Business developmentforChattanooga AEC firms.
BD-AEC embeds a business development department for Chattanooga architecture, engineering, and construction firms. Senior leadership, market intelligence, creative capacity, and consistent execution give your principals a team behind their next stage of growth.
Outsourced growth infrastructure
A department behind your growth
Leadership, intelligence, creative capacity, and follow-through, working together as part of your firm.
01
Strategy
Choose the work worth pursuing. Market intelligence and Creative Mapping connect your strengths with the right buyers, partners, and opportunities.
02
Creativity
Give buyers a reason to remember you. Positioning, story, and proposals turn technical expertise into a clear case for choosing your firm.
03
Execution
Keep the work moving. Outreach, relationships, pursuit coordination, and regular reviews turn decisions into a repeatable business development practice. Kinetic Rebalance adjusts the effort as evidence changes, including doing less.
Strategy + Creativity + Execution = Growth
The strategy + creativity principle comes from our partners at BLDG Brands. BD-AEC adds execution.
Scott leads the relationship as CEO and Strategic Partner. The department brings the capacity around him. Your principals stay involved in technical decisions and key relationships; we establish the rhythm and carry the work forward together.
Explore the embedded departmentThe Chattanooga market
Who buys design and construction here
Chattanooga is a compact, fast-growing AEC market at the junction of I-75 and I-24, where about 160 design and construction firms compete across the Tennessee and Georgia line. It's small enough that relationships compound quickly, and the firms that win consistently are the ones owners already know.
Chattanooga pairs serious manufacturing investment with infrastructure growth and an emerging tech economy, all in a metro small enough that reputation travels fast. The Volkswagen assembly plant and its supplier base anchor a wave of industrial work, the "Gig City" broadband economy keeps drawing data and tech investment, and TVA's large Chattanooga presence runs through both energy and capital projects. For an AEC firm, that's a healthy mix of private, institutional, and public demand in one tight market.
What makes Chattanooga distinct is its reach. Sitting at the I-75 and I-24 junction gives firms here an east-west line toward Huntsville and the Carolinas, so a Chattanooga base is also a launch point for work across the wider Southeast. The market is underserved enough that a disciplined business development effort stands out instead of getting lost in the noise of a crowded major metro.
Chattanooga combines real demand with a market that rewards relationships and track record. Owner introductions and teaming conversations deserve attention before a pursuit goes public. BD-AEC brings strategy, creativity, and execution together in an embedded department, connecting market intelligence with relationships, positioning, and pursuit support. Your principals contribute the technical judgment; our team helps carry the work forward.
U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns (NAICS 5413, 2022)
Automotive & manufacturing
The Volkswagen Chattanooga assembly plant and its tier-one supplier base, plus the broader advanced-manufacturing investment drawn to the I-75/I-24 corridor.
Energy & utility
TVA, which runs a major Chattanooga office and capital program, along with EPB, the municipal utility behind Chattanooga's "Gig City" fiber network, and its ongoing infrastructure work.
Public infrastructure
TDOT and Georgia DOT programs across the state line, including the I-75/I-24 interchange and I-24 widening, plus the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency.
Institutional & healthcare
UTC, Chattanooga State, the region's K-12 capital programs, and health systems including Erlanger and CommonSpirit Memorial (formerly CHI Memorial).
Municipal & regional
The City of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority, and the surrounding North Georgia county governments across the TN-GA line.
RFPs and bids
Where Chattanooga architecture and engineering work gets advertised
These are the agencies and institutions that put architecture and engineering work out to bid in Chattanooga, and the portals where they post it. Bookmark them. Winning the work is a different job from finding it, and finding it is the part you can do yourself.
City of Chattanooga Purchasing Department
Sealed solicitations (ITB, RFP, RFQ) for city facilities, parks, sidewalks and drainage, plus Moccasin Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant and sewer/manhole rehabilitation work run through Public Works.
Hamilton County Procurement and Fleet Management Department
Issues Requests for Qualifications for architecture and engineering under its 2023 Procurement Rules; recent lettings include Standifer Gap culvert replacement, Snow Hill at Short Tail Springs Road improvements and Stringers Branch stream restoration.
Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Region 2
The Chattanooga-based 24-county region; buys roadway and structural design, environmental, survey, geotechnical and construction engineering and inspection, including a live CEI solicitation for SR-320 in Hamilton County (PIN 124077.00).
Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority (WWTA)
Sewer collection, pump station and basin rehabilitation design plus the Private Service Lateral Program; buys engineering only from a closed prequalified list of 25 firms (AECOM, Barge, CDM Smith, Hazen and Sawyer, LDA Engineering, Ragan-Smith and others).
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Designer RFQs through UT System Capital Projects, including the current UTC New Dining Facility (26/27) designer selection, plus Fletcher Hall addition and renovation, the new residence hall complex and roof replacements.
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority
Currently soliciting Statements of Qualifications for professional airport planning services to produce a new Airport Master Plan for Lovell Field, updating the 2019 plan.
Hamilton County Schools (Hamilton County Department of Education)
School facility, renovation and site work solicitations for the county-wide district, posted through the Tennessee Purchasing Group with 36 solicitations closed in the past 12 months.
Where solicitations are posted
- Hamilton County Procurement and Fleet Management bid portal (PlanetBids)
- TDOT Consultant Information - Current Advertisements and Selection Results
- UT System Capital Projects - Requests for Services (designer RFQs, includes UTC)
- City of Chattanooga Supplier Support (gateway to the Oracle Fusion Supplier Portal)
- Hamilton County Schools bid opportunities (BidNet Direct / Tennessee Purchasing Group)
How selection works here
Tenn. Code Ann. 12-4-107 imposes QBS on state, county and local governments alike, so Chattanooga and Hamilton County buy design through Requests for Qualifications and never open with price: Hamilton County's rules state outright that these contracts "are not based on competitive bidding," and fee is only negotiated after the top-ranked firm is chosen and scope is agreed. The quieter lever is 12-4-107(a)(4), which lets any city, county or utility district expand an existing satisfactory A/E contract into new scope within that firm's technical competency without a fresh selection, which is why incumbency decides most volume here: WWTA buys engineering only from a closed 25-firm prequalified roster, and TDOT on-call contracts run two to five years with work orders issued as needed. TDOT requires current prequalification before a letter of interest is even accepted, renewed every three years, with a Limited tier that lets a smaller firm claim a flat 125 percent indirect rate instead of an AASHTO-audited one; Hamilton County carries a 10 percent DBE goal on both contracted construction and on goods and services, and CARTA runs a 3 percent federal DBE goal for FFY 2024 through 2026.
The Chattanooga bid watchlist
Finding the work is a job in itself. Once a quarter we send this page's market to your inbox: new federal awards in the Chattanooga metro, buyer moves, and portal changes. No pitch, just the market.
Email scott@bd-aec.com with the subject "Chattanooga bid watchlist" and we'll add you.
Federal market
Federal AEC spending in Chattanooga
Federal agencies obligated $4M for architecture, engineering, and construction work in the Chattanooga metro over the last twelve months. Federal is not where this market is won. The work here runs through state, county, municipal, and private owners, which is where we point Chattanooga business development.
Obligated, 12 months
$4M
Across the 6-county Chattanooga, TN-GA area.
Largest buyer
General Services Administration
$3M of the total.
Firms winning it
- Brasfield & Gorrie LLC · $3M
- Pigott Asphalt and Sitework LLC · $346K
- Jacobs Project Management Co · $284K
- Overwatch Construction Management · $190K
Federal prime contract awards, USASpending.gov, twelve months to August 2026. Federal work is one slice of this market and excludes state, municipal, institutional, and private owners.
By discipline
BD-AEC in Chattanooga, by discipline
We embed a coordinated BD department for Chattanooga AEC firms. We represent one firm per discipline, project type, and market. Open your discipline’s Chattanooga page on the main site for the local picture.
Civil Engineering
Chattanooga business development for civil engineering firms.
Structural Engineering
Chattanooga business development for structural engineering firms.
Architecture
Chattanooga business development for architecture firms.
Land Surveying & Geospatial
Chattanooga business development for land surveying & geospatial firms.
Landscape Architecture
Chattanooga business development for landscape architecture firms.
Construction Management
Chattanooga business development for construction management firms.
Transportation & Traffic Engineering
Chattanooga business development for transportation & traffic engineering firms.
Testing & Special Inspection
Chattanooga business development for testing & special inspection firms.
Why us, here
An embedded BD department for Chattanooga
Chattanooga rewards firms that are known. It's a compact market where the same owners, primes, and agencies recur, and selection runs on reputation, not low bids. Scott runs business development here and works the Chattanooga owners and public agencies directly, on both sides of the Tennessee-Georgia line. That local knowledge is the difference between a cold proposal and a warm introduction.
By policy, BD-AEC represents one firm per discipline, project type, and market, an ethical line that protects every client's pipeline. For a Chattanooga firm, that means an exclusive BD partner who will never walk your relationships across the street to a competitor.
Questions
Straight answers
Does BD-AEC actually work the Chattanooga market?
Yes. Scott runs business development in Chattanooga directly. He knows the owners, primes, and public agencies on both sides of the Tennessee-Georgia line, and works them in person, not from a distance.
What kind of AEC firms do you represent in Chattanooga?
Principal-led architecture, engineering, construction, and specialty firms, typically $500K to $20M in annual revenue, that need a more consistent growth function. We bring leadership, intelligence, creative capacity, and execution around the principals. By policy, we represent one firm per discipline, project type, and market, so we don't represent competing interests.
How is an embedded BD department different from hiring a BD director?
A strong internal hire can be the right choice when you have the budget, support, and work to sustain the role. BD-AEC brings a coordinated function: senior leadership, market intelligence, positioning, proposals and SOQs, relationships, and execution. If you're looking for fractional business development, this is a department model with capacity around the leader. We still need onboarding, access to your expertise, and your principals' participation in key decisions.
We pursue work toward Huntsville and the Carolinas too. Do you cover that?
Yes. Chattanooga sits at the I-75 and I-24 junction, which gives firms here east-west reach toward Huntsville and the Carolinas. Scott works that wider Southeast footprint the same way he works the home market, through the owners, primes, and teaming partners who decide the pursuits.
How do we start?
Tell us about your firm and your market using the form below. Scott will respond within one business day to set up a discovery call and tell you honestly whether your discipline and market are open.
Your next move
Build your next chapter in Chattanooga.
Tell us where you want your firm to go and what's getting in the way. We'll look at your market, your current capacity, and whether an embedded BD department is the right fit.
Scott Mann
CEO | Strategic Partner
Scott will respond within one business day. Your first conversation covers your goals, availability in your discipline and market, and a practical next step.
Let's talk about your firm
A few details help Scott prepare for a useful conversation.
This requests a conversation. Scott will follow up to arrange a time. How we use your information.