Centex has a new addition to its division. Brian Paul is the new president, previously holding the same title in South Carolina.
Although Paul is a newcomer to Jacksonville, he is definitely not new to the building industry. “I grew up around homebuilding,” he explained, “and worked through high school and college building homes.”
Born in Indianapolis, Paul received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Purdue University and his masters in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan.
After college, he continued in the building industry, accepting a job with Centex Homes in Naples. After holding many positions with varied responsibilities, he transferred to Greenville, S.C. in 2000 to be division president for Centex there.
A member of the Northeast Florida Builders Association Board of Directors, Paul recently left one “ville” for another, moving to Jacksonville.
The same last five letters seem to be about all the two cities have in common, especially when referring to the industry. The two markets are completely different. Greenville is a much smaller market, and more conservative, Paul compares. The MSA is 6,000 permits in Greenville, and 10,000 in Jacksonville.
“[Centex] is rated one of the best companies in the country,” Paul says. “We do large volumes, and do it quite well.” They plan to build and sell roughly 400 homes this year in Duval, St. Johns and Clay counties. Currently, Centex is working on building homes in nine communities within the three counties, including two in Julington Creek and three in Fleming Island.
One of the most popular projects is Summer Grove, a condominium on Old St. Augustine Road.
“They are selling as fast as we can get them built,” says Land Acquisition Manager for Northeast Florida and Centex VP Tom Champion. “There has been no advertising – it’s all been word of mouth.”
Paul describes his new city as “a very strong, vibrant market…lots of energy and synergy about home building.”
He sees a consistent and steady growth in the city’s future. He also describes Centex as “being on the cutting edge of things,” mostly in regards to their new computer software programs.
“We have strong database systems that interconnect and that’s helped us to manage our business at a higher level,” he explains.
Not only is Jacksonville being labeled as a great place to live for other homebuyers, but for Paul as well, having moved here with his wife, and two boys, ages 3 and 17. He considers there to be a good quality of life here, and cited the demographics, which also indicate a high rate of job security.
Paul feels having a psychology degree helps him out because “much of what I do revolves around motivating and managing people. It helps me with the people, and the business degree has helped me in that aspect.”