McMillan Pazdan Smith acquires MCA Architecture

MCA Architecture of Greenville has been acquired by McMillan Pazdan Smith, one of the state’s most active and best-known firms.

McMillan Pazdan Smith called it a partnership that deepens and expands the its industrial practice, which designs and plans advanced and technical manufacturing environments, associated corporate offices and commercial campus amenities, and distribution developments across the eastern United States.

McMillan Pazdan Smith is an architecture, advisory services, planning, and interior design firm with 11 studios that include sites in Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina as well as five locations in the Palmetto State.

“The partnership between McMillan Pazdan Smith and MCA brings together two highly talented, innovative and experienced teams supporting advanced manufacturing and development, and thriving domestic and foreign direct corporate investments in the region,” MPS CEO Chad Cousins said in the release. “Working together, we are excited to combine and grow our clientele in the successful design and delivery of complex, high-impact projects in the nation’s most dynamic growth corridors.”

While financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, MCA’s leadership and 25-plus full-time workforce will become part of MPS.

MCA, founded in 1976 by Marshall F. Clarke, FAIA, and currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, has extensive design experience serving clients in the industrial development, manufacturing and energy markets.  Notable MCA projects include:

• More than 40 million square feet of industrial development across 11 states for clients including Red Rock Developments, Hughes Commercial, The Furman Company, Childress Klein, and Collett
• The Dominion Energy corporate campus in Cayce
• Nexans’ high voltage marine cable manufacturing facility in North Charleston
• Boeing’s Fuselage Paint Facility in North Charleston
• Dominion Fairwinds Landing, an office building on Viginia’s Chesapeake Bay providing renewable energy services from Dominion’s offshore wind farm

“MCA’s relationship driven philosophy aligns naturally with the collaborative spirit at MPS,” Channing Addis, CEO of MCA Architecture, said in the release. “Both firms prioritize trust, transparency, and a personal connection that extends beyond the architecture process.”