Protecting Families is Family Man’s Business
By Jessica O’Reilly
Photo by Kate Gardiner
4075 A1A SOUTH, SUITE 100A • 904-814-7761 • LANNICONSTRUCTION DOT COM
Bill Lanni always wanted to own his own business, and he knew that in order to be successful, he would need to create a trustworthy company that reflected his core values. As the owner of Lanni Construction and High Tide Roofing, Bill’s mission is to build quality homes that will protect the families that live in them. “We are building houses here for a one-time event that we hope doesn’t happen, but we need to build the house that will sustain that event. Of course, I’m talking hurricanes. I take that responsibility very seriously: to protect that family.” Almost unbelievably, not a single house built by Lanni Construction leaked, flooded, or sustained any wind damage in Hurricanes Matthew or Irma.
Before moving to St. Augustine in 1991, the Florida native lived in Naples, where he learned the construction business alongside his father. Bill moved to St. Augustine with his young
family simply because he determined that this Old City was the best place to raise his son, Billy, and daughter, Morganne. “What I love most about St. Augustine,” Bill relates, “is that there is such a great sense of community here. Although it’s a huge tourist destination, it’s still a small town.”
Bill’s business isn’t limited to custom homes. “We build everything from dog houses to high rises,” he says. Lanni served as the City of St. Augustine’s General Maintenance Supervisor for more than 10 years and took the lead on large jobs such as the Swing Park Project and renovating downtown St. Augustine’s iconic Plaza.
“There is not a street I go down in St. Augustine that I haven’t done something on. It’s really cool. The Plaza renovation gave me instant gratification, because it’s nice to see people enjoying that part of the city every day.”
When asked about his favorite project, Bill says, “I don’t like the simple ones. I like more complicated projects. I like a challenge. I like finding problems and fixing them.” For example, recently Lanni Construction completely replaced a home’s failing concrete slab to save it from demolition, and they rebuilt an entire master suite, destroyed by a car crash, for a family featured on HGTV. However, it’s not the TV crews or exposure that Bill reflects upon when telling the story of this undertaking. Instead, he’s proud of the people in the community that came together to complete the project in just four days. “It was one of the longest weeks of my life, but 83 people came together from the community to help make this happen. It was a lot of work, but we got it done, and it was a lot of fun.”
Bottom line, Bill Lanni is a family man extending his papa-bear mentality to his extended family, the community of St. Augustine. “We treat everybody as if they were our own. We treat your home as if it were our own. Our job, as experts in the field, is to provide the homeowner with options on what to do to protect themselves and make their homes more
durable.”
In the market for a contractor? Visit Lanni Construction’s website, or stop by the office, located at 4075 A1A South, Suite 100A.
