CHA Consulting, Inc. is an international engineeringconsulting firm headquartered in Albany, New York. The firm was founded in 1952 by John Clarkson, P.E., in Boston, Massachusetts and focused on civil design work. The firm was subsequently purchased by Ronald Clough and renamed Clough & Associates. Ronald Clough then partnered with Bill Harbour and the firm was renamed Clough, Harbour & Associates, LLP. Some of the firm’s first notable projects were work on Boston’s “Inner Belt” highway, and work on the Interstate Highways throughout the Northeast. CHA has grown substantially since then and now has a large presence in several different engineering fields, including power supply and distribution, communications infrastructure, structural, electrical, mechanical, environmental, geotechnical, civil, aviation, rail, and traffic/transportation engineering, as well as landscape architecture, land use planning, surveying, sports and recreation, wetland delineation, construction engineering and technology services. According to a recent listing by Engineering News-Record, a publication which ranks design firms based on information about their revenue, CHA is the 53rd largest engineering design firm in the United States. CHA Consulting and its subsidiary companies were recently sold to First Reserve, a private equity firm which focuses on the acquisition of internationally-based energy companies.
Notable projects
In the Albany, NY area, CHA has engineered some large scale projects, including the Times Union Center, the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, the Albany Pedestrian Walkway, the expansive Colonie Town Park, and the Albany Capital Center.
Albany Capital Center
In 2017, CHA completed work on the Albany Capital Center, an 82,000 square foot conference center in downtown Albany which received both the award for APWA Capital Branch Project of the Year - Structures More Than $75 M and 2018 ACECNew York Engineering Excellence Gold Award: Structural Systems.
The Times Union Center is an indoor performance arena located in Albany, NY for which CHA Consulting was engaged to provide engineering and design services. It seats approximately 16,000 people and is frequently used to host concerts, speakers, and sporting events.
Rensselear Station and Albany Track Enhancements
CHA Consulting designed the $50 million project including renovations and improvements to Albany's Rensselear Station, which included the addition of a fourth track. Furthermore, improvements to the train tracks between Albany, NY and Schenectady, NY are currently ongoing, a project which received the 2018 ACEC Gold Award for Excellence in Engineering.
Subsidiaries
CHA Tech Services, LLC
CHA Tech services is a subsidiary of CHA Consulting which focuses specifically on construction management. They, like CHA, do work in a variety of markets including industrial, warehousing, and sports-related projects.
CHA Canada
CHA Canada, formerly Gryphon International Engineering Services, is a multi-disciplinary engineering and design firm out of Ontario, Canada, which works specifically in the field of energy and thermal power which was acquired by CHA Consulting in 2011. They complete projects related to power storage, cogeneration, combined cycle, and renewables.
PDT Architects is an architectural design firm out of Portland, Maine, and a subsidiary of CHA consulting. They have consulted on many projects in the areas of education, preservation, residential, and healthcare.
American Fire Protection specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of complex fire protections projects large and small. The firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and consults on projects pertaining to sprinklers, special hazards, inspections, and fire suppression.
