Beckett & Raeder, Inc. was originally founded as a partnership by John M. Beckett and J. Paul Raeder, and received its first major commission in 1966, a master landscape development plan for the University of Michigan Medical Center.

Beckett & Raeder, Inc. continued to provide services to the University of Michigan from that original effort and through the remainder of the 1960s, accomplishing more than 20 individual site development projects. The State of Michigan, Giffels Associates, Inc., and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority joined the firm's growing list of clients.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the firm continued to expand its major client base and its geographical area of work. While the major focus remained in southeastern Michigan, individual projects were executed in virtually every region of Michigan and in more than 25 other states.

Prominent private sector clients included major developers such as the Taubman Co, and Ford Motor Land Development Corporation, Caterpillar Tractor Co, General Motors Corporation, Chrysler Corporation, IBM, and Domino's Pizza, Inc., as well as private institutions such as the Catherine McAuley Health System and Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village. Several agencies of the United States government, including the Department of Defense, NASA and the National Park Service joined the firm's growing roster of public sector clients. Numerous Michigan municipalities and public institutions including Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University also became clients.

Today, Beckett & Raeder, Inc. provides exceptional and innovative professional service to a variety of municipal governments, state and federal agencies, institution and private sector clients.

Beckett & Raeder, Inc is a Michigan Corporation located in Ann Arbor, Petoskey and Traverse City, Michigan. The firm has a full time staff of landscape architects, planners, civil engineers, environmental scientists, and support staff maintaining registrations in the State of Michigan, State of Ohio, State of Illinois, State of Indiana, State of Idaho, State of Tennessee, State of Wisconsin, State of Florida, and certification at the national level.