Thriven Design

What Thriven Design does

Thriven Design is a privately held, employee-owned (ESOP) multidisciplinary design firm founded in 1971 in Philadelphia as Kitchen & Associates and rebranded in 2022 to Thriven Design. The firm provides four integrated in-house disciplines — architecture, building systems engineering (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection), community/urban planning, and interior design — delivered to public agencies, private developers, nonprofit organizations, and local municipalities. Specialization is concentrated in affordable multifamily housing funded through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, affordable senior housing, supportive housing for vulnerable populations, student housing, and selected market-rate and commercial projects. The firm reports more than 30,000 multifamily housing units completed since founding, with active or recent projects across 30 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a primary Mid-Atlantic operational base anchored by its Cherry Hill, New Jersey headquarters (formerly in the rehabilitated Zane School Building in Collingswood).

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees, with no public pricing disclosed and no software, API, or product business. The go-to-market model is direct sales-led engagement with developers, public agencies, and nonprofits, supported by long-tenured relationships with anchor clients including Pennrose, Project HOME, BRICK Education Network, Diocesan Housing Services, and Aspen Heights Partners. The technology stack centers on GRAPHISOFT ArchiCAD with BIMcloud workflow integrated across internal teams and third-party consultants; the firm self-describes as one of the Northeastern Region's largest ArchiCAD user groups. Matterport 3D virtual tours are used for interior design visualization. The professional staff of 50+ includes 17 registered architects and 10 LEED-accredited professionals. The firm is structured as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan with a Managing Principal (Matthew Bartner, since 2022), six additional Principals, and Senior Associates directing specialized studios in supportive housing, planning, and quality control. Marketing is conducted primarily through the company website, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Distribution is entirely service-based: clients engage the firm directly through project-based professional service contracts, with no channel partners, resellers, or platform licensing. Notable growth vectors in 2026 include the South Ward Wellness Center (a 45,000-square-foot integrated healthcare/community facility in Newark with BRICK Education Network, backed by $21.7M in Aspire tax credit funding), Hawthorne House Respite (a Project HOME Collaborative facility with Jefferson Health, Penn Medicine, and Temple Health), and a coordinated leadership succession that elevated three new Principals and promoted a Mechanical Engineering Manager to backfill capacity ahead of two long-tenured Principal retirements.

Name

Thriven Design

Legal name

Thriven Design

Website

https://thriven.design

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Thriven Design is an ESOP-staffed, multidisciplinary architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design firm specializing in LIHTC-funded affordable, senior, supportive, and student housing for public agencies, developers, and nonprofits across 30+ states from its Cherry Hill, NJ headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural and Engineering Design Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Interior Fit-Out (Multi-Family & High-End) (IMAFANAE), Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Architecture services
• Engineering consulting
• Interior design
• Multifamily housing design
• Urban planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Collingswood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Design Services: Architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design services provided on a project-by-project basis for public agencies, private developers, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for design and consulting work across the full project lifecycle.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Thriven Design is a multidisciplinary professional services firm providing integrated architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design services to public agencies, private developers, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities. The firm specializes in multifamily housing—affordable, senior, supportive, market-rate, and student housing—alongside commercial and community facility projects, delivering services across the full project lifecycle from feasibility through construction administration.

Product overview

Thriven Design is a multidisciplinary professional services firm that provides integrated architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design services. Rather than a software platform or product company, Thriven Design offers four core service disciplines that work collaboratively: Architecture Services (covering design, new construction, adaptive reuse, and sustainable design), Engineering Services (MEP systems, fire protection, energy consulting), Planning Services (master planning, neighborhood revitalization, transit-oriented development), and Interior Design Services (programming, specifications, space planning). These four disciplines are fully integrated into a unified design approach, allowing cross-disciplinary collaboration on every project. The firm specializes in multifamily housing (affordable, senior, supportive, market-rate, and student housing), commercial properties, and community facilities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 30,000+ multifamily housing units completed since 1971
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jefferson Health, Penn Medicine, Temple HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026Project HOME Collaborative partnership for Hawthorne House Respite - hospital systems that refer patients to the respite facility for homeless hospital patients and those overcoming addiction.
• Diocesan Housing Services Corporation (DHSC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2026Shared history of creating affordable housing for older adults in New Jersey. Projects include The Mews at St. Mary and Stonegate at St. Stephen's Phases II and III. CVS Health and The Walters Group are also project partners.
• BRICK Education NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Developer of South Ward Wellness Center, a 45,000 sf multi-use facility bringing healthcare services to Newark's South Ward. BRICK Networks' Family Village strategy includes this wellness center as centerpiece. The project received $21.7M in Aspire tax credit funding.
• Project HOMEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDecades-long relationship on affordable and supportive residences for at-risk populations including veterans, individuals with substance use disorder, LGBTQ+ youth, and youth transitioning out of foster care. Projects include Gloria Casarez Residence, James Widener Ray Homes, Peg's Place, Maguire Residence, Ruth Williams House, and Hawthorne House Respite.
• PennrosecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDecades-long relationship advancing and preserving affordable housing in Philadelphia. Shared portfolio includes Good Shepherd Senior Residences, Maple Village, Tasker Village, Diamond Street Apartments, Wynne Senior Residence, Neumann North renovations, and FOP Senior Citizens Residence.
• Foya Development (Adenah Bayoh)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead developer of Southside View - first woman-owned and Black-owned real estate development entity in New Jersey to receive 9% LIHTC funding from NJHMFA. Partner Octavia Frazier-Porter is co-developer.
• South Ward Healthy BeginningsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for South Ward Wellness Center providing prenatal care, maternal care, and support programs.
• St. James HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperator of 12,000 sf Federally Qualified Health Center within South Ward Wellness Center providing medical care regardless of patients' ability to pay.
• Newark YMCAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBranch fitness and wellness partner within South Ward Wellness Center.
• New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit developer partner for Barclay Place - first project under NJHMFA's initiative to partner housing developers with healthcare providers.
• St. Joseph's HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare provider partner for Barclay Place providing on-site case management and support services. Partner in NJHMFA's housing-healthcare partnership initiative.
• VITALity Catholic Healthcare ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWellness services provider for The Mews at St. Mary residence for older adults.
• Catholic Charities of South JerseyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupportive services partner for The Mews at St. Mary residence.
• Aspen Heights PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOngoing partnership for student housing developments including Aspen Heights Bloomington (671 beds), Aspen Heights University City (730 beds), Aspen Heights Wichita (328 beds), and Aspen Heights Buffalo (830 beds).

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WRT (Wallace Roberts & Todd): Philadelphia-based planning, architecture, and landscape firm with strong affordable housing and community development practice in the Mid-Atlantic. Comparable in size, regional footprint, and integrated design approach; both firms share nonprofit and public-sector client base.
• KAI Enterprises: St. Louis-based integrated architecture, engineering, and construction management firm with affordable housing, multifamily, and community development practices. Comparable in mid-sized scale, integrated services model, and minority-owned mission-driven positioning.
• LHB (Larson Helle Borsch): Mid-sized integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm serving public agencies, developers, and community organizations. Comparable in full-service integrated model, mid-size scale, and public/private/nonprofit client mix.
• Mithun: Integrated architecture, planning, and interior design firm with strong affordable housing, mixed-use, and community development portfolio. Comparable in integrated practice model, sustainability focus, and mission-driven approach to design.
• Beyer Blinder Belle: NYC architecture firm with deep affordable and supportive housing portfolio, including mixed-use and adaptive reuse projects. Comparable in design excellence, mission focus on equitable development, and integrated planning/architecture/interiors service model.
• Torti Gallas + Partners: Urban design and architecture firm with nationally recognized expertise in affordable housing, mixed-use development, and transit-oriented projects. Comparable integrated urban planning and architecture model serving similar affordable and mixed-income housing developers.
• Magnusson Architecture and Planning: NYC-based architecture and planning firm specializing in affordable multifamily, supportive, and senior housing with deep LIHTC expertise and integrated design services. Highly comparable in client mix, project types, and mission-driven ethos to Thriven Design.
• Dattner Architects: NYC architecture firm specializing in housing, education, and civic projects, with extensive affordable multifamily and supportive housing work. Directly comparable in client base, building typologies, and commitment to public-interest design.

Broad incumbents

• Moody Nolan: Largest African-American-owned architecture and design firm in the US, with broad multifamily, higher education, and community development practices. Larger and broader than Thriven but overlaps significantly in affordable housing, civic, and education design work.
• CannonDesign: Major global integrated architecture and engineering firm with growing affordable housing and community development practice (formerly Einhorn Yaffee Prescott). Larger, multi-office, and broader portfolio but increasingly competing in the same affordable-housing and LIHTC-funded segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thriven.design
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thrivendesign
• Instagraminstagram.com/thriven.design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 Thriven Design