Tim O’Brien, Studio Manager, LaBella Associates

Invest: sat down with Tim O’Brien, studio manager at LaBella Associates, to discuss how the firm is responding to Charlotte’s rapid growth, expanding its regional footprint, and aligning its multi-disciplinary practice with the next generation of infrastructure and placemaking across the Carolinas. “We have just about all of the disciplines necessary to help plan the next generation of development in Charlotte,” O’Brien assured.

Over the past year, what key developments or milestones have shaped LaBella Associates’ momentum in the Charlotte region and beyond?

We have continued an aggressive growth trajectory, both organically and through targeted business combinations. From a market perspective, one of the most notable shifts has been the rise of sports and entertainment as a major driver of our work. I would not say it has replaced multifamily, but sports-anchored mixed-use has become a central focus, alongside a still-significant multifamily portfolio.

We are also seeing strong demand across our other core sectors. Infrastructure, transportation, municipal work, and higher education all continue to grow for us, and those moves are expanding both the depth and the geography of our practice.

My focus has been on pushing our footprint southward. We are leveraging a portfolio of work that started in Charlotte and extending it down through Rock Hill and into the broader corridor that includes Charleston and Columbia. That includes a significant body of work in the Charleston area and a recent acquisition in Columbia that strengthens our higher-ed and medical capabilities in the region.

As Charlotte and the surrounding markets evolve, how is LaBella positioning itself to serve both the urban core and the broader regional ecosystem?

In Charlotte itself, we have doubled down on our commitment to the urban core. We remain in Uptown. The message is simple: we see ourselves as citizens of Uptown, and we intend to stay embedded in the center of the market we serve.

We are also intentional about meeting growth where it is happening. If a satellite market warrants our presence, we remain nimble and willing to place qualified teams on the ground. That has long been our pattern in the Northeast, and we are seeing a similar growth arc in the Southeast. The region has become our second-largest revenue producer as a company, and this year we are nearing — and may well have cleared — the $400 million mark in total revenue.

International work is also increasingly relevant. Being anchored in international centers like New York and Charlotte gives us direct access to many of the places where our clients are investing. Those two centers are complementary hubs that allow us to support local, regional, national, and international clients from a position of strength.

What does the talent picture look like in your key markets, and how is LaBella approaching the workforce pipeline?

For architecture and engineering, we are fortunate to operate in a region with strong universities. Institutions like Clemson, Virginia Tech, and UNC Charlotte have well-regarded architecture and engineering programs, and in the past few years we have been intentional about engaging with them directly. That means showing up on campus, participating in events and recruiting earlier so we can bring students into our world before they graduate.

A major evolution has been our intern pipeline. We are investing more time in multi-year internships, giving students exposure to real projects, teams, and clients. When we can do that for a couple of years, the transition into a full-time role becomes almost seamless. We recruit from all over, but if we can get someone into our culture sooner rather than later, and they enjoy working with us, we will take that all day long.

Because we are active in sectors ranging from sports and entertainment to infrastructure, higher ed, and municipal work, young professionals can build a career without feeling boxed into a single niche.

How do firms like LaBella contribute to the region’s development and evolution?

We have a somewhat unique position because we carry just about all of the disciplines necessary for that level of planning. From long-range infrastructure planning and urban design through vertical architecture, interiors, and ultimately the final finishing touches on a property, we can participate through the full life cycle of a project. On top of that, we have deep relationships with the city and with surrounding municipalities.

That combination gives us the ability to operate from concept planning through delivery. We are here; we have a significant local and regional presence, and an increasingly significant national and international presence. We have just about all of the disciplines necessary to help plan the next generation of development in Charlotte.

Where we still have work to do is in connecting even more directly with city and regional leaders so that we are at the table earlier in the conversation. In markets where we have had a long-term stronghold, we are already in that role. In Charlotte, we are seeking to be the go-to partner for planning the next generation of growth, and that is where we want to be.

How are macroeconomic factors influencing client behavior and project timelines across your markets?

There was a period of caution, particularly in the multifamily space, where some projects paused while owners and lenders recalibrated. That said, the fundamental drivers in this region have not changed. The migration patterns bringing people into Charlotte and the Carolinas are still strong, and all of those people need places to live, work, and learn.

On the ground, that translates into some typical growing pains as the cost of living rises and commutes get longer for those moving farther out in search of attainable housing. Also, our clients have generally been more resilient through political and economic uncertainty than many expected. Over roughly the last year, we have seen significant commitments to projects that had been sitting in the pipeline and are now moving forward.

You can feel that shift in posture. Whether it is a function of interest-rate expectations or owners taking advantage of more competitive construction pricing, more projects are going vertical. From our vantage point, 2026 looks strong, and the scale of what is already in motion will carry us well into 2027. We are planning accordingly and are in a hiring mode in the Southeast.

Looking ahead two to three years, what are your top priorities, and how would you characterize your outlook for the Charlotte region?

I do not see a scenario in which Charlotte does not continue to drive growth across the broader region. For us, that means leaning into the territory where we are already deeply engaged and using Charlotte as the gravitational center. We are growing in Asheville, Rock Hill, Columbia, and Charleston, and culturally we view all of those markets as part of Charlotte’s sphere of influence.

In many cases, it is the same set of players active up and down that corridor. Our approach is not to reinvent ourselves but to stay disciplined about how we expand. We will continue to look to the concentric rings outside of Charlotte — town by town –– and ask how we can help: How can we help you plan your infrastructure? How can we help you design and build the facilities that align with your ambitions?

If we do that well and deliver an experience that clients and communities genuinely enjoy, growth tends to follow. Our brand, at its core, is about partnership: partnership across disciplines inside the firm, partnership with our clients and partnership with the communities where we work. That mindset has been a key ingredient in our growth throughout the Southeast, and it will continue to guide how we support Charlotte and its neighbors as the region enters its next chapter.