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Hennebery Eddy Architects has acquired Comma-Q Architecture of Bozeman, Montana. The latter will become Hennebery Eddy Architects’ Comma-Q Studio on Jan. 1, 2021.

Ben Lloyd, founder of Comma-Q, will become a principal and vice president of Hennebery Eddy and remain the leader of the Bozeman-based team. Comma-Q’s 11 staff members will join approximately 60 at Hennebery Eddy.

The transaction stems from Hennebery Eddy’s work in Montana. Tim Eddy, president and a founding principal, was raised in Montana and received a master’s degree in architecture from Montana State University. He eventually met Lloyd while serving on an advisory board for MSU’s School of Architecture.

鈥淚 have very strong ties to the state and the community,鈥� Eddy said. 鈥淚n spending time over there, I developed an interest in starting to work over there.鈥�

The two firms worked together on MSU’s Jake Jabs College of Business building, and they continue to provide historic preservation services for the Montana State Capitol in Helena.

鈥淲e’ve been talking about this for years, and we’ve partnered on some important projects for both firms,鈥� Eddy said.

Hennebery Eddy’s clients in the state include: Xanterra Travel Collection, the National Park Service, MSU and the state of Montana.

鈥淭hat’s generated a lot of travel back and forth from Bozeman,鈥� Eddy said. 鈥淚f we can reduce that travel by having a team in Bozeman, we’ll serve our clients better, we’ll save them money, and we’ll reduce our carbon footprint as well.鈥�

This is the first acquisition for Hennebery Eddy, and the firm isn’t looking for more, Eddy said.

The business transaction represents a bet on growth at a time when new projects are scarce. Eddy, however, is optimistic about prospects for Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Idaho.

鈥淭his is a long-term thing; we see long-term opportunity in the Intermountain West,鈥� he said. The deal 鈥渨asn’t really motivated by near-term economics, although I will say that Montana and the area around Bozeman is maturing and growing economically, and I see opportunity for us in the region.鈥�

Though the pandemic changed how Hennebery Eddy operates, it also opened a window of opportunity.

鈥淩emote work, and the success of remote work, has enhanced the feasibility of doing this at this time,鈥� Eddy said.

A year after Eddy and the late Stephen Hennebery founded their firm in 1992, Lloyd founded Comma-Q. The Montana firm recently worked on an expansion of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, a cross-laminated timber expansion of a Bozeman food co-op, the transformation of a former high school building into condominiums; and the Cannery District 鈥� a neighborhood revitalization effort 鈥� in Bozeman.