Bell & Spina

What Bell & Spina does

Bell & Spina Architects-Planners, PC is a privately held professional services firm founded in 1987 in Syracuse, New York, with a second office in Pittsford (Rochester). The firm specializes in building envelope architecture and engineering, with service lines covering roofing design, masonry restoration, fenestration and curtain wall design, rain screen design, waterproofing, forensic investigation, and Building Enclosure Commissioning (BECx) following ASTM E2813. Its technical toolkit includes infrared thermography, hygrothermal analysis (WUFI), THERM heat-transfer modeling, and AAMA-compliant air and water infiltration testing. Bell & Spina's practice is anchored by a credentialed team that includes 3 of the 10 IIBEC Registered Roof Consultants in New York State, 2 of 4 Registered Exterior Wall Consultants in NYS, 5 Certified Thermographers, and BECxP/CxA+BE-accredited staff.

The firm's client base is concentrated in New York State institutional and public-sector markets — primarily higher education (SUNY system campuses, Cornell, Syracuse University, Colgate, Hamilton, University of Rochester), state and federal government (NYS Office of General Services, US Army Corps of Engineers, GSA, West Point, Onondaga County), and a smaller but recurring healthcare vertical (Rochester Regional Health, Erie County Medical Center). It is licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, and operates as prime consultant or sub-consultant depending on project structure.

The business model is project-based professional services delivery: consulting fees are negotiated per engagement based on scope, complexity, and duration, with multi-year contracts common. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales via RFP responses, institutional relationships, and industry reputation rather than any product channel. The firm pursues thought-leadership positioning through AIA/CES registered continuing education seminars and active participation on ASTM E06 and D08 technical committees. Following a 2023 ownership transition from co-founder Dennis Spina to President Douglas K. Arena and Vice President Neil W. Garry, the firm has added new partners (Matt Salzer in 2024 as Director of BECx, Ryan Grace as Director of Design Technology) and continues to expand headcount across designer, operations, and accounting roles.

Name

Bell & Spina

Legal name

Bell & Spina Architects-Planners, PC

Website

https://bellandspina.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bell & Spina is a Syracuse-based architecture and engineering firm specializing in building envelope design, roofing, masonry restoration, and building enclosure commissioning for higher education, government, and healthcare clients across New York State and the Mid-Atlantic.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural and Building Enclosure Design Services

NAICS

Building Inspection Services (541350), Building Inspection Services (54135)

akta.pro primary industry

Roof Inspection, Preventive Maintenance & Tune-Ups (HSAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Roof Repair & Leak Remediation (HSAPAKAB)

Keywords

• Building envelope design
• Building enclosure commissioning
• Roofing and waterproofing
• Masonry restoration services
• Historic preservation architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Syracuse

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural and Engineering Consulting Services: Professional consulting fees generated through building envelope design, forensic investigation, rehabilitation design, and commissioning services for institutional and government clients. Revenue is project-based with fees structured around scope of services, project complexity, and duration. The firm serves as prime consultant or sub-consultant depending on project structure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Bell & Spina is a building envelope specialty architecture and engineering firm providing roofing design, masonry restoration, fenestration, waterproofing, rain screen design, forensic investigation, and Building Enclosure Commissioning (BECx) per ASTM E2813 standards for institutional clients. The firm also delivers broader architectural services including renovation, preservation, adaptive reuse, interior design, and planning, supported by diagnostic capabilities such as infrared thermography, hygrothermal analysis (WUFI), and air/water infiltration testing.

Product overview

Bell & Spina is an architecture and building envelope design firm (not a software product company). Their service portfolio consists of four interconnected practice areas: Architecture Services (comprehensive architectural design, renovation, preservation, and interior design), Building Enclosure Design Services (roofing, masonry, waterproofing, fenestration, and forensic investigation), Building Enclosure Commissioning (BECx following ASTM E2813 standards with testing and quality assurance), and Planning Services (master planning, campus planning, and facilities management). Additionally, they offer Continuing Education Seminars as a registered AIA/CES provider. The firm specializes in historic preservation, high-performance building envelopes, and building forensics for institutional clients across New York State.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services Full-service architectural offerings including addition, alteration, renovation, preservation, restoration, adaptive reuse, construction administration, interior design, building condition studies, LEED/sustainable design, asbestos survey and abatement design, life safety and code review, litigation expert testimony, cost/life cycle/budget analysis, value engineering, and SHPO review. Targeted at institutional and government clients requiring architectural design and rehabilitation.
• Building Enclosure Design Services Expert building envelope services including roofing design, masonry restoration, fenestration and curtain wall design, rain screen design, waterproofing, infrared thermography studies, hygrothermal analysis, forensic investigation, feasibility studies, and building commissioning. Targeted at building owners, facility managers, architects, and engineers needing envelope expertise.
• Building Enclosure Commissioning (BECx) Building enclosure commissioning services following ASTM E2813 standard practice, including third-party design review, submittal/mock-up review, performance testing, air barrier testing, water infiltration testing, infrared thermography, and field inspections. Delivered primarily to higher education, healthcare, and government clients.
• Planning Services Comprehensive planning services including facilities planning and management, campus planning, capital planning, master planning, zoning process assistance, site analysis/selection/utilization, space planning/allocation, programming, phasing implementation, security system analysis, and options/budgeting analysis. Targeted at institutional and government clients planning capital projects and campus improvements.
• Continuing Education Seminars Educational presentations and seminars on building envelope topics including Building Enclosure Commissioning and ASTM E2813-12, Masonry Freeze Thaw Analysis, Retrofitting Exterior Wall Assemblies with Rain Screen Systems, Masonry Restoration, Low Slope Roofing, Gender Inclusive Bathrooms, and Everson Museum case study. Bell & Spina is a registered provider of AIA/CES Learning Units.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15% savings in heat cost, 44% savings in air conditioning costs, 17% overall total year cost savings
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and minor.

• Erdman AnthonysupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerErdman Anthony, the Commissioning Authority, retained Bell & Spina as sub-consultant to provide exterior wall and roof infrared imaging on the Crothers Science and Nursing Center at Roberts Wesleyan College. Bell & Spina also worked as sub-consultant to Erdman Anthony on the Lindon Oaks Ambulatory Surgery BECx project for Rochester Regional Health System, providing water penetration tests, air leakage tests, and infrared imaging.
• N.K. Bhandari, Architecture & Engineering P.C.supportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBell & Spina was retained by N.K. Bhandari as a sub-consultant to assist in the NR listed 1930's barracks buildings renovation project at West Point Military Academy, providing building enclosure rehabilitation expertise including roof system replacement and masonry flashing.
• Keplinger Freeman AssociatessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBell & Spina teamed with Keplinger Freeman Associates and Fuegel Engineering to perform a Master Plan Study for the Onondaga Community College Athletic and Physical Education Program, determining the need for a field house event center.
• Fuegel EngineeringsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBell & Spina teamed with Keplinger Freeman Associates and Fuegel Engineering for the Onondaga Community College Athletic and Physical Education Master Plan Study.
• EDR (Landscape Architect Subconsultant)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBell & Spina contracted with EDR as landscape architect subconsultant to design landscaping and site improvements adjacent to newly rehabilitated entry stairs at Rakov Center, Tower Fine Arts, and Hartwell Hall for SUNY Brockport.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Terracon: Terracon is a large national consulting firm offering geotechnical, environmental, and facilities/envelope services — relevant adjacent competitor for institutional clients' building envelope and roofing condition assessment work, though not specialized purely in envelope architecture.
• Jensen Hughes: Jensen Hughes is a global engineering firm with a building and property safety practice that includes code review, building envelope assessment, and forensics — broader in scope than Bell & Spina but serving similar institutional and government clients with overlapping building-safety and envelope services.
• Morrison Hershfield: Morrison Hershfield (now part of Stantec) is a large multi-disciplinary engineering firm with a dedicated building envelope/restoration practice. It serves similar institutional and government clients with overlapping capabilities but as part of a much broader portfolio of engineering services.

Direct peers

• Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH): SGH is a national engineering firm specializing in building envelope, structural, and building forensics — closely paralleling Bell & Spina's exterior envelope, masonry restoration, and failure investigation work, with broader geographic reach and deeper multi-disciplinary bench.
• Klein & Hoffman: Klein & Hoffman is a structural engineering and building envelope restoration firm serving higher education, government, and institutional clients in the Northeast and Midwest, with a comparable envelope-focused specialty practice including roofing, masonry, and window/facade design.
• Pie Consulting & Engineering: Pie is a building enclosure consulting firm offering BECx, forensic investigation, and building science services — closely comparable to Bell & Spina's specialty practice, with similar IIBEC-aligned certifications and a focus on institutional/commercial envelope work.
• Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE): WJE is the premier national building enclosure and structural engineering consultancy, offering forensic investigation, roofing/wall design, and BECx services to institutional and government clients — directly comparable to Bell & Spina's specialty envelope practice, but at significantly greater national scale. Matt Salzer, Bell & Spina's new BECx Director, joined from WJE.
• RDH Building Science: RDH is a specialty building science and building enclosure consulting firm providing investigation, rehabilitation design, and BECx services to institutional and commercial clients — directly comparable in technical focus and service mix, though with a stronger Pacific Northwest and Canadian footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Bell & Spina