JG Development Now 100 Percent Employee Owned

JG Development, a residential and commercial general contractor with roots in the Mount Horeb area, announced it has transitioned to 100 percent employee ownership. JG Development’s former owners, CEO Jeff Grundahl and COO Mary Grundahl, will continue in their leadership roles and serve on its board of directors for the foreseeable future.
 
“We started this process more than a decade ago, planning strategically for the company’s long-term success,” said Jeff.  “We felt strongly that selling to our employees was the right move.” JG Development became 49 percent employee owned in 2017. The team’s ambition led to financial success in the years following and enabled the second and final employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transaction.  “It was important to us to reward our many team members who helped the company grow over the years, ensure a healthy succession plan, and retain our great culture,” said Mary.
 
“Our leadership has done a good job communicating what the ESOP means for our team,” said Jack Brigham, residential project manager and chair of the company’s ESOP committee. “There’s a learning curve, but it’s motivating to understand that the work we put in ultimately benefits our own personal finances.”
 
Jeff, a graduate of Mount Horeb High School and its building trades program, founded JG Development in 1990 at age 19 after starting his career as a welder and carpenter. The company initially focused on residential building; Jeff and Mary led the company’s growth into commercial construction both organically and through two acquisitions in 2008 and 2011. JG Development launched new residential construction brands in 2015.
 
JG Development currently employs about 60 professionals and encompasses single-site development services as well as its four construction divisions:

• Brio Design Homes, a custom home design-build contractor,
• Vive Home Transformations, a residential design-build remodeler,
• National Construction, a commercial general contractor,
• and NCI-Roberts Construction, which builds exclusively for churches and nonprofits.

The company’s vision is to build for its clients where they live, work and serve.
 
JG Development recently remodeled the former State Bank of Cross Plains on Junction Road in Madison and consolidated its former Blue Mounds and East Washington Avenue offices there. Its client design center features renovation of the building’s former bank vault into a speakeasy. Its shop is still located on East Brigham Road in Blue Mounds; the nearby office is for lease.