Business Spotlight: Decades of Design

When A.C. Esterly founded Springfield architecture firm Esterly Schneider & Associates Inc. in 1947, the country was just two years past World War II and in the beginning of a building boom.

Present times are surely different, and construction services have been turned upside down. Springfield architecture firms have been on a two-year journey of securing what little work is available, resulting in staff cuts, shortened workweeks and even owner salary reductions, said Gerri Kielhofner, American Institute of Architects-Springfield Chapter president and an architect at Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc.

Somehow, Esterly Schneider has not shed a single staff member during this difficult period - in fact, the firm's had an employment gain since a year ago, most recently hiring Gloria Roling for business development and marketing. The number of design projects in 2009 - 203 on the board - actually increased from 2007 totals of 168. 2008 was soft at 157 projects completed.

"We really didn't see too much of a slowdown until this past November, and we saw that slowdown for about six weeks. We're looking at that picking up," says firm president and architect Craig Schneider, who declined to disclose 2009 revenues. "We have been fortunate and lucky, and we have lots of established clients, which makes us a little bulletproof."

Schneider has been with the firm since 1979 and initiated a name change in 1985, when he and Mary Arnold bought into the firm. Esterly remained an owner until his death in 1988.

Arnold has been with the firm since 1962, starting out as Esterly's secretary. Schneider is now president, while Arnold is the secretary/treasurer of the firm, which has 14 employees.

The full-service firm offers master- and site-planning, and works with consultants on construction projects. The company is licensed to operate in 36 states, and Schneider says business is split 50-50 between local and national work.

Notable local projects include Commerce Bank's Springfield headquarters, the Heer's Car Park downtown and Macaroni Grill. A relationship with O'Reilly Automotive has led to the firm's design work on more than 450 auto parts stores across the country.

The company recently has designed the Postal Federal Community Credit Union expansion and the Wheeler Lofts' floor plans..

Among the firm's three largest projects in 2009 was the 22,000-square-foot, $2 million Phelps County Regional Medical Center acute rehab center in Rolla, the 36,206-square-foot, $1.3 million administration building for the Springfield R-XII School District and the 13,500-square-foot, $2.6 million addition to the Postal Federal Community Credit Union Sunset branch.

"They are very professional and understand what we want," says Craig Tabor, executive vice president at Postal Federal Community Credit Union. "We've made a lot of changes, and they haven't complained. They want a certain look to their project, but also want to provide us the best value."

While it's become an industry trend to design environmentally friendly buildings, Schneider says green design has long been pushed at his firm.

"We take all of our projects to whatever level the client will allow," Schneider says. "Energy efficient is good for the environment and for future generations, and it's just continued here."

The firm is working on the city of Springfield Traffic Management Center, which is designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-Silver certification. The 11,500-square-foot, $2.4 million project will be the first LEED-certified project for Esterly Schneider, although Schneider says a few previous projects could have been LEED certified had the owners chosen to follow through with the certification.

In November 2008, the firm relocated from downtown Springfield, where it had operated since opening, to an office in Plaza Towers at Sunshine Street and Glenstone Avenue.

"We chose a location that is central and has easy access," Schneider says. "We had looked for a couple of years at quite a few sites."

The new site allows for the 20 percent growth Schneider hopes to see within the next three to five years.[[In-content Ad]]