SFCS Inc.

SFCS Inc. (SFCS), a Virginia-based architecture, engineering, planning and interior design firm, has made an industrywide name for itself by doing its homework. The company has thrived for nearly a century in the senior-living, education, health care, civic and public sectors by deeply understanding the ins-and-outs and needs of each individual industry.

SFCS was established in 1920 by B.N. Eubank and J. Walker Caldwell and was later incorporated as Sherertz Franklin Crawford Shaffner Inc. in 1988. The name was then shortened to its current designation in 1999.

“We’ve been around for quite some time, but the big evolution in SFCS was in 1945 when the company initiated its first senior-living project,” reveals Tim Mueller, president of SFCS. “We started to really gain momentum in the senior-living market through the 1970s and 1980s and Ron Crawford, one of the original partners, became a big industry expert. He did a lot of unique things to establish SFCS as a leader in the market.”

A Complete Understanding for Better Service

Crawford wanted SFCS to not only be a significant player, but also an educator and advocate for real issues. “He wanted the firm to be more educated in senior-living issues, so he brought in industry experts to teach our staff,” recounts Mueller. “This was so successful that clients began asking how they could participate and all of a sudden we started opening the By Design Conference to others. It became a great learning experience for all.”

By bringing in experts and focusing on research, SFCS began to understand the leading trends in the senior market. “We asked important questions, like ‘What is changing the landscape of senior living,'” explains Mueller. “The next step was to ask ourselves, ‘How do we apply this knowledge in an innovative way and how does it uniquely apply to a specific client.'”

At the end of the day, SFCS’ goal was, and still remains, to enhance the lives of the seniors it serves. “Over time, people began to see SFCS as a big name in the industry,” shares Mueller. “Now 85 percent of our work is in the senior-living industry and we’re approaching our 30-year anniversary of the By Design Conference.”

Room to Grow in the Right Place at the Right Time

SFCS has built a solid reputation in the senior-living arena, as well as higher education, health care, public and civic engineering, comprehensive planning, design and program management. The company serves a range of clients from its home base in Roanoke, Va., as well as Charlotte, N.C.

“We’re currently planning to reopen our office in Philadelphia, Pa., in the spring as part of a large-scale growth and expansion plan,” cites Mueller. “We’re using Philadelphia as a springboard to serve the sizable senior market there, but also include higher education and civic work; this location will give us a leg up.”

The company currently employs 80 professionals; however, Mueller says that’s just a starting point. “Our work load is significantly growing and as a result we will plan to hire additional staff,” he adds.

While similar firms have struggled to pull through the recession, Mueller says SFCS landed several critical jobs at just the right time. “Every firm came into the economic downturn with nervous concerns, because no one knew where things were going, but just as it was happening we were awarded a $180 million project for the Armed Forces Retirement Home [AFRH] in Gulfport, Miss.,” he reveals. “You can imagine the impact of acquiring a project of this size at the time.”

SFCS collaborated with the URS Group and Yates Construction to restore AFRH after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. “Today, AFRH is a vibrant 842,514-square-foot LEED Gold registered building and accommodates up to 600 residents with three residential pavilions,” details Mueller. “The most significant programmatic constraint included raising the first occupied level of the new design to a height of at least 35 feet above sea level, placing it approximately 15 feet above the existing grade.”

The design includes a Hall of Honors and Main Street, as well as accommodations that include independent living apartments, two memory support households, two nursing households and an assisted-living wing. SFCS was faced with the challenge of obtaining LEED Gold certification on the multimillion dollar facility along with government constraints.

“This was a giant design-build project,” reveals Mueller. “The government had real deadlines; we really had to step up to the plate to do what needed to be done.” The team’s hard work paid off. The AFRH project, along with the SFCS’ work at the Rockhill Mennonite Community located in Sellersville, Pa., received awards from the Design for Aging Review.

“I have been the financial advisor to SFCS for the past 20-plus years,” says Hugh Sawyer, founder and CEO of SawyerOne. “Based on their drive for innovation and excellence for customer satisfaction and internal staff development, I am not surprised that they are the leader in the senior’s market.”

After the completion of multiple landmark projects, Mueller says the future looks exceptionally bright for SFCS. “Given our astounding workload, we’re projecting a very strong year-and-a-half to two years even coming out of the recession,” he shares. “We’ve been very fortunate and have been quite successful in landing future work.”

By developing a true understanding of the markets it serves, SFCS Inc. designs, engineers and plans better, delivering a targeted solution that meets the needs for a specific client.