Project Management Advisors, Inc.

What Project Management Advisors, Inc. does

Project Management Advisors, Inc. (PMA) is an independent real estate advisory and project management firm founded in 1993 in Chicago, serving institutional owners, developers, investors, and public-sector clients across the full real estate lifecycle. The firm delivers six core services organized into two suites: Advisory (Real Estate Advisory and Optimized Project Delivery) and Project Delivery (Development Management, Project Management, Program Management, and Investor Representation). Engagements are custom-scoped, project-based professional services fees, with the firm operating as a conflict-free owner's representative free of brokerage or ownership ties. PMA's value is derived from senior practitioner expertise and two proprietary methodologies — the PMA Way framework (performance benchmarks, real-time visibility dashboards, integrated communication, proactive risk control) and the Optimized Project Delivery (OPD) consulting framework — rather than from software or hardware platforms.

PMA serves clients across eight primary verticals: higher education, healthcare, life sciences, residential/REITs, hospitality, K-12/municipal, data centers/mission-critical, and corporate workspace. Marquee clients include Google, NYU Langone Health, Healthpeak Properties, Nuveen, Paramount Group, UDR, Northern Trust, MetLife, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Exact Sciences. The firm operates from nine U.S. offices (Chicago headquarters plus Austin, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa), and ranks among Engineering News-Record's Top Project Management-for-Fee Firms for six consecutive years, with combined project value exceeding tens of billions of dollars across residential ($20B+), workspace ($28B+), education ($2.5B+), and civic/cultural ($1B+) portfolios.

On December 10, 2025, PMA merged with Brailsford & Dunlavey (B&D) under the ownership of Bernhard Capital Partners, a services- and infrastructure-focused private equity firm with $6B in AUM. The combined organization has 450+ professionals, ranks in the Top 20 nationally on the 2025 ENR Program Management Firms list, and operates as an integrated institutional program management platform targeting social and infrastructure clients while both legacy brands remain visible during integration. Leadership combines Roger McCarron (President & CEO of PMA), Paul Brailsford (Co-CEO of the combined firm), Andrew Roscoe (Co-President of PMA), and sector presidents leading the West, East, and specialty verticals.

Name

Project Management Advisors, Inc.

Legal name

Project Management Advisors, Inc.

Website

http://pmainc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Project Management Advisors, Inc. is an independent real estate advisory and project management firm delivering owner's-representation, program management, and development advisory services to institutional owners, developers, investors, and public-sector clients across healthcare, education, life sciences, hospitality, residential, and workspace verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Project Management Consulting

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Program & Project Management (PMO) Consulting (BPAHACAL)

Keywords

• Real estate advisory
• Project management consulting
• Owner representation services
• Development management
• Program management

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services — Advisory: Strategic consulting engagements billed on a project or retainer basis, covering real estate advisory, market analysis, development strategic planning, transaction consulting, financial modeling, and portfolio optimization. These are typically scoped, project-based fees.
2. Professional Services — Project Delivery: End-to-end project and program management services covering development management, project management, program management, and investor representation. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for owner representation and project delivery engagements across the full real estate lifecycle.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Project Management Advisors, Inc. (PMA) is an independent real estate consulting and project delivery firm offering owner's representation, development management, project management, and program management services. The firm provides advisory on market intelligence, investment strategy, and asset optimization, alongside hands-on execution of design, construction, and capital programs across sectors including healthcare, education, hospitality, life sciences, residential, civic, and workspace. Engagements are custom-scoped, fee-based professional services delivered by senior-level practitioners from eight U.S. offices.

Product overview

Project Management Advisors (PMA) is an independent real estate consulting and project delivery firm offering a unified portfolio of advisory and project delivery services. The advisory suite includes Real Estate Advisory (strategic guidance on market intelligence, investment strategy, and asset optimization) and Optimized Project Delivery (process improvement consulting). The project delivery suite encompasses Development Management (end-to-end development oversight), Project Management (design and construction phase execution), Program Management (multi-project coordination), and Investor Representation (investment monitoring). These services span the full real estate lifecycle from early strategic planning through project closeout, serving clients across diverse sectors including healthcare, education, hospitality, life science, residential, and workspace.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Real Estate Advisory Strategic consulting service providing market and site intelligence, development readiness assessments, investment strategy and transaction support, and portfolio and asset optimization to help clients navigate real estate decisions and maximize asset value.
• Optimized Project Delivery A consulting service that helps owners and developers improve how projects are planned, executed, and measured by targeting critical success factors across processes, behaviors, and resources to enable consistent, scalable project success.
• Development Management Comprehensive end-to-end service managing the entire development process from project conception through completion, including pre-development, development, and post-development activities for ground-up construction, redevelopment, renovation, and build-to-suit projects.
• Project Management Focused expertise for execution and delivery of the design and construction phase, managing activities across preconstruction, construction, and post-construction phases with proactive issue anticipation and cost control.
• Program Management Service unifying complex multi-project programs through centralized implementation plans built on proven project management methodologies, maximizing efficiency across distinct scopes, schedules, and geographic markets.
• Investor Representation Service proactively monitoring project progress relative to schedule, tracking budgets, and communicating insights through comprehensive reviews of key project documents to maximize returns and minimize risks for investors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio of over $20 billion in residential and student housing projects; 350+ projects and 30,000+ residential and student housing units
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Brailsford & Dunlavey (B&D)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2025PMA and Brailsford & Dunlavey merged in December 2025 to form a unified institutional program management platform with combined capabilities across strategic planning, advisory, project leadership, owner's representation, and operations consulting. The combined firm serves social and institutional infrastructure clients and large asset owners across higher education, healthcare, life sciences, technology, K-12, civic, sports venues, hospitality, and residential sectors. Both brands will remain visible during integration, and existing teams, services, and active projects are not impacted.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hill International: Global construction consulting and project management firm specializing in program, project, and construction management for buildings, transportation, and infrastructure. Most directly comparable pure-play PM-for-fee peer to PMA.
• Brailsford & Dunlavey: Program management and owner's representation firm specializing in institutional infrastructure (higher education, healthcare, athletics, civic). Now merged with PMA, but historically the most directly comparable peer given near-identical service model and sector focus.

Broad incumbents

• Arcadis (including Heery International): Global design, engineering, and project management consultancy with a significant North American program management practice (including the legacy Heery business). Competes with PMA across education, healthcare, and civic sectors.
• JLL Project & Development Services: Global CRE services platform offering project and development services alongside brokerage, capital markets, and facilities management. Directly competes with PMA in owner's representation and PM, but as part of a much broader diversified portfolio with potential conflict-of-interest dynamics.
• CBRE Project Management: Largest global CRE services firm with a dedicated Project Management practice serving occupiers and investors across office, life sciences, healthcare, and hospitality. Overlaps with PMA's service lines but offers bundled brokerage and capital markets capabilities.
• Lendlease Project Management: Global real estate and infrastructure firm offering project management and owner's representation across commercial, residential, life sciences, and civic sectors. Comparable in service model though Lendlease also operates as a developer, creating potential conflict dynamics that PMA explicitly avoids.
• Newmark Project Management: Global CRE services firm offering owner's representation and project management services, particularly in office, life sciences, and healthcare. Comparable to PMA in service offering but typically as part of broader advisory mandates.
• AECOM (Tishman Construction): Global infrastructure consulting and engineering firm with a major program management practice covering real estate, transportation, healthcare, and education. Competes with PMA on large institutional PM mandates, though AECOM's scope extends well beyond real estate.
• Cushman & Wakefield Project & Development Services: Global CRE services platform with a dedicated PDS practice spanning owner's representation, project management, and development advisory. Competes with PMA on enterprise mandates but typically bundles services with brokerage and valuation.

Emerging players

• Mace Group: Global consultancy and construction firm expanding its North American project management and owner's representation footprint in commercial real estate, life sciences, and hospitality. Increasingly relevant competitor as it scales U.S. operations, though still smaller than PMA's domestic platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/project-management-advisors-inc
• Xx.com/pmagetsit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Project Management Advisors, Inc.