A thriving local family business.

A Cedar Key native, Doug Bishop, moved to Gainesville in 1946 after serving our country in World War II. Soon after, he got a job as an apprentice brick mason, then started his own company after meeting his wife, Pam, in 1955. After they got married, they had three wonderful children—Donna, Greg, and Sande. Pam’s family owned a large piece of land on the corner of 39th Avenue and 43rd Street, and Doug bought the property from them. He then created Pinewood I, which he built 178 one-bedroom apartments out of Ocala block in 1972. The rent started at $140 a month and was filled with long lasting tenants—some of which have children and grandchildren now living in the apartments. Doug built Pinewood II two years later, which resulted in 62 one-bedroom apartments and 42 two-bedroom apartments. He decided to build Millhopper Pines—a senior and retirement complex—in 1978, which consists of 78 units. Once his children were grown, they decided to join the business. Donna joined in 1979 and Greg came in soon after in 1980. Sande joined after attending school and getting married, taking part in the business with the rest of the family in 1989. After a long break, Doug still saw a need for housing in the area and built our newest addition—Pinewood Terrace. There are 152 units which include one to three bedroom options. After finishing Pinewood Terrace in 1999, Doug retired from building but remains the CEO of Pinewood Properties. A bulk of the tenants are made up of professionals and families, and the small rest being students and seniors. Majority of the tenants are very loyal and enjoy staying here for years, Pinewood takes pride in being a flourishing family business and hopes to stay that way for many years to come.