What Progressive Companies does

Progressive Companies is a multi-disciplinary design firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, founded in 1962 as Progressive Engineering Consultants and rebranded in March 2024. The firm is employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) and operates from six offices across Michigan and North Carolina (Grand Rapids, Detroit, Charlotte, Durham, Greenville, and Asheville), with practitioners licensed in 49 states.

The company's core offering integrates architecture with civil, mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering, alongside interior design, landscape architecture, sustainable design, universal design, healthcare planning, workplace strategy, master planning, construction management, controlled environments, and community engagement services. It uses energy modeling tools (cove.tool, TallyCAT plugin for Revit) and the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) to support its AIA 2030 Commitment, and is accredited under the WELL Building Standard. It also supports clients pursuing Universal Design Certification through the Global Universal Design Commission, including Rock Hill Miracle Park, the world's first GUDC Gold Certified park (2022).

The firm generates revenue through project-based professional services fees across seven primary verticals: automotive (dealership programs for at least 14 OEMs), health and wellness (Corewell Health, Trinity Health, University of Michigan Health-Sparrow), higher education (Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Ferris State, Cornerstone), civic (DeVos Place, Acrisure Amphitheater, Frederik Meijer Gardens), workplace (Steelcase, Barings, MetLife), mixed use/multifamily, and science/industry/technology. Distribution is direct enterprise sales with principals and business development staff managing client relationships, supplemented by competitive bidding for public projects. Growth has been driven by a combination of organic expansion, strategic mergers (KSV Architects 1985, Design Plus 2012, ai Design Group 2016), and acquisition (MHAworks, May 2025).

Name

Progressive Companies

Legal name

Progressive AE

Website

https://weareprogressive.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Progressive Companies is an employee-owned multi-disciplinary design firm founded in 1962, delivering architecture, engineering, and specialty consulting across automotive, healthcare, education, civic, and workplace markets from six offices in Michigan and North Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Design Services: Architecture, engineering, consulting, and design services provided to commercial, institutional, and government clients. Services include master planning, program design and delivery, construction management, and sustainable design. Revenue is generated through project-based professional service fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Progressive Companies is a multidisciplinary design firm that provides architecture, engineering, and consulting services to organizational clients. It serves automotive, healthcare, education, civic, workplace, and mixed-use markets and applies cove.tool, TallyCAT, and EC3 in sustainable design work.

Product overview

Progressive Companies is a multi-disciplinary design firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of services across architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, structural engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, and specialized practices including sustainable design, universal design, healthcare planning, workplace strategy, and construction management. The firm serves diverse markets including automotive (dealerships for Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda, and others), healthcare, education, workplace, civic, mixed-use, sports and entertainment, and transportation. Services are delivered through their network of offices in Grand Rapids MI, Detroit MI, Charlotte NC, Durham NC, Greenville NC, and Asheville NC, with projects spanning 49 states. The firm also provides sustainability consulting with tools like cove.tool and EC3, and offers certifications through AIA 2030 Challenge and WELL Building Standard programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services
• Engineering Services
• Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• AIA DDx participating projects achieved 49% predicted energy use intensity reduction, equivalent to 20.2 million metric tons of CO2 emissions

Named customers36 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SmithGroup: SmithGroup is a US-based, employee-owned multi-disciplinary design firm combining architecture, engineering, planning, and landscape architecture. It is one of the closest comparables in scale, ownership structure (ESOP), and integrated service mix to Progressive Companies.
• DLR Group: DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design across civic, education, healthcare, and workplace markets. Its 100% employee-ownership model and integrated delivery approach closely parallel Progressive Companies.
• CannonDesign: CannonDesign is an integrated architecture, engineering, and design practice with deep healthcare, education, and workplace expertise. Its vertical structure, scale, and practice-area emphasis mirror Progressive Companies' Healthcare, Education, and Workplace segments.
• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a global architecture and design firm with strong healthcare, education, and civic practices and a long-standing commitment to sustainability and WELL/LEED certifications. It competes with Progressive Companies across multiple target verticals and shares comparable sustainability credentials.
• EwingCole: EwingCole is a multi-disciplinary architecture, engineering, and design firm with deep healthcare, education, and science & technology practices. Its scale and integrated service model are closely comparable to Progressive Companies' core segments.
• BHDP Architecture: BHDP is a US architecture and design firm with strong workplace, higher education, and science & technology practices. Its size, integrated delivery model, and segment focus make it a comparable peer to Progressive Companies.

Broad incumbents

• HOK: HOK is a global architecture, engineering, and planning firm with leading practices in healthcare, education, civic, and workplace design. As a much larger incumbent, HOK competes for marquee projects in segments where Progressive Companies also bids.
• HDR Inc. HDR is a large employee-owned A&E firm with major practices in healthcare, architecture, and engineering. It is larger and broader than Progressive Companies but directly competes for hospital and civic design commissions.
• Stantec: Stantec is a publicly traded global A&E and environmental services firm with significant healthcare, education, and community development practices. It is a broader incumbent competing for many of the same enterprise and institutional clients Progressive serves.

Regional players

• Hastings+Chivetta: Hastings+Chivetta is a US architecture firm specializing in education, cultural, and civic projects. It competes with Progressive Companies in the higher-education and civic markets, particularly in the Midwest.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/progressivecompanies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/progressive-companies
• Instagraminstagram.com/progressivecompanies

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Progressive Companies