Nelson, the acquisition-minded design, engineering, and space-management firm, is expanding its reach in the western United States by acquiring EHS Design, a Seattle-based architecture and interior design outfit with 21 associates and net fee billings this year of $3.5 million. The merger becomes effective on January 1.
This represents Nelson’s fifth merger or acquisition in 2014, during which the firm’s net fee revenue has increased by 60% to $65 million. Over the past 14 years, Nelson has merged with or acquired nearly 30 companies, and it currently has 35 locations and nearly 500 teammates around the world.
The EHS Design deal is a continuation of Nelson’s strategy to expand into new geographies, said John “Ozzie” Nelson, Jr., the company’s CEO. Nelson had a presence in the Seattle market, but will now have an office location there, whose day-to-day operations will be managed by Mindy Howard, one of EHS’s founders. Mia Marshall, a managing principal with EHS since July 2003, was named managing principal of the Seattle office, which will oversee the combined companies’ operations and business.
Jack Emick, one of EHS’s founders and its director of operations, will now focus on building and maintaining client relationships. As a result of the sale, “we will be able to reach existing and new clients on a national and international level, while offering an expanded array of services,” said Emick.
The terms of Nelson’s acquisition of EHS were not disclosed. EHS Design will operate as a division of Nelson. Both companies were founded in 1977. This is the second merger in EHS’s history; in 1992, it joined forces with Paul Seibert & Associates, a financial facilities design firm. Seibert, an EHS principal, will continue working with financial institutions and expand his responsibilities into retail environments in the U.S.
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Modern office design accentuates skyline views
Intercontinental|Exchange, a Chicago-based financial firm, hired design/engineering firm Epstein to create a modern, new 31st-floor headquarters.
| Oct 13, 2010
Hospital and clinic join for better patient care
Designed by HGA Architects and Engineers, the two-story Owatonna (Minn.) Hospital, owned by Allina Hospitals and Clinics, connects to a newly expanded clinic owned by Mayo Health System to create a single facility for inpatient and outpatient care.
| Oct 13, 2010
Biloxi’s convention center bigger, better after Katrina
The Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi is once again open for business following a renovation and expansion necessitated by Hurricane Katrina.
| Oct 13, 2010
Tower commemorates Lewis & Clark’s historic expedition
The $4.8 million Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower in Hartford, Ill., commemorates explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark at the point where their trek to the Pacific Ocean began—the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
| Oct 13, 2010
Maryland replacement hospital expands care, changes name
The new $120 million Meritus Regional Medical Center in Hagerstown, Md., has 267 beds, 17 operating rooms with high-resolution video screens, a special care level II nursery, and an emergency room with 53 treatment rooms, two trauma rooms, and two cardiac rooms.
| Oct 13, 2010
Campus building gives students a taste of the business world
William R. Hough Hall is the new home of the Warrington College of Business Administration at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The $17.6 million, 70,000-sf building gives students access to the latest technology, including a lab that simulates the stock exchange.
| Oct 13, 2010
Science building supports enrollment increases
The new Kluge-Moses Science Building at Piedmont Virginia Community College, in Charlottesville, is part of a campus update designed and managed by the Lukmire Partnership. The 34,000-sf building is designed to be both a focal point of the college and a recruitment mechanism to get more students enrolling in healthcare programs.
| Oct 13, 2010
Cancer hospital plans fifth treatment center
Construction is set to start in December on the new Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s $55 million hospital in Newnan, Ga. The 225,000-sf facility will have 25 universal inpatient beds, two linear accelerator vaults, an HDR/Brachy therapy vault, and a radiology and imaging unit.
| Oct 13, 2010
Apartment complex will offer affordable green housing
Urban Housing Communities, KTGY Group, and the City of Big Bear Lake (Calif.) Improvement Agency are collaborating on The Crossings at Big Bear Lake, the first apartment complex in the city to offer residents affordable, eco-friendly homes. KTGY designed 28 two-bedroom, two-story townhomes and 14 three-bedroom, single-story flats, averaging 1,100 sf each.
| Oct 13, 2010
Residences bring students, faculty together in the Middle East
A new residence complex is in design for United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, UAE, near Abu Dhabi. Plans for the 120-acre mixed-use development include 710 clustered townhomes and apartments for students and faculty and common areas for community activities.
