Educational Planning Firms Announce Merger

Irvine, Calif. - Cooperative Strategies, LLC, an educational consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, California, and DeJONG-RICHTER, LLC, an educational facility planning firm located in Hilliard, Ohio have merged into one firm to focus on the planning and financing of schools nationwide. The merger came after careful consideration of how to utilize the firms' individual expertise in a collaborative manner to provide public school districts and other local educational agencies with the best tools and resources available. As of January 1, 2017, the combined firms began to operate under the Cooperative Strategies name.

For more than two decades, Cooperative Strategies has focused on providing California school districts with comprehensive services for the planning and financing of facilities construction and improvements. Uniting with DeJONG-RICHTER brings the firm nationwide expertise with advanced approaches to facilities planning that combine key data analysis with community outreach. Their focus on educational assessments aids educational agencies in crafting facilities plans that reflect the unique needs of their students. Combined, the firms have helped plan and finance school facilities for over 2,000 local educational agencies, serving millions of students across the nation.

Tracy Richter, Chief Executive Officer of DeJONG-RICHTER, says uniting with Cooperative Strategies was the "right move" for his firm. "This is an exciting opportunity to combine two firms committed to providing the highest quality learning environments. Cooperative Strategies' expertise in financial analysis related to demographics and facilities conditions is an ideal complement to our educational approach to planning."

Featured

  • Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • UTampa Breaks Ground on STEM Academic Facility

    The University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla., recently broke ground on one of its largest academic facilities ever, according to a news release. The Dickey Science Innovation Center will measure 153,000 square feet and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.