Honolulu-based planning and design firm Belt Collins has acquired Shapins & Associates, a landscape architecture company in Boulder, Colo.

The Shapins acquisition is the first for Belt Collins, a move to expand geographically and into related areas of professional practice.

The acquired company, forming Shapins Belt Collins, specializes in natural and cultural resource preservation, and public lands planning. The merger will give Belt Collins a greater presence in the western United States.

Prior to the Shapins acquisition, Belt Collins grew organically by establishing offices in Asia and on the U.S. Mainland — most recently, an engineering consulting practice in Seattle in 2006.

Shapins' clients include the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Shapins Belt Collins is helping the park service develop a long-range management plan for the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island in New York.

Shapins Belt Collins will focus on the design of public spaces such as recreation facilities, parks, plazas, greenways, trails and urban landscapes, with an emphasis on retaining and enhancing local character and culture and environmental features.

"We welcome the inclusion of Shapins into the Belt Collins family and are eager to combine our resources and expertise on future projects together," said Anne Mapes, chairwoman and CEO of Belt Collins Hawaii.

In addition to Honolulu, Seattle and Boulder, Belt Collins has offices in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China; Singapore; Bangkok, Thailand; Guam; and the Philippines.

Founded in Honolulu in 1953, Belt Collins has grown from a staff of two to more than 450 professional and support staff. Belt Collins has done extensive work in planned resort, residential and community design in Hawai'i and elsewhere.