SKSI Plans and Permits hopes to make architectural services more accessible to the masses.
The Glendale-based company said it plans to open stores nationally at retail centers owned by Brookfield Property Partners, Westfield and Starwood Capital Group.
It said it may open as many as 16 stores by the end of 2020 and up to 200 nationwide in fewer than three years.
Each store has four to 12 architects. The company outsources corporate, legal and some other operations. Marketing and production are handled in-house.
Locally, SKSI’s flagship store at the Glendale Galleria also serves as its headquarters. The company plans to open another Los Angeles-area location in March at the Topanga Mall.
“SKSI is solving problems previously considered status quo,” Aryeh Rifkin, founder of SKSI Plans and Permits, said in a statement. “The architectural industry is 25 times the size of the real estate industry, but there is no national chain of architects like Re/Max or Coldwell Banker. SKSI is changing that. As the first national chain in architecture, SKSI makes finding an architect as easy as going to the local fashion mall. No other company has taken this approach, and it’s refreshing.”
SKSI clients include realtors, contractors, developers and homeowners. Anyone can walk into an SKSI Plans and Permits store and talk with an architect about anything from custom homes to renovations to land entitlements.
SKSI will also build 3D models, expedite permitting and use virtual reality applications for its designs.
The company’s services can be used for both residential and commercial purposes.
Rifkin called SKSI Plans and Permits the “Apple or Tesla store of architecture,” adding that SKSI provided visitors with fast answers for which they previously had to wait.
For architects, Rifkin said SKSI’s model has been well received because SKSI manages the business, production and marketing, while architects are able to focus on clients instead.
SKSI was founded in 1990 and relaunched in 2018. Rifkin, who owns the company, had been the chief executive of 1st Nations, a mortgage company. He also founded other companies, including Social Dashboard.
