Kraemer Design Group

What Kraemer Design Group does

Kraemer Design Group (legal entity Kraemer Design Group, PLC) is a Detroit-headquartered architecture, interior design, and historic consulting firm founded in 1996 by Bob Kraemer and Maureen Kraemer. The firm employs 20-30 professionals across its Detroit, Toledo, and Charleston offices and operates a wholly-owned procurement subsidiary, Intramode, acquired in January 2019. Its service portfolio spans architecture, interior design, historic consulting, and FF&E procurement, unified under a proprietary methodology the firm calls 'Outovation' that combines creative design thinking with technical preservation expertise.

The firm is differentiated by deep specialization in adaptive reuse of historic buildings and a regulatory skill set centered on federal and state historic tax credits, National Register nominations, and Secretary of Interior standards compliance. Its in-house historians and 36 CFR Part 61 Qualified Historic Architects have led over 70 historic tax credit projects and secured millions of dollars in Michigan and Ohio tax credits. Marquee engagements include the David Whitney Building ($94.5M, Roxbury Group), Book Tower, Aloft South Bend (Starwood), Hotel Indigo Cleveland, Google's LEED-CI Ann Arbor office, Under Armour's Detroit brand house, Piquette Flats (Platform Development), Dreamtroit (Dreamtroit Development), and the 2025 Dearborn Inn restoration with Ford Land.

Kraemer Design Group operates a relationship-driven professional services business model, earning design fees, consulting fees, and procurement commissions from project-based engagements. It targets enterprise clients including real estate developers, hotel operators (Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Starwood), corporate tenants, and government entities, with projects spanning the Great Lakes Region and Southeast US. The firm is privately held and founder-controlled, with no disclosed institutional investment and an extensive record of regional and global industry awards (CTBUH, MHPN, ENR Midwest, BD+C, IIDA) concentrated from 2010 through 2024.

Name

Kraemer Design Group

Legal name

Kraemer Design Group, PLC

Website

https://thekraemeredge.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kraemer Design Group is a Detroit-based architecture, interior design, and historic consulting firm specializing in adaptive reuse and historic tax credit projects. It serves enterprise developers, hotel operators, and corporate clients across the Great Lakes and Southeast US through its three offices and Intramode procurement subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Residential Bldgs (1520)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Historic architecture services
• Adaptive reuse design
• Interior design services
• Historic tax credit consulting
• Commercial architecture design

Headquarters

HQ city

Detroit

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Professional fees generated through architectural services, interior design, historic consulting, and procurement services for commercial, multi-family residential, hospitality, and retail projects. Revenue is project-based and earned through design fees, consulting fees, and procurement commissions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Kraemer Design Group provides professional architecture, interior design, historic consulting, and procurement services for commercial, multi-family residential, hospitality, and retail projects. The firm specializes in adaptive reuse of historic buildings, historic tax credit applications, and National Register nominations. Its wholly owned affiliate Intramode supplies furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) procurement integrated with project design.

Product overview

Kraemer Design Group is a full-service architectural firm offering architecture, interior design, historic consulting, and procurement services. The firm operates a platform-plus-affiliates model, combining its core architecture and design services with its proprietary Outovation methodology and affiliated procurement brand Intramode. Services span commercial, retail, multi-family residential, hospitality, and historic architecture sectors, with projects throughout the Great Lakes Region and Southeast US. The firm has over 25 years of experience, with particular expertise in adaptive reuse of historic buildings and historic tax credit projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully applied for millions of dollars in Michigan tax credits and Ohio tax credits
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered notable and core.

• Ford LandnotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Collaborated on the restoration of The Dearborn Inn, operated by Marriott International. KDG worked alongside Ford Land and Saguez & Dash on the extensive renovation project that included adding five colonial-style replica homes.
• Saguez & DashnotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Collaborated with Kraemer Design Group and Ford Land on The Dearborn Inn restoration project, designing colonial-style replica homes commemorating American and literary figures.
• IntramodecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWholly-owned affiliate of KDG that provides furniture, fixtures, equipment (FF&E), and accessory procurement services. Intramode offers architecture and interior design, project management, custom fabrication, furniture refinishing, moving coordination and professional installation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Quinn Evans Architects: National architecture and planning firm specializing in historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and cultural/community projects. Most directly comparable peer to KDG given its shared focus on historic rehabilitation and preservation tax credit work.
• Albert Kahn Associates: Detroit-headquartered architecture firm with deep roots in industrial, commercial, and adaptive reuse work. Strong regional overlap with KDG and shared Detroit heritage, though broader in scope including industrial facilities.
• Neumann/Smith Architecture: Michigan-based architecture firm with strong practice in commercial, multi-family, and hospitality projects in the Great Lakes region. Comparable scale and geography, with overlapping adaptive reuse and multi-family residential expertise.
• Beyer Blinder Belle: New York-based architecture and planning firm renowned for historic preservation and adaptive reuse of landmark buildings. Closest functional peer to KDG in terms of preservation-led architectural practice, though serving the East Coast market.
• CBT Architects: Boston-headquartered architecture firm with strong practice in adaptive reuse, hospitality, and multi-family residential. Comparable service mix and project scale to KDG, with similar integrated architecture/interior design approach.

Regional players

• Integrated Architecture: Michigan-based architecture firm with multi-family, commercial, and adaptive reuse work. Comparable regional positioning to KDG and similar project mix, though with less specialization in historic preservation.

Broad incumbents

• SmithGroup: Large national design firm with a significant historic preservation practice and offices across the U.S. Overlaps with KDG in adaptive reuse and interior design but at a much larger scale with broader sector coverage.
• DLR Group: Large integrated design firm covering architecture, interiors, and planning across multiple sectors including civic, hospitality, and adaptive reuse. Much broader scale than KDG but overlaps in interior design and renovation scope.
• Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with major hospitality, workplace, and retail practices that overlap with KDG's commercial interior and adaptive reuse work. Significantly larger scale with global delivery capability.

Emerging players

• John Canning & Co. Specialist historic preservation and conservation firm focused on restoration craftsmanship, materials, and decorative arts. Adjacent to KDG's historic consulting line but concentrated on preservation trades rather than full architectural services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thekraemeredge
• Facebookfacebook.com/thekraemeredge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Kraemer Design Group