By Kate Tracy, Denver Business Journal
The firm has designed a few things in Colorado already.
HDA, an architecture firm based in St. Louis, is expanding and actively hiring in the Denver area.
The architecture firm, which operates under its parent company Green Street Building Group, subleased 1,000 square feet of space from Jordy Construction at 1212 South Broadway a year ago, while aiming to build out a larger presence in the Denver and Colorado Springs area.
“This office here will primarily service the construction and architecture and interior design business that we’re trying to get generated in the Denver and Colorado Springs area,” said Paul Giacoletto, president of Green Street Building Group. “We’ve had a place to hang a hat for the last year and have not really aggressively grown that office until now. We wanted to have a place we could grow.”
Green Street, an active real estate, development and construction firm in the St. Louis area, grew from 10 employees to 85 in the past three years. In Denver, the company sees HDA as paving the way for its other real estate and development sectors to come in on its coat tails. HDA and Green Street are looking to hire six to 10 people to run Denver operations, and plan to grow to 25 people over the next three years.
“We’re looking for people to join our team. I’m looking to bring on people to run that office, whether that be design or construction or real estate. We’re actively looking to add talent,” said Patrick Holleran, vice president at HDA.
This is not HDA’s first foray into design work in Colorado, as the firm has designed three large facilities in Littleton, Pueblo and Alamosa for Standard Sales Company, a beverage distributor. HDA also designed two projects for Waterway Gas & Wash Company in Parker and Broomfield.
Multifamily development, however, is the bread and butter of HDA’s and Green Street’s business, specifically mid-level and high-rise multifamily projects. Hospitality and office builds are also prominent sectors for HDA and Green Street. The two companies have teamed up on major projects in the St. Louis area, including a 25-story mixed-use tower in the St. Louis area and an 80,000- square-foot recreational hall with a rooftop bar and a seven-story mixed-use building.
“In St. Louis, Green Street is probably the most active developer and a household name,” Holleran said.
HDA has a long history in St. Louis and has been in business for 36 years. Two years ago, Green Street acquired the architecture firm.
“For us the goal would be to create some opportunities for each of the construction and design companies to find work that works for the real estate company or find work independently that are unrelated,” said Giacoletto.
Currently, Green Street has two projects in Colorado: a construction consulting job in Colorado Springs and a project at an event center in Snowmass through O’Toole Design, an interior design firm Green Street acquired in 2021.
“Coming into the pandemic, we didn’t stop. We got more aggressive,” Giacoletto said. “That’s one of the biggest things that I like about Green Street. When times get tough, it’s not the time to hunker down. It’s time to get creative.”
In addition to HDA, another St. Louis-based architecture firm, HOK, has recently expanded to the Denver area after employees started relocating here during the pandemic.