Watson Tate Savory Architects is merging with McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, a move that will expand MPS’s reach in North Carolina.
Watson Tate Savory, with offices in Columbia and Charlotte, will be joining under the McMillan Pazdan Smith name. This is the fourth such aqusition McMillan Pazdan Smith has completed in the last seven years.
McMillan Pazdan Smith CEO Chad Cousins said the two firms’ shared focus on community-centered relationships brought them together.
“There’s a mutual admiration of the work that their team has created on behalf of their clients over the years,” Cousins said. “They’ve done some wonderfully impactful work across the region, particularly in higher education and public work, and it was just a very natural fit for us from a cultural and design perspective.”
Watson Tate Savory’s portfolio includes:
- Western Carolina University’s Brown Dining Hall
- University of North Carolina Charlotte’s admission and visitor’s center
- South Carolina State Museum’s observatory, planetarium and theatre
- University of South Carolina’s instructional chemistry lab building
As a part of the merger, McMillan Pazdan Smith will expand the office in Columbia while adding key talent in Charlotte.
J. Sanders Tate, principal and founder of Watson Tate Savory, said his firm’s track record in working with flagship institutions like North Carolina State University, University of South Carolina and UNC Charlotte will continue to be a focus for the merged firm.
“But the larger firm allows us to be much more competitive with the existing other larger firms we tend to compete with,” Tate said.
The leadership team of Watson Tate Savory will join the leadership team of McMillan Pazdan Smith. Tate and Cousins said current employees of both firms will not see major demonstrable change in their day-to-day beyond the expansion of their teams.
“The only real difference for them will be the opportunity to work with a tremendous set of colleagues and collaboratively leverage each others talents,” Cousins said.
