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TRANSACT IONS LEGAT ARCHITECTS ACQUIRES COLUMBUS, OHIO- BASED LEGAT KINGSCOTT Legat Kingscott, LLC of Columbus, Ohio, has transitioned to a fully-integrated studio of Legat Architects, Inc. , Chicago. The Columbus location will become Legat Architects’ fifth Midwestern studio. Patrick Brosnan, president/CEO of Legat Architects, said, “Although the Columbus studio’s name will change slightly [to Legat Architects], it will offer building owners throughout Ohio the same talented people, along with greater resources. It will allow for a more agile and responsive team in Columbus.” The acquisition strengthens the Columbus studio’s value to clients: ❚ ❚ Streamlined work efforts: Legat Architects’ 53-year history, experienced practice leaders, extensive project database, technology, and deep portfolio are now more readily accessible. ❚ ❚ Enhanced expertise in specialty areas: sustainability/energy, interior design, roofing/building envelope, master planning. ❚ ❚ Expanded access to alternate facility solutions: corporate, governmental,
healthcare, higher education, hospitality, mixed-use, preK-12 education, recreation, transportation. The studio will remain on the fifth floor of the historic building on 22 E. Gay Street. This space provides room for growth and access to the heart of Columbus. Legat Kingscott, LLC was founded in 2001, when Legat Architects (Chicago, Illinois) and Kingscott Associates (Kalamazoo, Michigan) opened a small Columbus studio to address the growing preK-12 and higher education marketplace in central Ohio. The studio started with one school district client. Today, the studio has has provided services for 23 school districts, six higher education institutions, and four municipalities. Over the last five years, the studio has expanded its reach to the Cleveland region with clients such as Orange Schools and Shaker Heights Schools. Among the studio’s high-profile projects are Kent State University’s Performing Arts Center at the Tuscarawas campus, extensive work at Newark City Schools including more than 300,000 square feet of additions and renovations at Newark High School, New Boston’s preK-12 school (three schools in one
facility), and the Ohio State University’s Spine Research Institute. Brosnan, who strategized the studio’s inception, attributes much of its success to long-term client relationships. “Projects often start with research, master planning, and community engagement,” he said. “We learn about communities’ values and goals, we listen, and then over the next several years, we help them implement a plan that captures their vision. It’s about building trust.” Paul Garland, leader of the Columbus studio, cites partnering with local architecture firms as another success factor: “For several projects, we united our expertise in education with local firms who have established relationships and a strong understanding of their communities. These partnerships helped us learn and grow and resulted in an improved product.” Legat Architects is one of few Chicago-based, employee-owned architecture and interior design firms. Its 80 employees average 16 years with the company. The firm’s portfolio includes corporate, governmental, healthcare, higher education, hospitality, preK-12 education, recreation, and transportation facilities.
CONFERENCE CALL, from page 7
❚ ❚ Job openings ❚ ❚ Marketing hours by staff
more efficient, but has also led to very significant amounts of down time for all of us, due to personal distractions that affect job focus and production. We have not yet dealt with this issue.) “Organic growth is the best way to maintain your culture. It’s also often the best way to create opportunity and reward dedicated managers who want to move into ownership. It’s slower, but typically more stable.” TZL: Measuring the effectiveness of marketing is diffi- cult to do using hard metrics for ROI. How do you evalu- ate the success/failure of your firm’s marketing efforts when results could take months, or even years, to mate- rialize? Do you track any metrics to guide your market- ing plan? LAW: All of these metrics are tracked by dollar amount and number of submittals, by month, year, and for the company at large: offices, regions, managers, and project type. Spe- cifically, we track:
TZL: The last few years have been good for the A/E indus- try. Is there a downturn in the forecast, and if so, when and to what severity? LAW: Zweig Group probably has more qualified predictions on that from their market research. I believe it will vary tre- mendously with client sector, technical service, and geog- raphy. TZL: They say failure is a great teacher. What’s the big- gest lesson you’ve had to learn the hard way? LAW: Big, bold, rapid changes are exciting and sometimes needed, but well planned, steady change can often be more effective and sustainable. TZL: While M&A is always an option, there’s something to be said about organic growth. What are your thoughts on why and how to grow a firm? LAW: Organic growth is the best way to maintain your cul- ture. It’s also often the best way to create opportunity and reward dedicated managers who want to move into owner- ship. It’s slower, but typically more stable. Organic growth with occasional small acquisitions to increase the growth rate without incurring tremendous amounts of debt is our preferred growth model.
❚ ❚ Monthly proposals submitted ❚ ❚ Monthly proposals captured
TZL: What’s your prediction for 2018? LAW: Best year ever – after a slow start.
❚ ❚ Monthly on call contracts submitted ❚ ❚ Monthly on call contracts awarded
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THE ZWEIG LETTER March 5, 2018, ISSUE 1238
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