J. Brian O'Neill
Founder & Chairman
O'Neill Properties Group
Speaker Biography:
A unique vision for community growth and redevelopment defines
the approach that J. Brian O'Neill, founder and chairman of O'Neill Properties
Group, brings to bear on the vast commercial, residential and retail projects
for which his organization is known.
O'Neill leads a real estate development and construction organization that is
dedicated to transforming abandoned properties into viable live, work and play
communities. He is spearheading a movement that breathes new life into aging
towns, commercial and industrial sites in the Northeast, bringing employment,
upscale housing and tax revenues to blighted areas.
The O'Neill strategy of "cooperative community re-development" began
in 1988 with the redevelopment of an abandoned paint factory on the riverbanks
of Norristown. Today O'Neill Properties is the Master Redeveloper of Norristown
and has brought its vision of revitalization to sites in southeastern Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Locally, O'Neill has transformed the Conshohocken riverfront area, known as Millennium,
and has begun plans to revitalize the Lubin Film Studio property adjacent to
the Valley Forge Park in Montgomery County. Other projects like these, which
are based on the live, work and play model, include the redevelopment of the
Eastern State Hospital in Bucks County and the Worthington Steel site in Chester
County.
O'Neill has been recognized for his contributions to both the business and local
communities. Most recently, he was named Citizen of the Year by the PenJerDel
Council, Philadelphia. He received in 2001, the Entrepreneur of the Year award
from Ernst & Young and the Philadelphia Business Journal. He has been a member
of the board of trustees of Episcopal Academy, Merion, and the Rosemont School
of the Holy Child, Rosemont.
A commitment to the Philadelphia region's youth is reflected in O'Neill's fundraising
on behalf of the St. Edmonds Home for Children, Gladwyne, and his active support
of the Camp Hill Special School, Camp Hill, Riverbend Environmental Education
Center, Gladwyne, and the Philadelphia chapters of the Catholic Youth Organization,
Time for Teens and Inner City Games, among others.
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