Bird Houk Announces Merger Plans

Growth and increased service offerings impetus for merger.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

3.19.2010

Gahanna, OH and Livonia, MI – Bird Houk, a multi-disciplined land planning, urban design and architectural firm has announced a planned merger with Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc (OMH) an engineering and architectural firm headquartered in Livonia, MI with additional offices in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.

The merger will integrate Bird Houk’s award-winning architectural design, urban planning, and economic analysis serving both private and public sectors with OHM’s public-sector focused award-winning architectural design, civil, environmental and transportation engineering, surveying and GIS services to municipalities, agencies and institutions.

Bird Houk President and CEO Jim Houk said Bird Houk will retain its name becoming a “Division of OHM”.  Houk, his founding partner Gerry Bird, and partners Gary Sebach and Anthony Slanec will become partners in OHM and will manage the Columbus Bird Houk/OHM Division office and team of 22 staff members, which will include engineers from OHM’s Columbus branch, at their Creekside Gahanna headquarters. Bird Houk is known throughout the region for many signature projects, including Creekside Gahanna, Cardinal Health, Jerome Village, and Saxony in the Town of Fishers, Indiana to name a few.

According to Houk, and OHM President and Vice Chairman John Hiltz, the impetus for the merger was growth.

“Our goal has always been regional growth,” said Houk. “The merger will accelerate regional growth and open doors to new markets and opportunities. We have always felt our multidisciplinary make-up is a benefit to our clients, and an integral part of what makes our thinking holistic, our processes streamlined and our solutions sustainable. The merger with OHM adds more disciplines to our practice and the ability to grow public sector work and continue our success in creating community revitalization/redevelopment public- private partnerships.”

“Our mission is to advance communities,” said OHM’s Hiltz. “And that mission is in sync with Bird Houk’s  ‘place making’. Our goal was to step out of our geographic area and add services and disciplines that continue to add value for our clients – especially as we recognize there is a ‘new normal’ which has not yet been defined.” Hiltz was referring to cities , towns and villages needing to redevelop old infrastructure for the communities of tomorrow.

Hiltz said OHM began courting potential partners in 2009. He said it was not about the where – but the who. People, core values and vision were the key criteria they were seeking for collaboration.

“When we met the Bird Houk partners we felt the energy - the shared values of integrity, focus on people, approach to market and value-based asset creation.  It was not a matter of convincing us to do this – it was a matter of finding the ‘no’ – why shouldn’t we do this,” stated Hiltz.

“We hope eventually to grow jobs in the Columbus office,” said Houk.  “There are very few redundancies. These are complementary firms with complementary disciplines.”

About Bird Houk

Founded in 1993 by Jim Houk and Gerry Bird in Columbus, OH, Bird Houk is an award-winning design firm that creates holistically sustainable solutions through economic analysis, architecture, urban design and planning. Bird Houk's 20-member team includes architects, landscape architects, financial and real estate personnel, city and regional planners, LEED accredited professionals, and interior design partners who strive for long-term positive results for communities and organizations. Bird Houk combines real estate and development knowledge with broad public and private sector design experience to create lasting and viable places that make life better for people. Bird Houk’s client roster includes Fortune 500 companies, school districts, private land owners, developers, townships, municipalities, and retailers. 

About OHM

Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc. (OHM) is an award-winning architectural and engineering firm committed to Advancing Communities. OHM was founded in Livonia, MI in 1962 where their headquarters exists today, with additional offices in Lansing, Houghton and Auburn Hills, MI and in Gallatin, TN. Nearly 170 employees dedicate their time and talents to OHM including architects, engineers, surveyors, LEED accredited professionals and information technology professionals. OHM has been named Michigan Business & Professional Association, Elite Winner, 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For and Detroit Free Press Top Workplaces.

For more information http://www.ohm-advisors.com/

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