Architecture firms are selected early, often before a project is fully defined.
Developers and agencies assemble teams through prior relationships, demonstrated experience, and category-specific track record, narrowing the field well in advance of any formal process.
Entry into that group depends less on visibility and more on where a firm has worked and what it can credibly deliver.
TONAB Architecture was built to operate across multiple points in that selection cycle.
Two Independent Practices, One Combined Structure
Terrence O’Neal and Anthony Baker built their practices separately over decades, each developing access to different parts of the market.
O’Neal founded Terrence O’Neal Architect LLC in 1993, focusing on affordable housing, supportive housing, schools, and public sector work across New York. Baker founded ACB Architect PLLC in 1983, building a portfolio in aviation projects across major airports, including JFK, Miami, Atlanta, and Dallas.
By the time they merged in 2018 to form TONAB Architecture PLLC, both had established long-standing client relationships and project pipelines within their respective domains.
The merger was structured to expand access, not consolidate similar work.
Complementary Capabilities, Defined Roles
The two principals operate in different parts of the same system.
O’Neal’s work sits within public agencies and nonprofit development, where projects move through formal procurement, compliance requirements, and long-standing relationships. Baker’s experience is concentrated in aviation, where entry is shaped by prior airport work and a limited pool of qualified firms.
Leadership reflects that division. O’Neal serves as managing principal, overseeing design and client relationships, while Baker remains involved with a focus on management and operational continuity.
For clients, this signals who leads design decisions, who manages delivery, and how responsibility is carried across the life of a project.
Integrating Active Work Into a Single Firm
Combining firms introduces an operational challenge that extends beyond branding.
Both practices carried active contracts, existing client commitments, and ongoing project timelines tied to separate legal entities. Transitioning that work into a single firm required coordination across clients and agencies without interrupting delivery.
That process determines whether a merger functions in practice. TONAB completed the transition while maintaining continuity across both pipelines.
Two Distinct Access Points
Architecture firms typically operate within a single project ecosystem. TONAB spans two.
Public sector work flows through contract vehicles tied to agencies such as the NYC School Construction Authority and DASNY. Access depends on compliance history, documentation, and long-term agency relationships. The firm’s work includes Covenant House New York, the Lorraine Montenegro Women and Children’s Residence in the Bronx, and a 54-unit affordable housing development in Queens.
Aviation operates under a different set of constraints. Firms are selected based on prior experience within airport environments, limiting entry to those with established track records. TONAB’s portfolio includes the Delta Terminal expansion at JFK with Gensler, CitiMed at JFK, Terminal One restaurant development, and The ARK veterinary facility.
Each path requires a different form of credibility. Operating in both expands the range of projects the firm can pursue.
The JFK Redevelopment Program
In 2024, TONAB completed Building 111 at JFK International Airport as Design Architect of Record.
The 188,000-square-foot renovation houses the redevelopment program team and construction leadership for major terminal projects, including New Terminal One.
Delivering within an active airport environment required coordination across multiple stakeholders while aligning with the design direction of new terminal developments. The firm also assembled and managed a team of MWBE consultants across the project.
Work at this level places the firm inside the broader redevelopment program, alongside the teams shaping how the airport is being rebuilt.
Scale and Project Execution
TONAB operates with a team of 22, positioning the firm to handle complex projects while maintaining direct principal involvement across both client relationships and execution.
For developers and agencies, that balance affects how firms are evaluated. Access to leadership, continuity across projects, and accountability in delivery remain central to selection decisions.
What This Structure Enables
Architecture firms are assessed based on where they have worked, what they have delivered, and which project types they can credibly enter.
TONAB’s structure places it across public housing, public sector, and nonprofit work, and airport redevelopment within a single practice.
For developers and agencies assembling project teams, TONAB’s portfolio covers ground that most firms of its size cannot.
For a broader look at firms operating across this landscape, see Black-owned Architecture Firms | Vol. 1.
The post TONAB Architecture: How a Merger Built Access Across Two Markets appeared first on SHOPPE BLACK.