He is the chairman and president of Renaissance Design Build Group of Jacksonville Inc. and the chair of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Committee.
WHEN DID YOU START YOUR COMPANY?
In 1993.
CURRENT LOCATION?
The building is located on the corner of Riverside Avenue and Margaret Street. The company moved into its current location in July 2001. “The building was vacant and in pretty bad shape. Most of the rooms on the second and third floor didn’t have ceilings. It was pretty much gutted out so we renovated the entire building. It is a historical building that was built in 1926 originally as a apartment building. Later it was the Riverside Clinic for many years. We bought it from a bank out of Washington and it has turned out to be a good location for us.”
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I do more of the marketing for the company. It seems like I am always chasing business and collecting business. I’m on the front end of projects and am very fortunate and blessed to have good team members to deliver our product.”
WHAT DOES THE COMPANY DO?
The company is made up of architects and general contractors that design and build residential and commercial properties. “We’ve had a lot of different projects since 1993. We were also involved in Mayor Ed Austin’s River City Renaissance. With KBJ Architects we oversaw the City Hall, Coliseum and Alltel Stadium projects. We’ve also done work on the T-U Center, built churches and been involved with schools. We also have a single family division. We’ve done one subdivision and are getting ready to do another one from scratch. We also do a lot of affordable housing for a number of non-profit organizations.”
HOW HAS THE COMPANY CHANGED
OVER THE YEARS?
“Our company has evolved into more of a management company where we manage construction projects, versus actually physically building them. We have sort of created that niche and it’s one that we do a good job at. When you manage a project, you are acting as the owner’s representative, to make sure the owner gets what they are expecting.”
WHAT IS REWARDING ABOUT YOUR JOB?
“I like people and I like to feel that the projects that we select help people.”
GATEWAY MALL?
Jones and partner John Lewis of the John Lewis Company own Gateway Mall. “We were the architects and contractors on that renovation project. It was a 700,000 square foot shopping center that was pretty much vacant. When we took it over, there were 25 stores and now we have over 80 stores. Most of the shops are leased and we are negotiating with a couple of tenants for the on the old JCPenney store space. That would pretty much complete the mall.”
DOWNTOWN PROJECTS?
“We are currently working on LaVilla Square which will be a mixed-use site. It will have townhomes, offices and restaurants. We are working on the new baseball park and arena. We are sort of overseeing that project with two other partners. We are also involved with Jacobs Construction on the new County Courthouse. We currently have built about 20 houses for the First Baptist of Oakland community which is close to downtown. They have acquired a number of lots close to the city off of A. Phillip Randolph Boulevard. If you drive down the street, you’d think you were in the suburbs. It’s a different type of product. It’s geared to attract young couples. Rather than moving out to Arlington or the Northside, they could come back and live closer in to the city and still have a new home.”
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN
DEVELOPMENT?
“When I got out of college I worked pretty much for builders. I worked for Westinghouse and when I was there I worked on a project called ‘Operation Break Through’ which was geared towards finding ways to build a house through systems meaning either modular or pre-engineered type of construction. After that I was recruited to a company called Levitt and Sons, Inc., which was owned by ITT. I started out in the design department and when I left I was a regional manager that covered a territory from Delaware to Georgia. In my territory we built 2,000 homes a year. It was a good experience for me.”
SINCE THEN?
He’s worked for several different companies and on his own managing, renovating and building commercial and residential properties. “I like taking old stuff and making it look new again. That sort of has been a niche for me.”
MOVED TO JACKSONVILLE
“In 1988. I moved here with the thought of semi-retiring. I was sort of getting burned out. I had always had a goal to retire at 40 or 45. I didn’t quite make that. I came here, got bored and got a calling into the ministry. I went to ZOE University which is a local bible college and got my master’s degree in theology. After I did that, I went to my pastor and asked him what he wanted me to do, so he got me involved affordable housing. So, that has been like a ministry for me on the side.”
HOW DID YOU GET INTO DEVELOPMENT
IN JACKSONVILLE?
“I was introduced to Lewis and some other people and we basically formed Renaissance. I was the only full-time person because everyone else couldn’t come to work without some sort of income to support them. So I was the secretary, janitor and anything else we needed. If we made proposals, I went to Kinko’s, that was my office. So, after we got our first few contracts, which took us about six months, the other partners sort of phased in.”
WHAT MADE YOU GET
INVOLVED IN THE CHAMBER?
“I was the president of the Washington, D. C. Chamber in the late 1970s and I’ve always felt the chamber of commerce was very important to a city. That was the first organization I joined when I moved to Jacksonville. I got active in the Beaches chamber — I lived out there and eventually the beaches chamber and the downtown chamber merged. In 1994, I was asked to serve as chairman of the Small Business Committee and that got me even more involved. This is actually my third time serving as chair because I served as a chair of the Minority Economic Development. They sort of merged that into Small Business division now.”
WHAT WILL YOU DO THIS YEAR?
“The chamber has reorganized and Small Business Committee has taken on a different role. Area councils are now under Small Business. Small business is really the majority of the chamber as far as numbers. There are more small business owners active and members of the chamber than there are in Cornerstone. But, we need both in order to make a good strong chamber. We are also part of the Cornerstone so we are economic development focused. We are really focused on making sure that small businesses have an opportunity to get a piece of what the larger companies get access to. We are also trying to promote small business and make it much more visible. Sometimes, we forget about the small business owner mainly because that person is working during the day and so we have to create vehicles and tools so they feel their membership means something to them. We will try to work on how to include them through after hours workshops and seminars. The chamber is committed to small business.”
WHY BECOME CHAIR?
“Having been president of a chamber before, I know how to make it happen and what you need to do to make it happen.”
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF
SMALL BUSINESSES TO THE FUTURE
OF JACKSONVILLE?
“Everything, in my opinion. That is sort of the approach we took with Gateway Mall. Gateway had a number of large anchor tenants and when an anchor tenant leaves, it hurts a shopping center. By the same token, if a large employer leaves or lays off 400 or 500 people, that hurts a city. But, small business owners tend to not have a lot of turnover. A small business is 50 employees or less, but your average is about 25 employees or less. If one goes out of business, it’s not going to extensively impact a city. Most small businesses have a strong steady growth.”
BIRTHPLACE
Washington, D. C.
COLLEGE
He has a bachelor’s degree in city and regional planning and architectural engineering from the University of the District of Columbia. He has a master’s degree in theology and an honorary doctorate degree in divinity from ZOE University.
CHURCH
Bethel Baptist Institutional. “I preach at my church and at others. The Lord really hasn’t called me to a church yet, but I enjoy what I do. I enjoy people and helping people.”
FAMILY
He has been married Barbara for 17 years. They have four children.
HOBBIES
Playing golf and attending church. “I really enjoy going to church. I’m not saying I live there, but I do enjoy the time that I’m there. It’s sort of my way of releasing and getting in touch with my spirit.”
FAVORITES.
His favorite book is the Bible. He enjoys funny movies and love stories. When relaxing at home, he and his wife enjoy tuning into Ally McBeal. A restaurant he recently went to and really liked was Bistro Aix. When traveling, he enjoys going to Jamaica.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis