Conversations

As Boyle celebrates our 80th anniversary, the company is in the third generation of family ownership and management.  Paul Boyle is President and Henry Morgan, Jr. and Bayard Morgan are Executive Vice Presidents.  All three are grandsons of the company’s founder, Bayard Boyle, Sr.

Editor:  Although Boyle is family-owned, it has many employees who have been with the company for years.  How has this affected the company’s success?

Paul Boyle:   We have built the company by focusing on hiring people of character and intelligence, careful risk management and trying to anticipate future trends.   Our greatest assets are our uniquely gifted professionals who have helped build and guide the company for decades.  We have 31 people who have been with Boyle for more than 20 years and their exceptional ability and long-term dedication have given the company a tremendous advantage.  Rusty Bloodworth, Executive Vice President, and Mark Halperin, COO, have been with the company for more than 40 years and have each played a huge role in the company’s growth and success.  We opened an office in Nashville twelve years ago and have a remarkably talented group there which has already developed several outstanding award winning projects and has more large scale projects underway.  Our key people in both Memphis and Nashville invest with us in our developments for which they are responsible, so they are true partners. Any company’s success is dependent on the quality of its people, and trying to hire and keep the very best will always be a major focus.  We’re excited about the company’s future and are dedicated to keeping the long-term vision that delivers properties with enduring value for our partners and tenants.

Editor:  Boyle has developed numerous high-profile projects over the years.   A family ancestor, John Overton, helped found Memphis in 1819 with Andrew Jackson, and in the early 1900s, your great grandfather, Edward Boyle, developed a classic, Belvedere Boulevard in midtown Memphis.  All of your projects have withstood the test of time.  To what do you attribute the company’s successful development portfolio?

Bayard Morgan:   We view our properties as long-term investments that should be carefully planned, built, and maintained.   I’m especially proud that Boyle has developed our properties in such a way that conserves the natural environment.   Preserving existing trees has been an integral part of the design of our projects, and we always try to maintain the natural beauty of our sites and create green spaces in the midst of our communities.  We also have supported the Wolf River Greenway by donating land and easements to the Wolf River Conservancy.  The greenway is a huge asset to the residents of the Mid-South and we’re proud to have been a part of it.  The Wolf River is the best backyard in Memphis and we want to keep it that way.

Editor:  Boyle’s real estate projects have transformed the local landscape and made a profound impact on the city’s footprint.  What does the future hold moving forward?

Henry Morgan, Jr.:  We think the future looks promising.  We have wonderful properties, joint venture partners, and tenants.   Our 443-acre Schilling Farms development in Collierville has been underway for more than 15 years and we are moving forward with similar mixed-use projects in Franklin, including Phase I construction on the 600-acre Berry Farms and the leasing of two newly completed office buildings in our 60-acre Meridian Cool Springs community.   We continue to focus on the East Memphis office market with one remaining office site in Ridgeway Center at 949 Shady Grove and on residential properties in Germantown, Collierville, and Piperton.  We are in the planning process for the 1,375-acre mixed-use Fisherville Farms community on the Shelby/Fayette County line at I-240 and Macon.  Our greatest assets are our employees, vendors, and partners who have graciously given their time and talents to help Boyle continue to prosper well into its third generation.  Our family always has understood the importance of hiring good people and allowing them the freedom to do great things.  I see no reason why this generation should deviate from such a sound philosophy.