Executives at Integrated Architecture had thought 2017 would be a year of “stabilization” and maybe even some slowdown for the firm’s commercial architectural projects. But according to Executive Vice President Mike Corby, that’s not been the case. The Grand Rapids-based firm with a strong focus on mixed-use apartment and commercial buildings sees the momentum only continuing to gain steam.
“The fortunate thing for our particular company related to 2018 is that many of our significant projects that were in early stages this year are progressing into more involved stages for the upcoming year. This will help the year start in a strong way. The other encouraging aspect is that there are still quite a few pending or potential opportunities in the works that I would only expect to continue to fuel the backlog of work if they are realized. So, in short, I am actually more optimistic about 2018 than I was about 2017 last year. I never would have predicted this, but I’m glad to see it. Grand Rapids as a place to work and live has been trending enormously well. I can only surmise that this buoyancy has contributed to this continued trajectory of growth. Our firm is relocating to the downtown area this coming year as well, in large measure due to this mojo, and we look forward to what 2018 has in store. … I’ve been practicing for over 35 years and operating our firm for almost 30 years. The cycles have tended to be about seven to 10 years (long). That being said, I would expect a more significant shift surely within the next five years. We continue to stay diversified and not too focused in one particular sector. We’re also moving our offices into a leaner space to minimize our footprint, while (maintaining) our capability.”
