This year marks the 85th anniversary of Boyle Investment Company, one of Memphis’ oldest real estate development, sales, leasing and management firms. To celebrate, the company is hosting a luncheon on March 23 for its 113 employees on the top floor of its new ‘Class A’ office building at 949 S. Shady Grove.
The 85th anniversary marks the achievement of significant milestones at two of Boyle’s largest projects in the Memphis region: Ridgeway Center and Schilling Farms. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Boyle celebrated the grand opening of 949 Shady Grove, a new ‘Class A’ office building on the last remaining site in Ridgeway Center office park, marking final completion of the 204-acre mixed-use development launched in the early 1970s in East Memphis. Also, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Boyle’s 443-acre Schilling Farms community in Collierville, where newly completed projects include a 50,000-square-foot ‘Class A’ office building, the second phase of The Carrington multi-family project, and a 9,000-square-foot retail center.
Boyle also celebrates significant milestones in the Nashville region, where in 2001 the company opened an office which has grown from two employees to 30 employees today. Under the direction of Phil Fawcett and Jeff Haynes, Boyle Nashville, LLC and their joint venture partners have acquired, developed and manage more than 3.2 million square feet of commercial space, and have more than 532,000 square feet of commercial space under construction. Large-scale projects in Nashville include Capitol View, which will offer 1.1 million square feet of ‘Class A’ office space, 130,000 square feet of specialty retail/restaurant space, 378 luxury apartments, a Hampton Inn & Suites, a 2.5 acre urban activity park, and a jogging/biking trail connected to Nashville’s greenway system. The last two years have brought explosive growth at Berry Farms in Franklin, with four major headquarters announcements at the 600-acre mixed-use project, which also includes a town center and a variety of residential communities. Construction is underway on McEwen Northside, a 45-acre development in Cool Springs that offers fully integrated office, retail, residential and green spaces. Boyle’s Nashville office is located at the company’s own 60-acre Meridian Cool Springs development, which offers more than 900,000 square feet of office and 90,000 square feet of retail space.
Since its founding in 1933, Boyle remains family owned with the third generation now involved in management. The company is led by Henry Morgan, Co-Chairman, and Paul Boyle, President. Other family members include Bayard Boyle, Jr., Co-Chairman, and Executive Vice Presidents Henry Morgan, Jr. and Bayard Morgan.
One of the company’s greatest assets is its “deep bench” of experts – longtime employees who have stayed with the company for years. Boyle has 31 employees who have been with the company for more than 20 years. Their expertise and long-term involvement with the company have been a great plus. Three non-family members have been with the company for more than 40 years: Mark Halperin, 45 years; Joel Fulmer, 46 years; and Russell E. Bloodworth, Jr., 49 years.
Over the years, Boyle has made a profound impact on the city of Memphis. A Boyle family ancestor, John Overton, founded Memphis in 1819 in partnership with Andrew Jackson. In the early 1900s, Edward Boyle developed stately Belvedere Boulevard in Midtown. Boyle Investment Company was founded in 1933 by three of Edward Boyle’s sons – Snowden, Charles and J. Bayard, Sr. The 1960s saw the development of River Oaks and Farmington. In the 1970s, Boyle paved the way for the city’s growth eastward with one of Memphis’ first office parks, Ridgeway Center, which today offers more than 2 million square feet of space. In the 1980s, Boyle began development of Humphreys Center, which has become East Memphis’ bustling medical/office center. The 1990s saw the development of even more ambitious projects such as the 443-acre Schilling Farms community in Collierville. The company also developed numerous retail centers in the Memphis area during this period, including Regalia, Shops of Humphreys Center, Shops of Forest Hill, and Gallina Centro, as well as Preston Shepard Place and Southwest Crossing in Texas. Boyle Nashville, LLC was formed in 2001 and has grown to be the largest developer in the region. Boyle Insurance Agency, headed by Cindi Gresham, continues to thrive and offers both commercial and personal lines of insurance.
“Our grandfather, Bayard Boyle, Sr., and his two brothers initially focused their efforts on buying land and developing residential subdivisions and shopping centers,” says Paul Boyle, President. “He had a remarkable ability to identify and acquire properties in areas that would soon become major growth corridors. Today, we still stick to these same principals of careful research and planning, whether it’s a residential subdivision, a shopping center, or an office building that we are developing.”
While the company focuses a great amount of resources in the office and retail sectors of the commercial real estate market, the company also is known for its high-end residential communities including River Oaks, The Cloisters, Chartwell, Green Shadows, Blue Heron, the Gardens of Southwind, Golfwalk at Southwind, Riveredge, Bedford Plantation, and Spring Creek Ranch just to name a few. Boyle is currently active in the Germantown market with development of The Pinnacle of Germantown and Allelon, and is moving forward with additional phases at Spring Creek Ranch in the Collierville Reserve and Twin Lakes of Piperton.
“We’ve built a strong company because the family, from the beginning, has been committed to developing for long-term value,” says Henry Morgan, Co-Chairman. “We operate on the belief that properties are long-term investments that should be carefully planned, built, and maintained. With all of our activity in Memphis and Nashville, we think the future looks mighty bright.”
