International engineering firm Buro Happold debuts Happold Consulting in the U.S.

 NEW YORK — International, multi-disciplinary engineering firm Buro Happold announced the launch of its strategic management company, Happold Consulting, in the United States. Happold Consulting brings together engineering, strategic planning, development, and project management expertise to facilitate the development of large urban projects; it has been active in the United Kingdom, Asia, and the Middle East since 2006. Happold Consulting USA will be based in New York and led by Kate Ascher.

Happold Consulting provides a full range of in-house engineering, planning, and development services under one roof. As projects become more complex in size and scope — expanding from building sites to neighborhoods to entirely new cities — they demand a more holistic approach.

“Buro Happold has built its reputation on a multi-disciplinary platform, first with engineering services,” noted Craig Schwitter, Regional Director for North America. “We have applied the same multi-layered approach to Happold Consulting, which helps our public- and private-sector clients address the challenges of urban development. Our experts navigate every aspect of complex larger-scale initiatives — real estate, financing, planning, and the community — to make projects happen.”

Overseeing the U.S. practice is Kate Ascher, an urban planning and development expert with nearly 30 years of experience in infrastructure, economic development, strategic planning, and real estate in the private and public sectors. Kate was formerly with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and Vornado Realty Trust. She is the author of several books on infrastructure and development and is currently the Milstein Professor of Urban Development at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Happold Consulting’s first major project in the U.S. involves leading a team that is advising the Mayor of Detroit on the development of a sustainable urban renewal framework. The firm is also coordinating an intergovernmental effort between New York City and the National Park Service to develop a vision and collective management agreement for almost 10,000 acres of parkland located in and around Jamaica Bay.

Happold Consulting was founded in 2006 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Buro Happold. Its primary services are strategic planning, urban sustainability, development planning and asset strategy, infrastructure planning, privatization and public-private partnerships, organizational development and project implementation. Its economists, engineers, urban designers, and real estate professionals tackle development problems at various scales for both public and private sector clients.

Buro Happold is an independent international practice of consulting engineers. Since 1976 the firm has grown in size and reach to serve public and private clients across a full range of sectors through an international network of 29 offices; its five North American offices are based in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.