ARCON Associates
ARCON Associates is a Lombard, Illinois-based architecture firm founded in 1979 that designs PreK-12 educational facilities across the Midwest via five integrated in-house service lines, with adjacent work in municipal, higher education, and corporate projects.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1979
- HeadquartersLombard, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ARCON Associates does
ARCON Associates, Inc. is a privately-held architecture firm headquartered in Lombard, Illinois, founded in November 1979. The firm operates as a multi-discipline design practice serving the PreK-12 educational community, with additional work in municipal, park district, higher education, and select corporate facilities. It operates five integrated in-house service lines — architecture, interior design, roof and masonry consulting, construction management, and landscape architecture — and maintains an affiliated subsidiary, ARCON Managers, Inc., established in August 1995 to provide related facility and program management services. The firm is structured as a closely-held professional partnership with a multi-generational principal cohort; the last founding principal (Mulvihill) retired in November 2020 after the firm had already transitioned to a successor principal class through promotions in 1999, 2006, and 2018.
The firm generates revenue through project-based professional services fees billed across its five service lines, with engagements structured as full architectural commissions or as multi-discipline packages (e.g., roof/masonry assessment or construction administration bundled with base architecture). Its technical platform is conventional for an established A&E practice: AutoCAD-based drafting, 3D modeling, renderings, video fly-throughs, and BIM-style laser surveying — there is no disclosed proprietary technology, no software product, and no AI/ML tooling. The business is anchored in the Chicagoland market with selected Midwest expansion into Wisconsin and Indiana; project cadence is driven by Illinois school district referenda cycles, municipal capital plans, and long-standing client relationships. Notable work includes the 103,000-square-foot Rosemont Ice Arena (2023–2025), a flagship municipal project signaling vertical diversification beyond K-12.
Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward the public sector — Illinois school districts, community colleges, park districts, and municipalities — with a 47-year continuous relationship with its first K-12 client (Township High School District 211, retained since 1980) cited as evidence of repeat-engagement economics. Long-tenured staff (a 41-year veteran architect, a 26-year principal, and a 25-year principal) suggest deeply embedded institutional knowledge and client relationships that function as quasi-switching costs at the district level. Revenue is not disclosed; the firm is privately held with no parent company, no outside funding rounds, and no ticker.
ARCON Associates firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ARCON Associates
- Legal name
- ARCON Associates, Inc.
- Website
- https://arconassoc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1979
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ARCON Associates is a Lombard, Illinois-based architecture firm founded in 1979 that designs PreK-12 educational facilities across the Midwest via five integrated in-house service lines, with adjacent work in municipal, higher education, and corporate projects.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where ARCON Associates is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lombard
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
ARCON Associates business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Architectural Design Services: Fee-based architectural services for educational (PreK-12), park district, municipal, corporate and commercial clients covering new construction, additions, renovations, and facility master planning.
- Roof & Masonry Consulting Services: Specialized building envelope consulting including roof consulting, masonry consulting, infra-red roof surveys, life-cycle cost analysis, and roof/wall asset management for facility owners.
- Construction Management Services: Owner-representation construction management covering pre-construction feasibility, budgeting, bidding, scheduling, project close-out and post-occupancy evaluation, performed by architect-trained construction managers.
- Interior Design Services: Interior design services including programming, schematic design, design development, finish and furniture/fixture/equipment selection for educational and corporate clients.
- Landscape Architecture Services: Landscape architecture including site planning, recreation and landscape design for educational, park district and municipal clients.
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
ARCON Associates product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ARCON Associates is a full-service architectural firm providing comprehensive educational architecture for the PreK-12 community. Its five integrated in-house service lines — Architecture, Interior Design, Roof and Masonry Consulting, Construction Management, and Landscape Architecture — cover new construction, additions, renovations, master planning, building envelope consulting, and interior/exterior site design for school districts, park districts, municipalities, and select corporate clients, primarily in Illinois and the Midwest.
Product overview
ARCON Associates is a single unified full-service architectural firm — not a platform-plus-modules software product — offering five integrated in-house service lines that together support educational architecture for the PreK-12 community, park districts, municipalities, and other corporate and commercial clients: Architecture (the core planning, design, and management service), Interior Design, Roof and Masonry Consulting, Construction Management, and Landscape Architecture. The Architecture service anchors the offering and frequently pulls in the other four (Interior Design, Roof and Masonry Consulting, Construction Management, and Landscape Architecture) as complementary disciplines on a given project, supporting work from master planning and referendum services through construction administration and post-occupancy evaluation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Architecture Full-scope architectural design and management of new construction, additions, renovations, facility master planning, facility assessment, and facility utilization studies for K-12 schools, municipalities, and corporate clients. Sub-areas include Educational Planning, Life Safety Services, Sustainable Design, Security Planning & Assessments, and Community Engagement.
- Interior Design
- Roof and Masonry Consulting Building envelope consulting including roof consulting and masonry consulting, offering bid documents, CAD drawings of roof areas, construction administration, facility assessment surveys, field testing, infra-red roof surveys, leak investigations, life-cycle cost analysis, life-safety surveys, non-destructive moisture testing, quality assurance inspections, roofing design, roof/wall asset management, and structural evaluations.
- Construction Management Owner-representation construction management led by architect-trained construction managers, with sub-areas including Budgeting, Bidding, Scheduling, and Project Management. Covers pre-construction feasibility, construction budgeting, bid package assembly, bidding and procurement, critical path scheduling, project close-out, and post-occupancy evaluation.
- Landscape Architecture Exterior site and outdoor space design including site grading and drainage, storm water management / bioswales / rain gardens, vehicular and pedestrian circulation and accessibility, natural and artificial sports fields, playgrounds, paved courts, plantings and hardscapes, and outdoor furniture and lighting.
Quantifiable outcome
- Maple School project passed community referendum with 76% yes vote; 113,000 SF new construction, 500 students, completed August 2019; won Learning By Design 2020 Grand Prize.
- +11 more outcomes
Companies that use ARCON Associates
Customer profileNamed customers55 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ARCON Associates technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
ARCON Associates partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
26 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Nicholas & Associates, Inc.flagshipConstruction Manager partner on multiple signature projects including Maple School (113,000 SF, completed 2019), GBN/GBS Glenbrook HSD 225 (summer refresh, athletic complex), Larkin Stadium, Rosemont Ice Arena (103,000 SF), and CCSD 15 #Moving15Forward program (Thomas Jefferson, Sundling, Winston Campus, Jane Addams, Hunting Ridge). Nicholas & Associates is one of ARCON's most frequent construction collaborators.
- F.H. PaschenflagshipConstruction Manager partner on numerous K-12 projects including Jay Stream Middle School Innovation Center, Berwyn South SD 100 District Education Center (40,000 SF), Union Ridge SD 86 (36,500 SF addition), and Evergreen Elementary (Benjamin SD 25). F.H. Paschen co-presented "The Dream Team" with ARCON and Winnetka Public Schools at WASBO 2025.
- The George Sollitt Construction Co.coreConstruction Manager on Hawk Hollow Middle School for Elgin U-46, handling concrete on the new Auxiliary Gym, roof framing for the cafeteria and music support spaces, masonry, and exterior brickwork.
- BEAR Construction CompanycoreConstruction Manager for the Wintrust Field Left Field Party Deck and First Base Line Tiered Seating, and on the Matteson ESD 162 Food Service & Storage Facility (24,000 SF conversion from an old roller rink). Also partnered on the Greenbrook Elementary School (Keeneyville SD 20) project.
- Broeren Russo Builders, Inc.coreConstruction Manager for the 12,000 SF PreK addition and 4,000 SF renovation at Pleasant Acres Elementary School (Rantoul City SD 137), including eight classrooms, therapy spaces, larger playground, motor room, and additional parking.
- CS2 Design Group, LLCcoreMEP Engineer on multiple K-12 and municipal projects including Union Ridge SD 86 (36,500 SF addition), Wheaton Christian Grammar School, and SWANCC Glenview Transfer Station roof and air handling replacement.
- ML Structural, PLLCcoreStructural Engineer across many ARCON projects including Berwyn South SD 100 District Education Center, Union Ridge SD 86, Wheaton Christian Grammar School, Greenbrook Elementary (Keeneyville SD 20), and Rosemont Ice Arena.
- CAGE Engineering, Inc.coreCivil Engineering partner on Berwyn South SD 100 District Education Center, Wheaton Christian Grammar School, and Larkin Stadium project.
- raSmithcoreCivil Engineering partner on Union Ridge SD 86 addition and Greenbrook Elementary School (Keeneyville SD 20) projects.
- AMSCO EngineeringminorMEP Engineering partner on Berwyn South SD 100 District Education Center.
- Reitano Design GroupminorFood Service Designer on Union Ridge SD 86 (36,500 SF addition) and related K-12 cafeteria projects.
- International Contractors, Inc.minorOwner's Representative on Hawk Hollow Middle School (Elgin U-46).
- Elens & Maichin Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc.minorRoofing partner for Building Envelope upgrades at Lake Park CHSD 108 (East Campus gymnasium and west balcony roof replacements).
- Riddiford Roofing Co.minorRoofing partner on the SWANCC Glenview Transfer Station roof system replacement project.
- Helm GroupminorProject partner on SWANCC Glenview Transfer Station roof system replacement and on Rosemont Ice Arena.
- SpacecominorProject partner on the Rosemont Ice Arena.
- WellsminorProject partner on the Rosemont Ice Arena.
- Midwest Structure Engineering, IncminorProject partner on the Rosemont Ice Arena.
- The Winnetka Public Schools District 36minorCo-presenter with ARCON and F.H. Paschen and Consertus on "The Dream Team - Selecting Your Construction Team" at WASBO 2025 Midwest Facility Masters Conference.
- ConsertusminorCo-presenter with ARCON, F.H. Paschen, and Winnetka Public Schools on "The Dream Team - Selecting Your Construction Team" at WASBO 2025.
- Habitat for HumanityminorARCON team members volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in November 2023.
- Village of RosemontflagshipPublic-sector partner on the new 103,000 SF Rosemont Ice Arena housing two ice surfaces, a restaurant, office and retail space, and training facilities for the Chicago Wolves. Construction began 2023, scheduled completion August 2025.
- Chicago WolvesflagshipAnchor tenant of the new 103,000 SF Rosemont Ice Arena, with dedicated training facilities being designed in coordination with ARCON.
- Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO)coreARCON exhibits and presents at IASBO Annual Conference (Booth #501) and the IASBO Facility Professional Conference. V.P. Trinh presented at IASBO 2026 on referendum through construction communication. ARCON also presents at Illinois ASBO Emerging SBO Summit.
- Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials (WASBO)coreARCON exhibits at WASBO Midwest Facility Masters Conference (Booth #621/622) and presents joint sessions on construction team selection and best practices for architect/CM investment.
- IASB / IASA / IASBO Joint Annual ConferencecoreARCON exhibits at the Joint Annual Conference (Booth #100-102) and hosted a 45th anniversary celebration with LEGO minifigure customization for attendees. ARCON's William M. Strejc is described as having a "next generation" role in the firm.
Scale indicators8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ARCON Associates competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DLA Architects: Illinois-based architecture firm with a deep PreK-12 and higher education practice. Closely comparable to ARCON in size, geography, and segment focus, competing for many of the same Illinois school district commissions.
- Legat Architects: Midwest architecture firm with long-standing K-12 and educational facility practice. Highly comparable to ARCON in client base, project types, and integration of architecture with interior and construction-adjacent services.
- Wight & Company: Illinois-based architecture, engineering, and construction firm serving K-12, municipal, and commercial clients. Directly comparable in geography, integrated service delivery model, and educational facility specialization.
- FGM Architects: Midwest (Indiana-anchored) architecture firm with a strong PreK-12 educational practice. Closely comparable to ARCON in educational segment focus and regional scale, though operating across a broader multi-state footprint.
- TMP Architecture: Michigan-based architecture firm with significant K-12 and educational facility work. Comparable in segment focus and professional services model, serving neighboring Midwest school districts in adjacent geographies.
- BHDP Architecture: Ohio-headquartered architecture and design firm with K-12 and higher education practices. Similar integrated service offering and educational segment focus, though operating at somewhat larger scale than ARCON.
- Cordogan Clark & Associates: Illinois-based architecture firm serving K-12, higher education, and municipal clients. Directly comparable in Illinois geography and educational facility design focus, competing for many of the same district RFPs.
Broad incumbents
- CannonDesign: National architecture, engineering, and design firm with a significant PreK-12 and higher education practice. A broader incumbent serving the same end markets as ARCON but at materially larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
- Perkins&Will: Global architecture and design firm with a substantial PreK-12 and higher education practice. Overlaps with ARCON on educational facility design but operates at much larger scale and broader portfolio.
- LPA Design Studios: California-headquartered integrated design firm with deep K-12 and educational sector expertise. Comparable in educational segment focus and integrated services model, though operating at larger scale and primarily in Western U.S. markets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ARCON Associates social profiles
Digital presenceARCON Associates financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ARCON Associates leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
ARCON Associates subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
ARCON Associates funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ARCON Associates M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ARCON Associates
What does ARCON Associates do?
ARCON Associates is a full-service architectural firm providing comprehensive educational architecture for the PreK-12 community. Its five integrated in-house service lines — Architecture, Interior Design, Roof and Masonry Consulting, Construction Management, and Landscape Architecture — cover new construction, additions, renovations, master planning, building envelope consulting, and interior/exterior site design for school districts, park districts, municipalities, and select corporate clients, primarily in Illinois and the Midwest.
Is ARCON Associates a public or private company?
ARCON Associates is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was ARCON Associates founded?
ARCON Associates was founded in 1979. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ARCON Associates based?
ARCON Associates is headquartered in Lombard, United States, in the North America region.
How does ARCON Associates make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Architectural Design Services are the primary driver. The others are roof & Masonry Consulting Services, construction Management Services, interior Design Services and landscape Architecture Services.
Who are ARCON Associates's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DLA Architects, Legat Architects, Wight & Company, FGM Architects, TMP Architecture, BHDP Architecture and Cordogan Clark & Associates. Broad incumbents are CannonDesign, Perkins&Will and LPA Design Studios.
Does ARCON Associates have an API?
No public API is recorded for ARCON Associates.