A small biz breaks into the major leagues

(FSB Magazine) -- Until recently Nadel Architects was best known for cranking out sturdy but conventional office buildings. No more.

Last winter Nadel (nadelarc.com) won two contracts that promise a flashier future: a $100 million curvilinear 30,000-seat baseball park in Hiroshima (pictured) and a $9 million contemporary-chic residential complex in Los Angeles' Park La Brea neighborhood.

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The change is led by Dan Meis, 45, who was named the company's president in 2005.

Herb Nadel, the firm's founder, recruited Meis - best known for designing L.A.'s Staples Center and other upscale arenas - in hope of winning higher-margin clients.

While most of Nadel's contracts pay around 3 percent of construction costs, more design-intensive projects pay as much as 10 percent.

Groundbreaking on the Hiroshima and Park La Brea projects is set for this year, but Meis says they are only the beginning. "We're just starting to get noticed," Meis says.

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