One of the Savannah area’s best-known names in high-end homebuilding, historic renovation and commitment to the community is ceasing operations after nearly four decades.
“Unfortunately, J.T. Turner Construction Co. Inc. is another victim of the recent recession,” company president Jim Turner said Thursday afternoon in a written statement.
Reduced profit margins in an increasingly competitive environment, as well as investment in several failed developments, left the company with large financial obligations it can no longer meet, he wrote.
“J.T. Turner Construction Co. Inc. has attempted to honor all of its obligations but is unable to continue,” Turner said in his statement. “Therefore, after 40 years of service to Savannah and the surrounding communities, the company is in the process of winding down its operations.”
Turner said the family owned company, which has specialized in custom residential, commercial construction and preservation, worked hard to survive the recession.
“When development and construction came to a standstill during the recession, many construction companies laid off most of their employees to survive,” he said. “We forged ahead, making minor personnel reductions and continuing to bid for jobs at reduced profit margins in an ever more competitive environment.
“Many subcontractors and suppliers were able to keep working and stay in business because of the work J.T. Turner Construction Co. Inc. generated during those difficult times.”
While J.T. Turner Construction Co. Inc. will no longer exist, J.T. Turner Construction Co. of Savannah Inc., a general contracting company owned by Turner’s son Tripp, will continue to operate in the Carolinas, he said.
Turner declined to answer follow-up questions to his statement. Tripp Turner was also unavailable for comment.
Jim Turner said he would like to thank the company’s loyal employees, subcontractors, suppliers, and clients and sincerely apologize “for any difficulties these events caused or will cause.”
J.T. Turner Construction’s footprint can be seen all over the Historic District, as far north as Milledgeville and Highlands, N.C., and as far south as Richmond Hill’s Ford Plantation, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton and Amelia Island in Forida.
For its restoration work, the company has received more than 50 preservation awards from the Historic Savannah Foundation and 10 preservation awards from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.
The company has completed more than 50 medical projects within the Coastal Empire including work for the Memorial Health University Medical Center, Savannah Neurological Associates, The Neurological Institute, Morrison Dental Associates and Low Country Dermatology.
Giving back to the community has also been part of the company’s legacy.
Jim Turner has chaired numerous boards, including the YMCA of Coastal Georgia, the Historic Savannah Foundation and the Memorial Health Trust Foundation. The company has helped sponsor hundreds of charitable events over the course of its existence.
Tripp Turner began developing his community presence in 2008, when he helped to build a culinary teaching kitchen and expand warehouse space for America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia.
Perhaps their most high-profile contribution was providing the construction labor for Savannah’s “Extreme Makeover” house in 2010, a project the company solicited on Savannah’s behalf.
While Jim Turner handled the VIP tent, Tripp and his Turner crew handled the construction of the house at the corner of 55th and Abercorn streets, building the home under the watchful eye of a national television audience in 106 hours.