Turner Construction celebrates opening of new Huntsville office

HUNTSVILLE — The ribbon cuttings keep on coming for Madison County.

American construction giant Turner Construction, based in New York, has already made its mark in the community through projects such as the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, TEDAC collaboration center, Huntsville Botanical Garden guest welcome center and, more recently, Madison Baseball Park at Town Madison. On March 28, however, local officials and business professionals gathered to celebrate the company and the opening of their new office on Finney Road, just east of Huntsville International Airport.

The new 22,000-square-foot facility, coming in at $3.2 million, will serve as the base of operations for Turner’s new Self-Perform Operations group. This group aims to provide “specialized fabrication services” for the Southeast.

“This beautiful building that you’ll find is open-concept,” said Kim Lewis, 2019 chair for the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. “Turner has several large projects at the moment, and this new building puts its Huntsville and Decatur employees in the same location to collaborate.”

Lee Holland, who deals with commercial and defense for Turner, said the new office has been a long time coming, though actual construction moved quickly—about seven months from groundbreaking to moving in. Turner’s previous building, closer to the nearby golf course, was occupied for about 30 years, and Holland said he hopes the new building can expand in the future. With the new office just minutes from Huntsville International Airport, he emphasized the importance of the location.

“As we went through this process, we came to realize how important this location was, not only to our operations but to our employees,” Holland said, adding that the company mapped out where the employees lived and found that they were spread across North Alabama and southern Tennessee. “This was extremely important that we stay in this area just to support the quality of life for our employees.”

The company was also involved in the original construction of Huntsville International Airport, which opened in 1967, according to Port of Huntsville Executive Director Rick Tucker. Recently, they were also involved in the construction of their new offices. “We’re grateful for them to be a part of the Jetplex Industrial Park, where over 70 companies from seven different countries are located, and they’ve been an integral part for many decades,” Tucker added. “We appreciate all that they’ve done and look forward to continue to work with them to grow our community for the future.”

Brendan McCormick, dealing with the industrial and manufacturing side of Turner, said the new facility includes a fabrication shop that will be used for the fabrication of metals used in Turner’s construction jobs across the country. “Demand for that need has grown so much that we’re expanding already,” he said. “Our staff that go along with that are also expanding. We’re bringing jobs to North Alabama with this growth.”

Turner’s new office currently has a staff of about 70, though McCormick said that will grow.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle recognized and thanked Turner for their role in the growth of the community. “For a long time, they have been a stalwart for the North Alabama/Huntsville community and throughout the Southeast,” he said at the ribbon cutting ceremony. “They’ve done great construction projects that have made us grow and made us build, and as we build off what they build and we bring in employees, we see an economy going forward.”

Madison Mayor Paul Finley congratulated Turner on their new office and recognized both the Huntsville/Madison County and Madison chambers of commerce for their role in the project.

“We saw the value of Turner when our library in the city of Madison was built,” Finley recalled. “They helped us understand what it would cost … and we brought it in under cost and on time.”

With their current work on the multi-use venue stadium at Town Madison, Finley said that value has increased as Turner has worked with the city in similar ways.

“I worked with them time and time again on what we could do to make sure that that cost met the budget that we had put forth, and to come in as close as it did showed their value to our city in something that’s going to make a difference for this entire community for years and years and years to come,” he added.

Other notable guests at the event included Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Chip Cherry, Madison Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Pam Honeycutt, both of whom congratulated Turner on their office and thanked them for their hand in the region’s growth. “We take a lot of pride in getting to be a part of the growth that we’re all experiencing,” Holland said.

Chairman Dale Strong of the Madison County Commission said Turner’s growth and the ribbon cutting for their new office is yet another indicator of this growth that is so often discussed. “We’re seeing some of the finest days my generation’s ever seen,” he said at the event. “Just keep doing what we’re doing. It’s working, and the rest of the country is watching what we do.”

Turner Construction opened its first office in Huntsville in 1955 and has more than 60 years of experience working in and around the community. For more information on Turner, visit www.turnerconstruction.com or find Turner on Twitter at @TurnerMidSouth.