Metromont Gift Names Richard H. Pennell, Sr. Center for Real Estate Development
by Pernille Christensen

One of the most exciting things happening to the Center to date is the recent $2.5 million naming gift from Metromont Corporation President and CEO Rick Pennell that was given to honor his father, Richard H. Pennell.

The gift will support the Richard H. Pennell Center and allow the organization to work with the students, faculty, and professionals in the real estate industry as they seek to find better ways in which to build more sustainable communities for the future. According to Rick, it was the center’s blend of disciplines and ability to mirror the complex nature of real estate development, with its inclusion of Clemson University’s College of Architecture, Arts& Humanities, and the College of Business & Behavioral Sciences, that inspired the gift. Bringing together students from the various disciplines in these programs, just as real estate development does in the professional world, is unique to the center.

“It intrigued me that the program has students from architecture, landscape architecture and business, and marries them in a unique curriculum,” he said. “The center touches on everything we do at Metromont.”

Based in Greenville, SC, Metromont has had a long-term commitment to the real estate development industry, serving professionals with a business based on pre-cast concrete. Founded in 1925 by Captain J. Roy Pennell, Richard H. “Dick” Pennell Sr. (Clemson Class of 1950) now serves as Chairman of the Board for Metromont Corp., and Richard H. “Rick” Pennell Jr., president and CEO, is the third generation to run the company. Their projects range from parking structures and stadiums to thermal-efficient wall systems for schools, dormitories and office buildings and affordable hurricane-resistant housing in New Orleans, with a particular focus on helping to build better, more sustainable communities and greener buildings. For more information, you can read the full article at:
http://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articles/2009/june/Metromont_gift.php5