MMEC Architecture firm to close in Spokane
MMEC Architecture & Interiors LLC plans to cease operations at the end of September, according to Jenny Cox, the principal and business manager of the Spokane-based design company. The closure comes after a difficult period for the firm, which was founded in 1999.
Cox says four of the company’s 12 employees were let go this month. One staff member will remain at the firm’s Kennewick office, while the remaining seven—including the company’s four principals—will work out of the Spokane location through September to wrap up active projects.
The decision to close MMEC was made in July, according to Cox. The firm has specialized in K-12 school projects, which made up about 75% of its work prior to the pandemic.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, MMEC has seen a sharp decrease in K-12 school projects. Economic pressure increased construction and project costs, and school districts struggled to pass bonds to fund new developments. This caused work and revenue to decline.
The firm also experienced a decline in client payment reliability and timeliness. Industry changes in recent years added complexity and uncertainty to the business environment.
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“If we had faced some of these challenges one at a time, I think we would have decided on a different path,” Cox said. “But when we faced all of these factors at the same time, it was compounding, and it just made it really difficult to find the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Despite the closure, some former employees have already found positions elsewhere. Several Inland Northwest-area architectural firms expressed interest in hiring from MMEC’s workforce. Cox suggested that the firm’s reputation for doing good projects and having experienced personnel contributed to this interest.
MMEC has been involved in hundreds of school facilities, public sector buildings, and commercial developments since 1999. Notable projects include Yasuhara Middle School, Finch Elementary School, The Chronicle Apartments, and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Real-Time Crime Center. A new office building for Seattle-based F5 Inc. is currently under construction in Spokane Valley.
The firm was founded by former partners Sue Lani Madsen, Doug Mitchell, Marian Evenson, and Craig Conrad. Madsen retired in 2009, and Mitchell, Evenson, and Conrad retired in 2023. Walt Huffman became a partner in 2011, and Cox, Heidi Pierce, and Boyd Lusarreta were made partners in 2016.
“We feel that we had high quality projects with creativity and longevity that serve their communities,” Cox said. “Especially because we’re so heavy into the public sector, we’re really proud of the fact that we feel like we made a difference in our communities with our designs.”
