P.J. Callaghan has been a contractor in the State of Florida since 1948. Our company was founded by Pete “PJ” Callaghan and John C. Burket, Senior, as Burket & Callaghan Construction. The company originally built residential homes in the Saint Petersburg area. The name was changed to PJ Callaghan Company in the early 1950’s after the passing of Mr. Burket. Mr. Callaghan served as president until retiring in 1972 when he handed over the company to Ned E. Burket. In 1967, PJ Callaghan Company became an authorized dealer for Star Building Systems and turned its focus to commercial projects. Mr. Callaghan kept a memoir that dealt with a wide range of topics from the steel construction business to the national economy. Click here to read two pages from the memoir which gives an insight to our founder and the standard’s to which we adhere to this day.
Now, PJ Callaghan is a mid-sized general contracting firm that is focused solely on commercial construction. We pride ourselves on our high retention rate of customers, some of whom have been with us for decades. They represent the core of our business. We are a relationship based company that effectively communicates with our clients, subcontractors, and vendors to ensure that every project is successful.
Our current President, John C. Burket, is the grandson of one of the company’s founders. John came to work for P.J. Callaghan as a young teen during summer breaks learning the business from the bottom up. He graduated from the University of Florida, School of Building Construction in 1974 and started working full-time for the company. In 1981 he became a full partner and Executive Vice President. He was appointed President in 1989. In September of 1990 John was appointed General Contractor Representative of the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board. The company’s fourth generation, Tom Burket, serves as vice president and has class “A” licenses in both Florida and Georgia.