. Louis, designed by local architecture/engineering firm KAI Design & Build, will feature an indoor aquatic park with interactive water play features, a lazy river, water slides, laps lanes, and an outdoor spray and multiuse pool.
| Jan 20, 2011
Community college to prepare next-gen Homeland Security personnel
The College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., began work on the Homeland Security Education Center, which will prepare future emergency personnel to tackle terrorist attacks and disasters. The $25 million, 61,100-sf building’s centerpiece will be an immersive interior street lab for urban response simulations.
| Jan 19, 2011
Industrial history museum gets new home in steel plant
The National Museum of Industrial History recently renovated the exterior of a 1913 steel plant in Bethlehem, Pa., to house its new 40,000-sf exhibition space. The museum chose VOA Associates, which is headquartered in Chicago, to complete the design for the exhibit’s interior. The exhibit, which has views of five historic blast furnaces, will feature artifacts from the Smithsonian Institution to illustrate early industrial America.
| Jan 19, 2011
Baltimore mixed-use development combines working, living, and shopping
The Shoppes at McHenry Row, a $117 million mixed-use complex developed by 28 Walker Associates for downtown Baltimore, will include 65,000 sf of office space, 250 apartments, and two parking garages. The 48,000 sf of main street retail space currently is 65% occupied, with space for small shops and a restaurant remaining.
| Jan 19, 2011
Biomedical research center in Texas to foster scientific collaboration
The new Health and Biomedical Sciences Center at the University of Houston will facilitate interaction between scientists in a 167,000-sf, six-story research facility. The center will bring together researchers from many of the school’s departments to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. The facility also will feature an ambulatory surgery center for the College of Optometry, the first of its kind for an optometry school. Boston-based firms Shepley Bulfinch and Bailey Architects designed the project.
| Jan 19, 2011
San Diego casino renovations upgrade gaming and entertainment
The Sycuan Casino in San Diego will get an update with a $27 million, 245,000-sf renovation. Hnedak Bobo Group, Memphis, Tenn., and Cleo Design, Las Vegas, drew design inspiration from the historic culture of the Sycuan tribe and the desert landscape, creating a more open space with better circulation. Renovation highlights include a new “waterless” water entry feature and new sports bar and grill, plus updates to gaming, poker, off-track-betting, retail, and bingo areas. The local office of San Francisco-based Swinerton Builders will provide construction services.
| Jan 19, 2011
Extended stay hotel aims to provide comfort of home
Housing development company Campus Apartments broke ground on a new extended stay hotel that will serve the medical and academic facilities in Philadelphia’s University City, including the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The 11,000-sf hotel will operate under Hilton’s Homewood Suites brand, with 136 suites with full kitchens and dining and work areas. A part of the city’s EnergyWorks loan program, the project aims for LEED with a green roof, low-flow fixtures, and onsite stormwater management. Local firms Alesker & Dundon Architects and GC L.F. Driscoll Co. complete the Building Team.
