Geheber Lewis Associates

What Geheber Lewis Associates does

Geheber Lewis Associates (GLA) is a privately held, full-service architecture firm founded in 1988 in Atlanta, Georgia by Fred Geheber and Alan Lewis, specializing exclusively in the multifamily residential sector. The firm provides architectural design, planning, and construction administration services across five verticals: private market-rate apartments, student housing, senior living (including active adult and 55+ communities), affordable/LIHTC housing, and select retail and commercial environments. Its core product is project-based architectural services delivered directly to multifamily developers, with notable projects including the Arcadia-branded portfolio for Third Lake Development, Linz Bayview for Davis Development, and Springview for Blue Ridge Cascade.

The firm operates a regional delivery model with offices in Atlanta (headquarters), Chicago, and Broomfield/Denver, with active projects concentrated in the Southeastern United States and stated expansion into Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, and New York. Revenue is generated through professional services fees on a quote-based, project-specific basis with no publicly disclosed pricing. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, supplemented by CEO Mel Esser's speaking engagements at industry conferences such as the Bisnow Multifamily Conference, and the firm has been recognized with industry awards including a 2020 NAHB Best of 55+ Housing Award finalist designation, Atlanta Business Chronicle's Best Places to Work 2025, and Great Place to Work Certification. Leadership transitioned in the early 2020s with Mel Esser rising from Quality Control Architect (2021) to Director of Operations (January 2022) to CEO.

Name

Geheber Lewis Associates

Legal name

Geheber Lewis Associates

Website

https://glaatl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Geheber Lewis Associates is a privately held, full-service architecture firm founded in 1988 in Atlanta that exclusively designs multifamily residential projects — including market-rate apartments, student housing, senior living, and LIHTC affordable housing — for developers across the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Architectural Services: Professional architectural services billed to multifamily developers for design, planning, and construction administration of residential developments

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Geheber Lewis Associates is a full-service architecture firm providing planning, design, and construction administration services exclusively for multifamily residential developments. Core offerings span five integrated service lines: private market-rate apartments, student housing, senior living (including active adult and 55+), affordable/LIHTC housing, and retail/commercial environments. The firm serves private developers from offices in Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver, with active projects expanding across the Southeastern US and into Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, and New York.

Product overview

Geheber Lewis Associates (GLA) is a full-service architecture firm offering a unified service portfolio centered on multifamily residential architecture. Founded in 1988, the firm operates across five distinct but complementary service lines: Multifamily Residential Architecture, Student Housing Architecture, Senior Living Architecture, Affordable Housing/LIHTC Architecture, and Retail/Commercial Architecture. The firm specializes exclusively in the multifamily world, working across private market rate apartments, senior living, student housing, and affordable housing sectors. GLA has offices in Atlanta (headquarters), Chicago, and Denver, with active projects across the southeastern United States and expanding into Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New York, and other states. The firm emphasizes a collaborative, relationship-based approach to client service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Multifamily Residential Architecture Full-service architectural design for private market-rate multifamily apartment developments, including planning, design, and construction administration for developers across the southeastern United States and expanding west and north.
• Student Housing Architecture Specialized architectural design for purpose-built student housing communities near universities, with a focus on mental health-conscious design considerations.
• Senior Living Architecture Architectural design services for senior living communities, including active adult and 55+ housing developments, with appropriate amenity and accessibility considerations for aging populations.
• Affordable Housing / LIHTC Architecture Architectural design for affordable housing developments utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing, with particular passion and expertise in the affordable housing field.
• Retail and Commercial Architecture Architecture, design, and planning services for retail and commercial environments, including mixed-use developments that complement the firm's multifamily practice.
• Construction Administration Services Construction-phase architectural administration delivered through a structured Construction Administration apprenticeship program that supports plan review, quality assurance, and operational excellence across projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• Projects completed across 35+ years of operation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Third Lake DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term strategic partner on multiple Arcadia branded multifamily developments across Florida and Georgia, including Arcadia at Waterway Hills (296 units, NC), Arcadia at Carolina Forest (320 units, SC), Arcadia 1850 (Buford, GA), Arcadia at Wiregrass (320 units, Wesley Chapel FL), Arcadia 331 (258 units, Freeport FL), and Arcadia at Veranda Falls (Sarasota FL)
• Davis DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on Linz Bayview (formerly Gulf to Bay) project - nearly 400 units across two buildings in Clearwater, FL featuring 5-6 story construction with hollow core plank and CMU
• Blue Ridge CascadecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Springview affordable housing community in Panthersville, GA - new affordable housing providing quality homes for residents
• Varium Construction GroupcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner for Arcadia at Wiregrass (Wesley Chapel FL) and Arcadia 1850 (Buford GA) projects
• LiveOak ContractingcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner for Arcadia at Carolina Forest (Myrtle Beach SC) and Arcadia 331 (Freeport FL)
• Cherman ConstructionminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner for Arcadia at Waterway Hills in North Myrtle Beach, SC (296-unit community)

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Niles Bolton Associates: Atlanta-based architecture firm with a strong multifamily practice spanning market-rate apartments, student housing, and senior living. Direct competitor to GLA in the Southeast multifamily design market with comparable project types and developer relationships.
• Humphreys & Partners Architects: Large multifamily-focused architecture firm specializing in apartment, student housing, senior living, and mixed-use developments nationwide. Closest direct competitor in terms of vertical specialization across the same four sub-segments GLA serves.
• KTGY Architecture + Planning: National architecture and planning firm with deep multifamily, mixed-use, and student housing practices. Competes for similar developer-led multifamily mandates and offers broader planning capabilities than GLA.
• Dwell Design Studio: Atlanta-area architecture firm with a multifamily and mixed-use practice. Highly comparable to GLA in geography, segment focus, and firm size; notably, GLA's CEO Mel Esser previously worked at Dwell Design Studio for 15 years.
• Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio: Atlanta-based architecture firm with a multifamily residential and mixed-use practice serving developers in the Southeast. Direct regional peer competing for the same developer RFPs in GLA's home market.
• BKV Group: Architecture, engineering, and interior design firm with a multifamily housing practice serving developers and LIHTC clients. Competes with GLA in affordable/LIHTC and market-rate multifamily segments across multiple states.
• Kephart Architects: Denver-based multifamily architecture firm serving apartment, student housing, and senior living developers in the Mountain West. Increasingly relevant geographic peer as GLA expands into Colorado and competes for the same regional developer mandates.
• Looney Ricks Kiss: Memphis-based architecture firm with a multifamily residential and mixed-use practice. Comparable in segment focus and developer relationship model, with overlap in Southern multifamily markets.

Emerging players

• The Preston Partnership: Multifamily-focused architecture firm serving developers in the Southeast and beyond. Similar size and segment focus to GLA, with an emerging national footprint.

Broad incumbents

• MSA Architects: Larger full-service architecture firm with a multifamily and senior living practice. Represents the broader incumbent competitive set that GLA increasingly faces as it expands outside the Southeast.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GeheberLewisAssociates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/geheber-lewis-associates
• Instagraminstagram.com/geheberlewisarchitects
• Xx.com/GLAArchitecture

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Geheber Lewis Associates