Inspire Placemaking’s Full-Circle Moment
Inspire Placemaking Collective is shaping places that shape communities.
Located in the Biltmore Innovation Center, the firm opened its Atlanta office in April 2025, planting what Erik Bredfeldt calls Inspire’s flag in Tech Square. For Bredfeldt, who leads the Atlanta office and serves as Director of Economic Development, the move reflects the company’s entrepreneurial DNA.
“Inspire is culturally very similar to a startup,” he says. That mentality, he explains, makes the Biltmore a natural fit.
An Urban Planning Firm with an Entrepreneurial Edge
Inspire was created through a formal spin-off from a larger engineering firm three years ago and now operates with offices in Orlando, Boston, Tampa, Raleigh, Miami, and Atlanta. The firm focuses on planning and design services for local governments – specializing in community planning, economic development, urban design, landscape architecture, and graphic design.
About 85 percent of Inspire’s work is with cities and counties. The firm acts as a consultant, helping communities manage growth through comprehensive plans, land development codes, and economic development and redevelopment strategies. Its portfolio also includes streetscaping and landscaping in parks and public spaces, as well as targeted special projects.
Inspire operates at the intersection of policy and design, helping determine how neighborhoods grow, downtowns evolve, and public spaces best serve residents. It translates community input into regulatory language and design standards that shape what ultimately gets built.
Bredfeldt has worked in this profession for 30 years, primarily in Florida. He spent years working with local governments in Gainesville, helping develop the city’s innovation district. During that process, he visited Tech Square to study it as a model for how an innovation district can catalyze growth around research and entrepreneurship.
Years later, that experience has come full circle.
“Back then, we were basing Gainesville’s innovation district off Tech Square,” he says. Now, working out of the Biltmore, he sees a similar shift underway as Georgia Tech works to revitalize the building and accelerate its goal of supporting 1,000 startups annually. “There’s a shift in energy here again.”
Why the Biltmore Makes Sense
For Inspire, the decision to locate in Tech Square was strategic. “Inspire is well-suited for the Biltmore, especially because of its own entrepreneurial story,” Bredfeldt explains.
Although Inspire works primarily with public-sector clients, it approaches the work with growth in mind, expanding into new markets, recruiting talent, and seeking strategic collaborations.
Since arriving in April, the Atlanta office has built a team that includes seven full-time employees connected through Georgia Tech. The firm places a heavy emphasis on internships, particularly during the summer, and regularly participates in job fairs.
“Biltmore and Tech Square proximity has helped us find talent and develop natural synergy with Georgia Tech,” Bredfeldt says.
“We hope we can contribute to the objectives of GT and others have for the district,” he adds, pointing to potential alignment with Biltmore programming and activation efforts as the building continues to position itself as a startup hub.
Decades after studying Tech Square as a model, Bredfeldt now operates from within it, a full-circle moment that feels both professional and personal. The innovation district that once inspired his work in Gainesville now serves as the backdrop for Inspire’s next chapter.
“Inspire Placemaking is not simply leasing space in the Biltmore. It is positioning its practice at the center of a district built on the idea that thoughtful design, strategic growth, and collaboration can reshape how cities function.”
