by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Byron Peacock loves to be outdoors. So much, in fact, that he decided to make it his life’s work.
“It stems from a love of the outdoors,” said Peacock, who recently opened Peacock Consulting Group, an environmental consulting firm located in the Cardinal Point Business Park in Mandarin. “Most people in this type of work go into it because they love the environment.”
Peacock Consulting Group’s primary focus will be helping real estate developers and land owners in dealing with issues related to wetlands and endangered species.
“Environmental consultants, along with the Realtors, are usually the first people a developer will contact,” said Peacock.
When he is contacted, he looks at aerial photographs of the property and advises the developer as to whether the land is good land to develop or not.
If it looks developable on a preliminary basis, then Peacock will actually visit the property to get a better idea of what they are dealing with as far as wetlands verses developable property are concerned.
With a bachelor’s degree in botany and wildlife ecology from the University of Florida, Peacock knew he wanted to stay as close to nature as possible and hopefully help a few folks in the meantime.
“We are here to help our clients minimize their risk and maximize the use of their property,” said Peacock. “We are an advocate for our clients and know that the guidance we provide them with today will help them accomplish their goals in the future.
“The typical development project takes at least one to two years from conception to commencement of construction, so accurately predicting the outcome of environmental permitting is critical.”
Peacock has 19 years of experience in environmental consulting.
He worked for two and a half years as an environmental specialist with The Collins Group and 16 and a half years as a senior project manager at Environmental Services, Inc.
He was working for the Collins Group and, with the blessing of his employer, started doing consulting work on the side for past clients.
“It got to the point where I needed to make a decision as to whether I needed to get an employee working under me at the Collins Group or branch off and form my own business,” said Peacock. “Ultimately, it is better to own your own business.”
Peacock, who opened his company a few months ago, currently has over 12 clients including The Collins Group, Kendale Land Development, The Retus Group, Walter Williams, and Watson Custom Home Builders.
“There is so much development occurring in Northeast Florida and even further south,” he said. “The general area continues to experience a lot of growth. There is a huge demand for property for development and investment. Quite frankly, there is more demand than there is supply, not only for the land, but also in the services such as engineers and surveyors. Everyone is extremely busy,”
His firm’s business includes preliminary assessments of undeveloped properties, wetland delineation, surveys for protected species, wetland permitting, wetland mitigation, and compliance inspections.
“Working for the past two and a half years at The Collins Group, a development company, has given me a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the complexities and risks involved with real estate development,” said Peacock. “It has made me a better consultant by allowing me to think like both a developer and a regulator. I have been inspired and encouraged to start my own business at this point in my life by Joe Collins and Curtis Hart.”
Peacock is one of the few environmental consultants who has worked for a real estate developer and a development company.
“I have a unique insight as to how development companies operate,” he said. “I know what goes into their decision making and the risks involved.”