Third-generation builder takes over family company
Robert M. Mills has been named the new president and chief operating officer of University Housing Services Inc. in St. Petersburg, succeeding UHS founder William H. Mills Jr., who will remain as chairman and chief executive officer.
Robert Mills, who joined his father’s firm in 2002, was the executive vice president of the campus housing development company, responsible for the operational efficiency of the development process and directly involved in more than $300 million of on-campus development projects in the last eight years.
The leadership shift comes when the student housing industry has been faced with the ongoing challenge of finding viable ways to implement increasing demands for student housing with shrinking college budgets and financial options, UHS said in a release. Robert Mills is expected to focus on growing the company’s core student housing business by expanding both the company’s service offerings and geographic reach.
UHS has worked on more than 16 campus housing projects throughout the Southeast, according to the company’s Web site, including Florida Gulf Coast University, the Florida Institute of Technology and the University of North Alabama among others payday loans. UHS maintains a southeast regional office in Atlanta.
Robert Mills, who received a bachelor’s degree in building construction in 1987 from the University of Florida, previously worked for Beers Construction Co., rising to group vice president where he was responsible for meeting all the construction needs of both public and private higher-education institutional clients.
Before starting UHS, William Mills was owner, chairman and president of Federal Construction Co. fro 1982 to 1991, which would become one of the largest construction management firms in the Southeast before being sold to Trafalgar House.
Federal Construction was originally known as Mills & Jones Construction Co., founded by William Mills Sr. in 1946. That builder was responsible for buildings such as the Maas Brothers Department Store in St. Petersburg, the Florida Power Corp. headquarters in St. Petersburg and the original Busch Gardens outside of Temple Terrace.
William Mills Sr., who helped found UHS following the Federal Construction sale, died last June. He was 98.