Introducing JMI Group

For over 90 years, the Jennings Family has been quietly building Southern Utah and surrounding areas, providing jobs for hundreds of residents, and promoting economic development. You’ve known their family businesses over the years as J&J Mill & Lumber, J&J Building Supply, Jennings Management Inc, JMI Constructors, and JMI Property Services. As they move forward, they want to introduce you to JMI in a different way. Not because they are changing who they are, but to help you understand who they really are. JMI Group is the new umbrella company over the Jennings Family businesses. It is a vertically integrated real estate investment, development, and management firm, and it oversees JMI Property Services, JMI Constructors, Sagestone Homes and more.

The Jennings family has worked in Southern Utah and called it home for nearly a century. They have invested heavily in the community, and JMI Group will continue that legacy.

Where it started

Since the first Jennings arrived with the Pioneers in the 1800s, the family has been teaching their children the importance of Stewardship and Legacy. These values have provided a foundation for each generation to build on the successes of the past, and to sow the seeds for a harvest that would be reaped by those coming after them. Lloyd Berdell “LB” Jennings grew up in Southern California and moved back to his roots in St. George, Utah, in the mid-1930s, during the Great Depression. He acquired land and started manufacturing asphalt and concrete. That business expanded to include a lumber yard up against the hill, just behind what is now the Jennings Boulevard Centre. J&J Mill and Lumber Company was born.

Most of the company’s early work was infrastructure. Crews took on road contracts and state overpasses, along with bridges over the freeway and across the Virgin River. J&J also did all the concrete work and sidewalks for the St. George Utah Temple.

A supplier to the region

LB’s son, Leon Jennings, took over the business in the 1950s. Under Leon’s stewardship, J&J began supplying contractors with a wide range of building materials on top of using those materials on its own projects. The business grew from a single yard in town into a regional supplier, and J&J eventually shipped building materials across four states. As the business grew, there were different divisions created: J&J Ready Mixed Concrete Co and J&J Building Blocks. Eventually they changed the name to J&J Lumber and Building Supply. Customers across the region came to know and recognize J&J as a name that represented quality, excellence, and character.

Leon’s sons carried the business forward. After completing school, Mansfield “Mans” Jennings came home to help build the business. Later, his brother Gilbert also returned from his schooling and years of experience as an engineer to work alongside him. In the final chapter of the business, they operated under the name J&J Building Supply. Their work continued to build the family legacy in the community.

Keeping the land

In 1996, brothers Mans and Gilbert sold the business and began a new chapter in real estate development under the name, Jennings Management Inc. They retained the real estate and their construction company in the sale. Again, their focus was on stewardship over the resources given to them, and an effort to create something of value for generations to come.

Holding the land gave them a place to put decades of construction knowledge to work. They began identifying places where they could create projects that would have real, beneficial, community and economic impact. Three years later, in 1999, the family completed its first commercial project on St. George Boulevard, the Jennings Boulevard Centre.

Developments across Southern Utah

Since then, JMI has brought together a series of commercial developments that many people in Washington County know by name. They include Mainstreet Plaza, Sunset Corner, Pineview Plaza, Commerce Pointe, and Fort Pierce Business Park.

JMI took each of these projects through every stage of development, from land acquisition and entitlement to building completion, then leasing and long-term management. In total, the company has developed more than one million square feet of commercial real estate in Southern Utah, along with large-acreage land developments.

The company’s involvement in Southern Utah reaches past its own projects. Family and team members volunteer locally and sponsor community organizations, and many serve on boards and councils across the region. That service includes work with the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, the Southern Utah Economic Alliance, the Associated General Contractors of Utah, the Greater Zion Tourism office, and Utah Tech University.

Building homes in Washington County

Since 2008, JMI has also built homes in Washington County. More than 150 homes have been completed in that time, including more than a dozen for the St. George Area Parade of Homes.

Following the traditional values of Stewardship and Legacy, these high-end, custom and semi-custom homes are held to the same standard as the company’s commercial projects. The care that goes into a JMI commercial building goes into each home, from the foundation through the finish details.

Most of the homes JMI has built in this later era are located at The Ledges of St. George. The new residential division for JMI Constructors will continue under the name Sagestone Homes, a JMI Company. Though home building has been concentrated at The Ledges, Sagestone Homes is available to build dream homes anywhere in Washington County.

Four generations in the same community

Steve Jennings, the fourth generation of the family, now leads the company as President and Principal Broker. Gilbert Jennings continues to give leadership and guidance as Steve puts his energy into leading the day-to-day. Just like generations before, Steve is focused on the principles of his forebearers. Stewardship and Legacy guide the daily decisions and interactions throughout the community.

Stewardship and Legacy guide the daily decisions and interactions throughout the community.

JMI has spent most of its history letting its buildings speak for the company, quietly earning a reputation for excellence and stewardship. St. George has grown quickly in recent years, and JMI is ready to step out of the shadows and keep developing projects that serve and sustain a growing community.

Why JMI Group, and why now

Over the decades, you have known the company by many different names. Along the path of real estate development, the construction company continued to serve as the development and building arm, but the necessity of a real estate management group was becoming evident. In the early 2000’s, JMI Property Services was born to perform the day-to-day real estate management functions that were needed, while JMI Constructors continued as the construction arm. Over time the family’s work spread across several businesses, each with its own name, each serving a specific purpose. A tenant might know JMI Property Services, while a business owner planning a new facility might know JMI Constructors, without seeing the full range of work happening under the JMI name.

JMI Group brings those businesses under one parent company with one clear description: a vertically integrated real estate investment, development, and management firm.

Vertical integration means one company can handle most or all of the stages a property goes through. Many real estate projects pass through several companies before they’re finished. One firm secures and entitles the land, another provides the capital, a contractor builds it, and a management company takes over once tenants move in. JMI Group can acquire and entitle land, invest alongside partners, build through JMI Constructors, and manage the finished property for decades afterward.

Partners decide how much of that to use. Some bring JMI Group in for one piece of a project, such as entitlement or construction. Others hand over the entire project, from the first look at a piece of land to the day-to-day management of a finished building. In both cases the same team stays involved for as long as needed.

JMI Group brings one standard to every project, no matter which part of the work it takes on. Each project follows the principles that have been in place for generations: Stewardship and Legacy. JMI Group provides Development and Asset Management services for over 45 Entities and partnership groups that own projects across Southern Utah. Whether a project is for a related partnership group or an outside client, it gets the same attention and care, stemming from those foundational principles of Stewardship and Legacy. That consistency comes from nearly a century of specialized experience and a set of unwavering values.

What each company does

As JMI moves into the future, partners, customers and the community will see the JMI Group of Companies fulfilling many roles in their specific areas of expertise. Although each brand represents a different function, they all come home to JMI Group.

Looking ahead

JMI Group will be easier to find in the coming years, with new websites and a more active presence in the community. The goal is for the people of Southern Utah to know who the company is and what it does. The family plans to be here for the next generation and wants its neighbors to know the company behind the projects they visit every day.