Atlanta, Georgia
Offering clients a personal touch
Although a relatively young firm, Atlanta-based Dougherty Schroeder & Associates has quickly developed a national reputation as a one-stop shop for the retail developer's needs. Specializing in open-air retail and mixed-use centers, Dougherty Schroeder has amassed an impressive portfolio of innovative and award winning designs. From New Mexico to New York and Chicago to Florida, Dougherty Schroeder's work has been custom designed to represent the needs and aspirations of its clients, the individual retailers and local consumers.
Originating in 1993, Dougherty Schroeder opened its doors as a design consulting firm run by its founder and president, Kevin Dougherty. Providing intriguing design solutions for many of the nation's leading retail developers, Dougherty built a solid reputation for design excellence combined with a high level of personalized service. The client list for this small, high quality design boutique includes some of the industry's biggest names, Simon, DeBartolo, Cousins and Center Mark, among others. This approach resulted in a number of award winning projects including Indian River Mall in Vero Beach, Fla., and The Avenue East Cobb* in Atlanta.
Although his company was a qualified success, Dougherty felt the need to expand his services to include all aspects of the architectural process, through completed construction. From this dream, Dougherty Schroeder was born, a full service architectural powerhouse combining the personalized approach and design excellence of the original firm with the construction knowledge and technical savvy represented by EVP and partner David Schroeder.
“Our aim is to provide our clients with the highest level of architectural service,” notes Dougherty. “I am personally involved in every step of the design process. This insures a consistently high level of design quality and gives our clients the peace of mind that they truly are dealing directly with the decision-makers.”
This dedication to design excellence and service can be seen in each of the company's projects, including the recently opened and highly successful Deer Park Town Center in suburban Chicago. The soon to open Destin Commons in Destin, Fla., follows this tradition, borrowing design concepts from the Florida panhandle including historic Pensacola, Seaside and Rosemary Beach. Also in Destin, Dougherty Schroeder is completing Harborwalk Village, a mixed-use project combining a residential tower with boutique retail and restaurants. Situated on the harbor in Destin, it will have a fishing village theme including a lighthouse, “customs house” and public amphitheater. Recently opened power centers in Hunstville, Ala. and Evansville, Ind. break the mold by introducing a lifestyle look to a big-box format.
Other projects on the boards include an urban mixed-use project in New York, a 1.5 million-sq.-ft. mixed-use center in New Mexico, lifestyle centers in Long Island, N.Y., Cleveland, Charlotte, N.C., Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas, and mall renovation/expansions in the Carolinas and Florida. “Without a doubt, this is the most exciting time I have seen to be a retail architect,” says Dougherty. Dougherty Schroeder & Associates hopes to follow its progressive, forward-thinking clients where ever they may take them in the future.
*DS&A — Design Consultant
CMHA — Architect of Record