Today marks a new chapter for Goree and Abel Design Group as the latter will now be Abel Design Group – A Goree Company.

Goree, one of Houston’s largest and fastest growing architecture firms with six decades of architectural design experience, and Abel Design Group, an award-winning design firm, announced their partnership yesterday during company staff meetings.

The teaming up of forces will see each entity diversifying their portfolios and growing their staff to better serve their clients. The two Houston-based, family-owned companies view this new partnership as a natural fit and easy pivot.

“Our two firms complement each other,” Goree Managing Partner Steven Craney said. “ADG aligns with so much of who Goree is and how we operate. Not only are we, as Goree, able to team up and immediately gain additional support from this award-winning interiors team, but ADG will be able to gain us for support with our breadth of services.” Within ADG’s current corporate structure, Goree will hold a majority interest, but little will change beyond expanding each group’s talent pool and market reach.

“We aren’t looking to change either company’s culture, or vibe, or how we internally conduct business – all of which contribute to our continued success,” Craney said. “We are literally just making an investment to team up and partner so the two entities can benefit from each other – whether that’s by sharing resources or talent or going after projects together.”

The mutually-beneficial partnership finds Goree leaning on ADG’s renowned interior design expertise while ADG leans on Goree’s 60-years as a leading architecture firm.

“Goree and ADG were never competitors – this merger is a competitive advantage for both firms,” said Jeffrey Abel, ADG Managing Principal. “With the bulk of ADG’s work being interior design and the bulk of Goree’s being architecture services, both companies can now provide the full spectrum of services to their clients – regardless of project size or scope – enabling a streamlined process and exceptional results.”

The two-award winning firms – each earning Houston Business Journal honors just last week with Goree’s Best Family-Owned Company accolade and ADG’s Landmark Award for Best Workplace Interior – have common histories, share core values and foster similar corporate cultures.

The partnership with ADG will broaden Goree’s reach within commercial interior design – expanding their expertise into hospitality, restaurant, retail, large-scale corporate and education.

“For more than 55 years, Goree operated as an automotive facility architecture firm,” Craney said. “When we started to expand into more traditional commercial sectors a few years ago, the need for an interior design team became apparent.”

When momentum proved challenging for organically capturing high-profile, interiors-focused projects, Steven said the firm reevaluated its growth strategy and decided it was best to merge with a group whose reputation is built on steady, award-winning, interiors-focused projects.

“I feel very blessed to already have a talented Interiors team at Goree. They are top notch,” Craney said. “Bringing ADG into our mix now gives both teams the ability and bandwidth to immediately jump in together to work on large-scale projects and really shine.”

“As ADG has grown, it has experienced tremendous success,” Abel said. “But, its growth has been limited by its resources. Goree has a similar appetite for growth. Their additional resources will enable ADG to continue on its trajectory of providing first-class design for its clients throughout the U.S.”

The new partnership also instantly extends each firm’s reach to span the country. With Goree’s Dallas office and automotive subsidiary, GoreeWhitfield, in Dana Point, California; and ADG’s Austin, Denver and Atlanta offices, both groups now have the opportunity to leverage this growth and expand their client base.

“For both companies it’s only upside,” Craney said. “We can partner to gain more work, collaborate to produce more quality projects and team up to provide a broadened expertise. We are both expanding on our market sectors and the clients we serve. It’s a win for us as a company. It’s a win for our team. And, it’s a win for our clients.”

While no set timeline has been established, eventually, each of the firm’s Houston offices will consolidate under one roof. This would see ADG’s 45-person staff joining Goree’s 120-plus employees at their San Felipe headquarters in The Galleria area. For now, the two teams will collaborate and partner on a per-project basis from their current locations.

Jeffrey Abel will remain ADG’s Managing Partner as both Steven Craney and Stefano Poisl will each assume leadership roles within ADG. Steven sees this as an opportunity for leadership roles – across both firms – to be more “dialed-in” and focused.

“We no longer have to wear as many hats,” Craney said. “We have the opportunity to really focus our strengths, become more proficient and expand Goree and ADG into new marketplaces. My role will be focused on growing Goree and ADG internally. Stefano will be focused more heavily on business development. Jeffrey will continue growing ADG. Ultimately, both teams – from the bottom up – are there to support each other.”

Founded by Fred Goree in Houston in 1963, Goree is a leader of automotive facility design. Their reputation is firmly rooted in championing client needs, heeding attention to detail, fostering creativity and advancing innovation. Goree also specializes in office, industrial, interior design, retail, multifamily and master planning. The firm’s California-based GoreeWhitfield office provides the same high-quality service in the West Coast market.

Founded by Jeffrey Abel in Houston in 2001, Abel Design Group is a premiere, mid-size interior design and architecture firm, licensed in multiple states with projects across the globe. The firm began as a design firm focused solely on commercial office space and has diversified its practice areas over the last 20 years. ADG now provides architecture and design services for corporate, hospitality, restaurant, retail, and education clients.