GARRETT ADKINS
PARTNER | DIRECTOR OF CONSTRUCTION
EMAIL GARRETT: gadkins@pillarco.com
ABOUT
Garrett grew up on Signal Mountain just outside of Chattanooga, where he still resides today with his wife Mollie and their two Great Danes. Garrett and Mollie are expecting their first child in July of 2023. As a child, Garrett enjoyed hunting, fishing, and spending time outdoors, and had a love for motorcycles. He attended Chattanooga State Community College and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga while working for a local residential dirt contractor.
After college, Garrett worked in the commercial framing and drywall industry before becoming a project manager for a large civil contractor across the Southeast. During this time, he learned what it takes to manage large government projects — as well as multiple projects simultaneously — ranging from $500,000 to $22,000,000. Eventually, Garrett returned home to Chattanooga to start a family and help launch a satellite office for a larger general contractor that was entering the Chattanooga market. While there, he learned the ins and outs of commercial construction, including the intricacies of building for the higher education, general commercial, industrial, and healthcare industries.
Garrett is very strong and thorough in all aspects of operations and project management. His primary objectives are to provide a positive and enjoyable experience for clients and to support our collective trade partners that help make each project successful. Success for Garrett is not only measured by a project being completed under budget and on time, but also by the enjoyment of the process for all involved. He truly takes each project personally with a whatever-it-takes attitude — as if he were building his own house.
When Garrett isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, summer boat days, weekend dirt bike adventures, and the occasional dirt bike race.
PAST PROJECTS
Garrett worked on a design build project for a $25 million dollar, four-story hybrid parking garage for the Chattanooga Airport. This hybrid system consisted of precast structural columns and spandrels to match the existing terminal and cast-in-place PT slabs. This project included three glass-back elevators that overlooked the “junction area” that was constructed out of sidewalks and paver system. Garrett and the team were able to recycle large oak trees that were cut down during construction and turned them into benches for travelers to sit on in the junction area. The team was able to open the garage roughly a month ahead of schedule and on budget, which helped the airport with their immediate need for parking.
He worked on the Centre South Manufacturing facility for Southern Champion Tray, which consisted of a 300,000-square-foot building insulated metal wall panel, slab on grade, joist and deck structure with 18 loading docks and about 30,000 square feet of office space. Garrett and the team were able to incorporate the view of the river into the project by constructing an outdoor patio area with a roof paver system and glass handrail for employees to enjoy during their breaks. They were able to deliver the project to the owner to start storage and production a month ahead of schedule, which helped them begin producing revenue a month early during their busiest time of year.
Garrett worked on an 86,000-square-foot renovation of three floors of the existing Fletcher Hall School of Business at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, which was the same building where Garrett had most of his classes while he was a student at the university. He and his team completed the renovation while the second floor remained completely occupied and undisturbed. The renovation was a full gut of all finishes system — along with all mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection — with a new roof and new underground storm system. They finished the project on time and under budget so the School of Business could open in time for the school year.