Martin Lehr, Principal, CBA Architects

April 2026 — In an interview with Invest:, Martin Lehr, principal at CBA Architects, discussed market headwinds, CBA’s focus on multifamily and mixed-use, and how adaptive reuse, pragmatic sustainability, and infrastructure and mobility opportunities in Greater Orlando are shaping the firm’s work. “There will continue to be a need for people to go into the office at least some of the time. That means creating communities close to employment centers is going to remain a universal planning truth,” Lehr said.

Reflecting on the past year, what changes or milestones have most influenced CBA Architects, and in what ways?

To really answer that, I have to zoom out slightly beyond the past year. The last two to three years have been very difficult for the multifamily sector, which is the core of our practice. CBA Architects is a multiservice architecture firm, but we predominantly specialize in multifamily and student housing. That means we’ve been right in the middle of the economic swings that have defined this cycle.

Coming out of COVID, the industry saw a convergence of unusual market factors. You had double-digit rent growth, extremely low cost of capital — not literally free, but 2% interest rates felt close — and escalating land sale costs. All of that drove an unprecedented level of new supply, especially in the Sun Belt. As that pipeline of units started to deliver over the last year or so, the market for new starts slowed significantly. On the whole, it’s fair to say we’ve seen something like a 30% to 35% reduction in total work. The industry as a whole has had to grapple with that slowdown.

For us, the question became: how do we respond? There’s a saying, “Never waste a crisis,” and we took that seriously. Instead of just trying to ride it out, we made a very intentional decision to use this period to become a better firm. We asked ourselves: When this cycle turns, how are we going to be ready? How will we deliver more value to our clients? How do we make our staff’s lives better? How do we set ourselves up not just for the next year, but for the next economic cycle, which we don’t expect to look like the last one?

With fewer constant, back-to-back deadlines, we finally had the time and mental bandwidth to focus on building the internal tools and systems we had always wanted. Over the last two and a half years, we’ve gone on a listening tour with our clients, doubled down on listening to our staff, and invested heavily in honing our processes. Our quality management program is now much more robust. Our knowledge management, including how we use our intranet, has become a real strategic asset.

Technology has been an important part of that. It would be remiss not to mention AI when talking about knowledge management. We’ve been exploring how large language models can streamline code and zoning analysis, and help staff navigate complex standards more quickly. 

What pressures and opportunities are emerging for housing, infrastructure, and community alignment from in-migration?

There are real pressures, but also tremendous opportunities. A lot of what’s coming next will be tied to transit and how people move between where they live and where they work. As a country, we’re still feeling out the future of the workplace — fully remote, hybrid, or something in between. My sense is that most industries won’t embrace fully remote as the dominant model. There will continue to be a need for people to go into the office at least some of the time.

That means creating communities close to employment centers is going to remain a universal planning truth. Ideally, you create truly walkable communities. Where that’s not fully achievable, you at least aim for environments that are easy to navigate and well-connected by transit and roadways.

The state of Florida is investing significantly in rail and in road infrastructure. Anyone who has followed the I-4 improvements knows the scale of those investments. For us as architects, the opportunity is in creating “smart communities” that aggregate the core functions people need — work, home, recreation, services — in ways that support productive, happy lives.

There’s also a financial reality behind the planning theory. I wrote down for myself before this conversation that a good deal pencils in any market. When the cost of capital is extremely low and rent growth is in double digits, you can underwrite almost anything. But as conditions tighten, only the best-located, best-conceived projects remain viable. High-quality, dense infill and adaptive reuse sites near transit or major office centers continue to work in all cycles. Those are the sites where you see 10 qualified developers competing.

Zoning is a critical piece of this. We’re very active in pursuing Live Local projects. In many cases, a three-story project simply doesn’t make sense financially. But if you can reach densities in the five-, six-, eight- or nine-story range, suddenly the numbers work, and you can deliver housing where it’s needed most.

Of course, those higher-density projects often land in areas that are most sensitive to change. Cities may not want a tall building on a signature avenue. There are NIMBY pressures, neighborhood character concerns, and political dynamics. What we’re starting to see, though, is that some jurisdictions are embracing tools like Live Local as a way to enable much-needed housing while also relieving local political pressure — they can point to state law as the basis for approvals.

Over time, I think we’ll see more smart zoning reforms that make transit-oriented development more attractive and more feasible. Across Florida, there are great examples already, from Tampa’s Water Street, Gas Worx, and Armature Works to projects underway in Orlando. These are the kinds of environments people want: places where they can live, work, and play within a compact, well-connected area.

Orlando is investing heavily in mixed-use and walkable environments. How is CBA integrating those principles into its upcoming projects?

As architects, we’d love to say we always drive the bus on mixed use, but in reality, it’s a partnership. Developers ultimately have to underwrite these projects, and not every site or market can support ground-floor retail, for example. Retail in mixed-use settings can be a fantastic value add, but only with the right tenant mix, the right scale, and the right context.

One of our proudest recent projects is the revitalization of Winter Park Village with CASTO. That’s been a resounding success — a beloved retail and entertainment environment for the region with a movie theater, shops, and dining, all within a corridor that’s surrounded by multifamily. It shows how mixed uses in a concentrated geographic area can create a powerful, walkable experience even if they’re not all under one roof.

Adaptive reuse and revitalization are high on the agenda as cities rethink office buildings and other underused assets. How is CBA approaching this trend?

Adaptive reuse is hugely important to us for several reasons. It is inherently more sustainable, it often results in architecturally compelling work, and it fits our design philosophy. Everything we do, whether new development or redevelopment, is narrative-driven. We’re always asking: What’s the story of this project? What’s the story of this parcel, this community, the people who will live or work here?

Existing buildings come with stories already embedded. That gives us a rich starting point. Our Maitland Station project, for example, was developed on a historic hardware retailer site in Maitland. We pulled elements of that hardware store into the architecture and branding, carrying forward the history in a contemporary way.

Another favorite example is our work at Winter Park Village, where we converted the second level of a former Dillard’s department store into rental units. The building itself is fascinating. It was part of the first indoor air-conditioned mall in Florida. Layering new residential life into that structure created a very cool, memorable living environment, and it builds on a place where CBA has been involved for a long time.

Feasibility is always the challenge. The proportions and massing that work for offices or retail do not always lend themselves cleanly to multifamily or other uses. Deep floor plates, window access, and life-safety considerations introduce complexity. But where the opportunity exists, we want to be at the table.

We’re currently looking at how to convert a retail bay in a Gainesville project into student housing because the original use simply isn’t aligned with demand anymore. We also cheer on firms that make adaptive reuse their core focus — groups like Interstruct in downtown Orlando are doing inspiring work. When you see that kind of energy around reuse, it can catalyze broader revitalization. Suddenly, a tower project that didn’t pencil five years ago starts to make sense because the district has become more vibrant, with new restaurants, bars, shops, and cultural spaces.

Our work is primarily multifamily focused, so we’re not always the right fit for every adaptive reuse opportunity. But wherever it intersects with housing and mixed-use, we’re eager to contribute.