CALABASAS, Calif. – Two landscape architecture firms are finding new homes under the umbrella of ValleyCrest Cos. starting today. ValleyCrest announced that it has acquired the assets of Orange County, Calif.-based HRP LanDesign and Fairhope, Ala.-based Site Works. The firms' expertise in landscape architecture drew ValleyCrest’s attention. The company says it has been following a noticeable increase in customer demand for design/build landscape services.
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“We believe that, similar to trends in other sectors of the construction market, design/build will play an increasingly important role in the landscape industry in the next several years, which is why we decided to move forward with the acquisitions of these two respected landscape architecture firms,” said Richard Sperber, president, ValleyCrest Cos. “Customers understand the value of working with a single firm and are choosing this avenue more and more frequently.”
Advantages of the design/build process include faster time to market, heightened accountability, reduced administrative burden, and a clearer and earlier understanding of overall project costs, the company noted.
While integrated design/build services are now available to ValleyCrest customers, landscape architecture, landscape installation, as well as landscape maintenance services will continue to be sold separately, as well.
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“While we envision that design-build will be an important part of the services we offer, we also understand and respect those customers who wish to work with an independent landscape architecture firm and landscape contractor,” Sperber said. “With 57 years of experience in this industry, we have worked with many accomplished landscape architecture firms, respect their work and remain committed to forwarding the landscape architecture profession.”
HRP LanDesign was founded by Jim Hogan in 1974 and has a record of successful projects that include master-planned communities in Southern California, as well as regional and community parks, town centers, destination resorts, golf courses and multifamily complexes. Hogan and his current management team, reporting to Sperber, will continue to lead the firm and will oversee a staff of 50 HRP employees.
“ValleyCrest shares in our commitment to deliver excellent customer service along with the highest quality landscape projects,” Hogan said. “By joining their family of companies, we believe we can better serve our clients while practicing landscape architecture at the highest standards of the profession.”
Over the years, ValleyCrest and HRP have successfully collaborated on numerous landscape projects. “Through these collaborations, we discovered a firm that not only could deliver innovative and constructible designs, but one that also had the integrity and respect for the landscape architecture profession that we value so much at ValleyCrest,” Sperber said.
In the southeastern United States, Site Works is a 25-year-old boutique firm run by landscape architect Lois Shindelbower. Shindelbower’s mother established the company and Lois joined her mother in 1988 to expand the business. Specializing in corporate office projects, retail, college campuses, healthcare facilities, parks and condominium/apartment complexes, Site Works has built a strong reputation throughout the Southeast. Shindelbower will continue to run the operation from Alabama reporting to William Leathers, vice president of ValleyCrest Landscape Development, Florida.
“Our team has worked extremely hard over the years to build a reputable and successful landscape architecture firm,” Shindelbower said. “The fact that we caught the eye of a company as respectable as ValleyCrest made all that effort worthwhile. We’re thrilled to be a part of ValleyCrest and look forward to a productive and profitable future.”
Leathers says he sees tremendous opportunity for ValleyCrest in the Southeast, particularly in Florida, and will look to realize those opportunities utilizing Site Work’s resources.
HRP LanDesign and Site Works will continue to operate as independent landscape architecture studios using their existing names under the ValleyCrest umbrella. Financial details of the transactions were not disclosed. For more information, please visit the landscape architecture-design/build section at www.valleycrest.com.