Prominent Miami Design Firm Gets New Owner
By Jeff Ostrowski January 25, 2024 5:36 pm
reprints
After a three-decade run as a homegrown architecture firm, Bermello Ajamil & Partners has new ownership.
Woolpert, an Ohio-based architecture and engineering firm, said Thursday that it had bought Bermello Ajamil & Partners. The firm was founded in Miami-Dade County in the early 1990s by Willy Bermello, now the company’s chairman, and Luis Ajamil, the firm’s president and CEO.
While the two founders are now in their 70s, they indicated no signs of slowing down after the sale. The 160-employee firm will continue to operate under its old name.
“The combination will allow us to accelerate the growth of our aviation, health care, commercial and municipal markets,” Bermello said in a statement.
The sale price was not disclosed. Woolpert and Bermello Ajamil did not respond to requests for additional comment. Bermello Ajamil’s main office is at 4700 South LeJeune Road in Coral Gables. It also has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, New York, Southern California and Denmark.
Bermello Ajamil & Partners’ recent portfolio includes a variety of projects, including new terminals at PortMiami, Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Other projects include the Block 45 mixed-use development in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood, a new business college building at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, and a port facility in the island nation of Mauritius.
Jeff Ostrowski can be reached at jostrowski@commercialobserver.com.
