TORRANCE, CA–Partner Engineering & Science,a California based engineering and environmental consulting anddesign firm, has acquired MacLean Assessment &Consulting, Inc. (MAC), a real estate and constructionconsulting practice, which expands Partner's construction riskmanagement practice on the West Coast.

As part of the agreement, Sandy MacLean, a realestate development and construction expert with 28 years ofindustry experience, joins Partner and fills the newly createdposition of West Coast technical director of constructionservices and will be based in the firm's Corona, CAoffice.
With the addition of MacLean, the construction risk managementpractice – the fastest growing segment of the company – is poisedto serve the anticipated growth of the construction industry in thecoming years.
“As the economy improves, construction and construction lendingcontinues to increase,” said Joseph Derhake, PE,president of Partner. “Today, those involved in constructionprojects have a better understanding of the importance of managingpotential risks. It's not the fast and loose approach to theseprojects that we saw in the past – there were some harsh lessonslearned during the recession and now developers and lenders aretaking a much more proactive risk management approach.”

For 11 years, MacLean provided real estate and constructionadministration to developers, lenders, architects, due diligenceproviders, private investors and property management companies.This included pre-construction services, property conditionassessments and owner representation for clients such asOrix USA Corporation, Sun Community Federal CreditUnion and KOAR Development, amongothers.
“Sandy is a known heavyweight and brings to the table instantcredibility in this market,” said Derhake. “He is exactly theexecutive we need to take our construction risk management practiceto the next level.”
Prior to forming his own consulting practice, MacLean served asvice president for iStar Financial, one of the largest nationalcommercial construction lenders, where he was responsible formanaging the loan disbursement group in Southern California.MacLean also previously led the construction risk management groupat LandAmerica Assessment Corporation, a leadinginternational due diligence provider, which Partner acquired in2009. Having additionally served as a general contractor and aproject manager for several construction companies earlier in hiscareer, MacLean brings a wealth of expertise in the constructionprocess and the risks involved at various stages ofdevelopment.
“I've teamed with Partner on a number of projects for the past fiveyears, thus it is a natural fit for me to join the firm in thiscapacity,” said MacLean. “Given the recovering economy, thispractice group will no doubt expand further, and I'm thrilled to bepart of that growth.”