PS&S acquisition expands firm’s presence in NY

PS&S already has two offices in New York, and April 4 the company announced that it is expanding its presence in the Empire State further with the acquisition of a 40-person consulting firm known, in particular, for its streetscaping, green streets, waterfront development and other sustainable projects.

The 60-year-old, Warren-based full-service architecture, engineering, design, surveying and environmental firm said it acquired the assets of B. Thayer Associates, with offices in Woodbury and Long Island City, N.Y.

Following the acquisition, PS&S will have a team of approximately 310 people throughout 10 offices across the Northeast, North Carolina and Texas. According to firm President and CEO John Sartor, PS&S’s five-year strategic plan includes growing in new geographic areas — especially those that stand to benefit from President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure legislation — with new partners and capabilities.

B. Thayer Associates, which has been in business for three decades, offers architecture, engineering, surveying and mapping, and landscape architecture services. According to PS&S, it is a founding member of the nonprofit Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

B. Thayer Associates has experience working with “virtually every” New York City and State agency, PS&S said. Some of the its past projects include the rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Bridge, the modernization of the Mets-Willets Point train station and the Van Wyck Expressway – JFK Access project.

“B. Thayer Associates has a reputation for excellence in New York City, on Long Island and in New York State and is highly regarded by government agencies, especially those responsible for public transportation, and infrastructure improvements such as roads and highways, utilities, resiliency, and other public works projects,” Sartor said in a statement accompanying the news of the acquisition.

Among B. Thayer Associates’ current project is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Penn Station Access project. According to PS&S, the $2.2 billion design-build endeavor will bring Metro-North trains into the transit hub when the project is completed in 2027.

According to the announcement, Barbara Thayer, founder and president of B. Thayer Associates, will continue to play an active role in the combined firm’s New York market, working closely with the management team at PS&S to oversee an expansion of resources and capabilities across the Hudson River.

“I have long been familiar with PS&S and its multidiscipline approach,” she said. “As part of PS&S, my firm will now have the advantage of a much larger team, more disciplines in house, greater capital resources and the scale needed to compete as a prime contractor in today’s environment. I could not be more pleased that B. Thayer Associates has joined PS&S and look forward to actively working with leadership to take the firm to the next level of growth.”