DESMAN - Parking Specialists

What DESMAN - Parking Specialists does

DESMAN (Design Management) is a US-based parking consulting, design, planning, and restoration firm founded in 1973 by John Fujiwara and the late Giri Chhabra. Operating as an employee-owned (ESOP) corporation under the legal name Desman, Inc., the firm has completed more than 7,500 parking projects over five decades and currently maintains nine regional offices across the United States (Boston, New York, Hartford, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, and Washington D.C./McLean). The firm derives substantially all of its revenue from professional services fees generated through project-based engagements, structured as multi-year contracts executed via RFP/RFQ processes for public-sector clients and direct negotiation for private-sector clients. Customer mix is distributed across municipal governments, higher education institutions, healthcare systems, casinos/hospitality venues, airports, mixed-use developers, and cruise terminals.

The firm delivers its services through three core practices. Consulting covers supply/demand studies, concept and master planning, site evaluations, operational assessments, system audits, management consulting, and financial feasibility/privatization analysis. Design encompasses full architectural and structural engineering of new parking structures using precast prestressed concrete, cast-in-place post-tensioned concrete, structural steel, and masonry systems, supported by RISA 3D, ETABS, SP-SLAB, SP-Column, Retain-Pro, PT-Data, AutoCAD, and Revit. Restoration and maintenance services include structural assessments, concrete repairs, waterproofing, façade restoration, and material testing. Specialized offerings include PARCS (Parking Access and Revenue Control System) and parking guidance system design, seismic design for high-seismic zones, and Parksmart sustainable certification advisory through eight accredited advisors.

The go-to-market model relies on direct enterprise field sales supported by industry conference presence (IPMI, FPTA, regional parking associations), an email newsletter (The Buzz), website content marketing with project case studies, and LinkedIn engagement. Subconsultant partnerships with prime contractors (Gilbane Building Company, Friedmutter Group, Elkus Manfredi Architects, Bermello Ajamil & Partners) provide access to larger project pipelines. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; construction values of named projects range from under $1M to $48M, indicating a fee base derived from a large volume of small-to-mid projects augmented by a smaller number of flagship engagements. A 95% repeat client rate and 20+ year average team tenure reflect the firm's relationship-based, employee-ownership operating model.

Name

DESMAN - Parking Specialists

Legal name

Desman, Inc.

Website

https://desman.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

DESMAN is a US employee-owned parking consulting, design, and restoration firm founded in 1973, serving municipalities, universities, healthcare systems, casinos, airports, and cruise terminals through 9 regional offices. It has completed over 7,500 parking projects with a 95% repeat client rate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Parking Consulting & Engineering Services

NAICS

Parking Lots and Garages (812930)

SIC

Services-Automotive Repair, Services & Parking (7500)

akta.pro primary industry

Parking Asset Management & Facility Services (Cleaning, Security, Staffing, Maintenance) (TLAJAIAG)

Keywords

• Parking consulting services
• Parking structure design
• Parking garage restoration
• Transportation planning services
• Structural engineering services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Parking Consulting Services: DESMAN provides comprehensive parking consulting including supply/demand studies, concept planning, site evaluations, master planning, operational assessments, system audits, management consulting, and financial feasibility analyses for parking systems.
2. Parking Structure Design Services: Full-service architectural and structural engineering design for new parking structures including functional design, mobility design, sustainable design, and innovative design solutions.
3. Restoration and Maintenance Services: Assessment, restoration, and maintenance services for existing parking structures including concrete repairs, waterproofing, facade restoration, and material testing and evaluation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DESMAN is a national architecture and engineering firm specializing exclusively in parking consulting, design, planning and restoration. The firm delivers end-to-end services across the parking facility lifecycle, including supply/demand studies, master planning, financial feasibility and privatization advisory, full architectural/structural design of new garages, and assessment, restoration and maintenance of existing structures. It also provides Parksmart sustainable parking certification advisory through eight accredited advisors.

Product overview

DESMAN (Design Management) is a parking consulting, design, planning, and restoration firm founded in 1973. The company operates as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture, providing end-to-end expertise across the parking facility lifecycle. Core services include parking consulting (planning, management, financial/privatization advisory), architectural/structural design of new parking structures, and restoration/maintenance of existing facilities. A distinctive offering is Parksmart certification advisory with eight accredited advisors. Supporting specialized services include PARCS (Parking Access and Revenue Control System) design and parking guidance system design. The firm serves diverse market sectors including airports, municipal, higher education, healthcare, casinos/hospitality, and mixed-use developments, with 9 offices nationwide and over 7,500 completed projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Parking Consulting Services Comprehensive parking consulting covering supply/demand studies, concept planning, site evaluations, master planning, operational assessments, system audits, management consulting, and technology advisory. Sold to municipal, institutional, healthcare and private clients via project-based engagements.
• Parking Garage Design Services Full architectural and structural engineering design for new parking structures, including functional design, mobility design, sustainable design and innovative design approaches. Sold to municipalities, universities, healthcare systems, casinos, airports, cruise terminals and mixed-use developers.
• Parking Structure Restoration Services Assessment, restoration and maintenance of existing parking structures, including material testing and evaluation, structural repairs, waterproofing and facade restoration. Sold to building owners, parking authorities, universities and municipalities on multi-year contract and project basis.
• Green Parking / Parksmart Certification Advisory Sustainable parking design services and Parksmart certification advisory delivered through eight accredited Parksmart advisors trained under Green Business Certification Inc. Sold to building owners seeking to certify sustainable parking operations, reduce energy use and lower operating costs.
• Privatization Consulting Financial analysis and condition appraisal services for parking system privatization, including 50-year financial reviews and operational assessments. Sold to municipal and university clients evaluating the sale or long-term lease of public parking assets.
• PARCS (Parking Access and Revenue Control System) Design Design and specification services for PARCS equipment, including pay-on-foot kiosks, ticket spitters, gate control systems, and integration with transponder systems such as SunPass. Sold to operators seeking self-operational parking capabilities.
• Parking Guidance System Design Design of parking guidance systems using counters, sensors and digital displays to direct patrons to available parking spaces. Sold to operators of high-volume garages needing real-time wayfinding and space utilization.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% repeat client rate demonstrates exceptional client satisfaction and trust in DESMAN's delivery
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gilbane Building CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDESMAN serves as Architect and Engineer of Record for the new Parking and Transit Hub at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport as part of the CLE Connection Group led by Gilbane Building Company. This is a transformative airport project creating a world-class gateway experience.
• Friedmutter GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDESMAN serves as Architect of Record, Engineer of Record, and Parking Consultant for Soboba Casino parking garage under Friedmutter Group's prime leadership for this casino development on sovereign land.
• Elkus Manfredi ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDESMAN led parking master planning and functional design for Kendall Square project while Elkus Manfredi Architects served as the primary architect for the 75 Broadway Biogen headquarters development.
• KVC Constructors, Wolfberg Alvarez & Partners, Shulman & AssociatesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject team members on Collins Park Mixed-Use Parking Facility in Miami Beach. DESMAN served as Design Consultant preparing the Design Criteria Package while these firms handled construction and additional engineering.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TimHaahs: TimHaahs is a specialist parking consulting, planning, and engineering firm focused on functional and structural design of parking facilities — directly comparable to DESMAN's core service lines across public and institutional clients.
• Walker Parking Consultants (historical): Walker Parking Consultants was DESMAN's closest historical direct peer in parking consulting, design, and restoration; now operating under the WGI brand, it remains the most directly comparable specialty competitor in DESMAN's market niche.
• Carl Walker Construction: Carl Walker specializes in parking structure restoration, engineering, and consulting, directly mirroring DESMAN's restoration and structural engineering offerings for the same municipal and institutional client base.
• International Parking Design (IPD): International Parking Design is a dedicated parking architecture and engineering firm offering consulting, design, and restoration services globally — a directly comparable niche specialist competing with DESMAN for similar municipal, university, and developer clients.
• Walker Consultants (now part of WGI): Walker Consultants was the historical direct competitor to DESMAN in parking structure consulting and design; it merged into WGI in 2017, creating a directly comparable specialty parking platform with overlapping municipal, university, and healthcare clients.

Broad incumbents

• Stantec: Stantec is a global AEC firm with active parking, transportation, and structural engineering capabilities that overlap with DESMAN's design and restoration offerings on institutional and municipal projects.
• Arup: Arup is a global engineering consultancy with structural and transportation infrastructure expertise that includes high-profile parking and transit projects, often competing with DESMAN on technically complex, large-scale developments.
• AECOM: AECOM is a global infrastructure consulting firm with transportation and buildings practices that include parking facility design and program management — competing with DESMAN as a prime on large public-sector pursuits.
• Kimley-Horn: Kimley-Horn is a large multi-discipline engineering and planning consultancy with an active parking planning practice, competing with DESMAN for supply/demand studies and master planning engagements while offering broader services outside parking.
• WSP: WSP is a global professional services firm with a property and buildings practice that includes parking structure design and transportation consulting, competing with DESMAN on larger airport, transit, and mixed-use developments as a prime or subconsultant.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/desmanparking
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/desman-associates
• Facebookfacebook.com/desmanparkingspecialists-160330668114

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 DESMAN - Parking Specialists