Construction Begins on Tower Hill Insurance Headquarters in Alachua

ALACHUA ‒ One of Florida’s largest residential property insurers will soon be calling Alachua home. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Tuesday, Nov. 28 for Tower Hill Insurance’s new headquarters in Alachua.

The state-of-the art 65,000 sq-ft two-story building will feature more than 25,000 sq-ft of energy efficient glass and was designed by local architectural firm Paul Stresing Associates. When completed, the facility will house 300 of the company’s 500-plus employees. Tower Hill currently has offices in Gainesville, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Lexington, Ky, and operates in 17 states in the U.S. Anticipated construction completion is planned for spring 2025.

The soon-to-be headquarters for the 50-year-old firm will be accessed from U.S. Highway 441 at Northwest 167^th Boulevard traffic signal south of where the Alachua Publix is located. CHW serves as the project civil engineer and Scherer Construction is the project contractor.

Tower Hill Insurance was founded in 1972 by William T. Shively as a mobile home insurer based in Miami. His son, Bill Shively, now carries on the family business. Bill Shively has long had a vision of building Tower Hill’s headquarters in Alachua on the property he has owned for some 30 years.

When founded, Tower Hill offered only mobile home insurance. Today its portfolio has grown to include residential and commercial property insurers offering homeowners, rental property, condominium, and flood insurance, among others.

On hand for the groundbreaking was Tower Hill Insurance Group CEO Kirk La who spoke of the company’s vision for the property and its corporate responsibility as a member of the Alachua business community. La said that in the face of insurance woes that have plagued Florida, Tower Hill is unyielding in its commitment to the state in which it was founded.

Also present at the groundbreaking ceremony was Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper who included in his remarks that many people know the property as the former home to an ostrich farm. Joining Coerper representing the City of Alachua were Alachua Vice Mayor Dayna Miller and Commissioners Jennifer Blalock, Shirley Green Brown and Ed Potts. Also on hand was a large contingent of the Tower Hill executive team and employees.

Alachua Chamber of Commerce President Mitch Glaeser also addressed the crowd of well over 150 people about the impact of Tower Hill on the Alachua community. Glaeser likened the groundbreaking as a moment in time that in the future will be remembered as a watershed moment marking a turning point in the economic evolution of the city.

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