What McCarty Architects does

McCarty Architects is a privately held, founder-led architectural practice founded in 1983 and headquartered at 533 West Main Street in Tupelo, Mississippi. The firm provides architectural design, master planning, interior design, and construction administration services, organized around six vertical markets: healthcare, senior living, education, student housing, automotive, and civic + commercial. Its technical stack centers on Building Information Modeling (BIM), evidenced by a dedicated BIM Manager role, with no disclosed AI/ML, software product, or platform component. Projects range from small clinic renovations (approximately 1,000 SF) to large-scale campus housing and STEM facilities (up to 245,000 SF), often delivered as multi-year master plans.

The firm's client base is concentrated in the institutional and public sector across Mississippi and adjacent Tennessee. Repeat clients include North Mississippi Medical Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, Itawamba Community College, South Sunflower County Hospital, Bedford Care Center, Yokohama Tire, and Continental Tire. Where project complexity exceeds internal capacity — notably on large student housing and STEM facilities — the firm partners with national specialists such as Hanbury and Ellenzweig, in which McCarty typically serves as Architect of Record.

McCarty generates revenue exclusively through professional service fees on a project-by-project basis, with no disclosed public pricing. Engagements are negotiated based on scope, complexity, and sector, and bill against multi-year contract cadences typical of institutional capital projects. The firm has no outside investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no observed M&A, funding, or IPO activity. Leadership has transitioned from founders Buddy and Richard McCarty to second-generation operators Kurt Shettles (President/CEO) and Justin Harrington (Vice President), with recent additions including a Director of Business Development (2024) signaling modest commercial expansion intent.

Name

McCarty Architects

Legal name

McCarty Architects

Website

https://mccartycompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

McCarty Architects is a privately held, founder-led architectural firm founded in 1983 in Tupelo, Mississippi, providing architecture, planning, interior design, and construction administration across healthcare, senior living, education, student housing, automotive, and civic sectors for institutional clients in the Southeast US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (54141), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Healthcare facility design
• Senior living architecture
• Higher education facility design
• Interior design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tupelo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Professional fees for architectural design services including planning, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and construction administration. Revenue is generated through project-based fees for healthcare, education, senior living, automotive, civic, and commercial projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

McCarty Architects is a professional services architecture firm providing full-scope architectural, master planning, interior design, and construction administration services. The firm designs hospitals, medical centers, clinics, higher-education facilities, student housing, senior living communities, automotive dealerships and training centers, and civic/commercial buildings for institutional and commercial clients across the Southeast U.S.

Product overview

McCarty Architects is an architectural firm offering a unified portfolio of services centered around architecture, planning, and interior design. The company operates as a single integrated practice rather than a platform with separate modules. Their core offerings span across multiple project categories including Healthcare Architecture, Senior Living Architecture, Education Architecture, Student Housing Architecture, Automotive Architecture, and Civic + Commercial Architecture. These services are delivered through their team of architects, designers, and technicians who collaborate with clients and industry partners. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services Full-service architectural design providing function-first design across healthcare, senior living, education, automotive, civic, and commercial projects, from planning through construction administration.
• Planning Services Master planning and strategic space planning services for institutional and commercial clients, including multi-phase, multi-year master plans for hospitals and large institutions.
• Interior Design Services Interior design services creating attractive, functional, and safe interior spaces for commercial offices, healthcare facilities, and educational environments.
• Healthcare Architecture Design services for hospitals, medical centers, clinics, pharmacies, and healthcare facilities, including specialty units such as hybrid operating rooms, ICUs, pediatric ICUs, emergency departments, and compounding pharmacies meeting USP standards.
• Senior Living Architecture Design services for senior living facilities including skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care, independent living, and Green House-model residential communities.
• Education Architecture Design services for educational institutions including community colleges, universities, STEM facilities, health sciences buildings, and specialized training facilities.
• Student Housing Architecture Design services for university and college residence halls and student housing developments ranging from hundreds to nearly 1,000 beds.
• Automotive Architecture Design services for automotive dealerships, glazed showrooms, service departments, and corporate training centers for vehicle and tire manufacturers.
• Civic + Commercial Architecture Design services for civic buildings, conference centers, theaters, business centers, community wellness facilities, and downtown development projects.
• Construction Administration Construction administration services ensuring contractors adhere to design documents and that projects are completed successfully across healthcare, education, senior living, and commercial sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• First Hybrid Operating Room in North Mississippi at NMMC
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 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 core.

• EllenzweigcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMcCarty Architects and Ellenzweig partnered to design the CSTI STEM Facility at the University of Mississippi. Ellenzweig served as Design Architect, Renderings, and Lab Planner while McCarty Architects served as Architect of Record. This project is the first S.T.E.M. facility on a major university in Mississippi state.
• HanburycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMcCarty Architects partnered with Hanbury on multiple higher education projects including Century Park South at University of Southern Mississippi (950-bed residence hall) and College View Community at Mississippi State University (656 residential beds, 46,000 SF retail/commercial). Hanbury is listed as design architect on these joint venture projects.
• HanburycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Hanbury on MSU Residence Halls North / Center for America's Veterans project totaling 752 beds and 245,000 SF, including a standalone 7,500 SF Center for America's Veterans resource center. Construction completed 2016.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Matheny Goldmon Architecture: Tennessee-headquartered architecture firm with healthcare and civic project focus. Operates in adjacent Mid-South geography with overlapping end markets but does not directly compete in Mississippi institutional work.
• LBYD Engineers: Alabama-headquartered engineering and architecture firm serving institutional, healthcare, and industrial clients across the Southeast. Comparable regional scale and end-market overlap, with primary operations in adjacent geography.

Direct peers

• Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons (CDFL): Alabama-based architecture firm of comparable size serving higher education, healthcare, and civic clients across the Southeast. Directly comparable as a mid-sized regional practice with similar vertical specialization and project-based fee model.
• Ellenzweig: Specialist architecture firm focused on higher education, particularly STEM and laboratory facilities. Documented McCarty partner on the Ole Miss CSTI STEM Facility, sharing the same education/research laboratory niche.
• Williams Blackstock Architects: Birmingham-based architecture firm serving higher education, healthcare, and civic clients across the Southeast. Similar mid-sized regional practice with comparable institutional client roster and project delivery model.
• Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC): Alabama-headquartered architecture and engineering firm with broad civic, education, healthcare, and commercial practices. Comparable in size, regional Southeastern footprint, and multi-vertical service mix to McCarty.
• Hanbury: Virginia-based architecture and planning firm with deep higher education and student housing focus. Documented McCarty partner on flagship residence hall projects (College View, Century Park South, MSU North) and serves the same institutional client base across the Southeast.

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Large global architecture firm with a deep healthcare and higher education practice. Competes for the same university and hospital design commissions McCarty serves, but at a much larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• CannonDesign: National architecture, engineering, and planning firm with a recognized healthcare design practice. Directly competes for hospital master plans and health system capital projects in the same Southeast market McCarty serves.
• HDR Architecture: Global design firm with strong healthcare and education practices, frequently competing for academic medical center and university commissions. Comparable only in vertical specialization, with far greater resources and geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mccartyarch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mccarty-architects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 McCarty Architects